Karen Black was born back on 1 July 1939. She died back in 2013 after a few years fighting cancer.

I find her interesting because she effectively had two careers. She was very successful in mainstream films — even being nominated for an Oscar and winning two Golden Globes. But she also appeared in a lot of psychotronic films. But really, she just seems to have enjoyed working a lot. In that way, she had a career similar to Mark Hamill in showing a love of acting more than stardom.

Although considered a sex symbol in her prime, I find her rather odd-looking. But I think that worked to her advantage as an actor. It allowed her to play a wide variety of roles.

I always enjoy seeing Black in films, even when they are (as they often were) weak, like Killer Fish. But I will remember her for two films. The first (and lesser) is Tobe Hooper’s excellent remake of Invaders From Mars. She’s wonderful as the kind school nurse although frankly the casting of her son in the lead role was a mistake.

My favorite Karen Black film is Dan Curtis’ amazing made-for-TV Trilogy of Terror. I saw it when it premiered. I was just 11 years old and it was thrilling. But mostly, people only remember the last story, “Amelia.” That’s the one with the little Aboriginal doll with menacing teeth. It chases her all over her apartment.

But the other two stories are also quite good. The first is my favorite, “Julie.” It is about a mousey English professor who is blackmailed into a sexual relationship with her student. The second is “Millicent and Therese.” It is good in that it allows Black to play very different twins. However, it’s kind of tired now, given the idea has been overused.

So celebrate Karen Black’s birthday by watching Trilogy of Terror — for free!

Other 1 July Anniversaries

Filmmakers

• Alice Guy-Blaché (1873-1968): French film director of films like The Fairy of the Cabbages.
• Charles Laughton (1899-1962): Actor in The Old Dark House and director of the excellent The Night of the Hunter.
• Olivia De Havilland (1916-2020): Actor known for many iconic films including The Adventures of Robin Hood and Lady in a Cage.
• Sydney Pollack (1934-2008): Director of Jeremiah Johnson, Three Days of the Condor, and more.
• David Prowse (1935-2020): Known for Darth Vadar and a couple of turns as the creature in the Hammer Frankenstein films.
• Geneviève Bujold (1942-): Actor known for Coma and Dead Ringers.
• Dan Aykroyd (1952-): Actor known for Ghostbusters and many similar films.
• Lisa Blount (1957-2010): Actor known for Dead & Buried, Prince of Darkness, and Blind Fury.
• Dale Midkiff (1959-): Actor known for treetwalkin’ and the original Pet Sematary.
• Denice Duff (1965-): Actor known for a lot of low-budget films including the Subspecies franchise.
• Pamela Anderson (1967-): Actor know for Barb Wire.
• Liv Tyler (1977-): Actor known for The Strangers and many other things.

Films

• The Mask of Dimitrios (1944): A killer of many disguises is pursued.
• Superman (1948): Kirk Alyn as the man of steel.
• The 5000 Fingers of Dr T (1953): Live action fantasy from Dr Seuss.
• How To Make a Monster (1958): AIP fires a make-up artist who then exacts revenge in this AIP delight.
• Blaze Starr Goes Nudist (1962): Doris Wishman nudie-cutie.
• Innerspace (1987): Essentially a comedy version of Fantastic Voyage.
• Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989): A man turns part-iron but not in a good way.
• Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992): Valley Girl vs vampires.
• The Shadow (1994): Film based on the Great Depression-era pulp hero. “Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow know!”
• Armageddon (1998): Deep-core drillers blow-up an asteroid.
• Zombie Cult Massacre (1998): Bikers vs Zombies vs Religious Cult!
• The Perfect Host (2010): A criminal finds what he thinks is a nice middle-class man to help him but he doesn’t know what he’s getting into.
• Giallo (2011): A woman kidnapped by a serial killer is pursued by her sister and a cop.
• Absentia (2011): A tunnel is abducting people. One of the best low-budget horror films ever made.
• Bigfoot vs DB Cooper (2014): One of the greatest movie titles ever. The film itself is little more than softcore gay porn.

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Image clipped from Trilogy of Terror by Fair Use.