‘Easy Rider’
In 1969's Easy Rider, Black memorably played a New Orleans prostitute who romped with bikers Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda and new friend Jack Nicholson near the end of their cross-country trek.
In 1969's Easy Rider, Black memorably played a New Orleans prostitute who romped with bikers Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda and new friend Jack Nicholson near the end of their cross-country trek.
She earned an Oscar nomination for best supporting actress for her portrayal of a kind-hearted, small-town waitress in Five Easy Pieces (1970), a part that Jack Nicholson recommended her for. Black also won a Golden Globe and a New York Film Critics award for her rich portrayal of dimwitted waitress Rayette Dipesto.
“You know, Rayette is not very smart; I don’t think you can play her,” Black, in 2011, recalled director Bob Rafelson telling her. “I said, ‘Let’s make a deal. When you say action, I’ll stop thinking.’ ”
Black starred as Olive in 1971's Drive, He Said. It re-teamed her with her Easy Rider costar Jack Nicholson, who directed the film.
Black played a promiscuous woman in the movie adaptation of Philip Roth’s sensational best-seller Portnoy’s Complaint (1972).
In 1973, Black performed in The Outfit, opposite Robert Duvall.
Karen Black pictured in 1973. The celebrated actress was diagnosed with ampullary cancer in November 2010.
After being diagnosed with cancer, Black and her husband turned to a crowdfunding website and raised tens of thousands of dollars to pay for an experimental treatment in Europe. Black’s rapidly declining health prohibited her from traveling, so she never made it to Europe.
Black starred opposite Gene Wilder in 1973's Rhinoceros. Based on an absurdist play, the film takes place in a town plagued by "Rhinoceritis" — or, people transforming into Rhinoceroses.
Black circa the early 1970s.
Black won a won a Golden Globe for best supporting actress for 1974's The Great Gatsby for her portrayal of Myrtle Wilson.
Black co-starred with Charlton Heston in the 1974 thriller Airport 1975.
Black, with co-star Henry Gibson, in 1975's Nashville. The film won an Oscar for best original song and was nominated for a Grammy.
Black starred opposite Omar Sharif in 1976's steamy Crime and Passion, which saw her play mistress to a powerful man.
In 1978's In Praise of Older Women, Black played a beautiful poetess who instructed a young man (Tom Berenger) in the ways of love.
Black starred in the 1981 film Chanel Solitaire with Marie-France Pisier, who played Coco Chanel. The British-French film reportedly spent $1 million of its $7 million budget on costumes.
Black with Elliot Gould in E/R aka Enter Romance. The series aired from 1984-1985.
In 1997, Black appeared in an episode of The Hunger titled "Menage a Trois."
The actress hit the carpet at the American Comedy Awards in February 1998.
Black attended the 72nd Annual Academy Awards March 26, 2000 in Los Angeles.
Billy Moseley and Black attended the premiere of House of 1000 Corpse at the Arclight Theater in 2003. It was one of the many horror films the actress starred in.
Billy Moseley and Black attended the premiere of House of 1000 Corpses at the Arclight Theater in 2003. It was one of the many horror films the actress starred in.
Black starred as Mother Firefly in Rob Zombie's House of 1000 Corpses in 2003.
In 2008 Black appeared in the romantic drama Watercolors. Here, she acts opposite Tye Olson.
In 2009, Black was seen in The Blue Tooth Virgin. From filmmaker Russell Brown, the story follows two young screenwriters and the trouble with giving constructive (or not so constructive) criticism to a friend.
Black appeared in the 2011 indie Maria My Love, which screened at the Tribeca Film Festival.
Black posed at the premiere of Hitchcock during AFI Fest 2012. She worked with the famed director on his final film, 1976's Family Plot, in which she played a black-hatted, blonde-wigged kidnapper.