Biography

John Karlen

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John Karlen was born on May 28, 1933 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for Cagney & Lacey (1981), Dark Shadows (1966) and House of Dark Shadows (1970). He was married to Betty Karlen. He died on January 22, 2020 in Burbank, California, USA.

Reprised his Dark Shadows (1966) role of "Willie Loomis" in four new CD "Dark Shadows" audio dramas produced by Big Finish Productions.
He has admitted that he has a gambling addiction and that he has lost several thousand dollars over the years as a result.
John Karlen escorted his longtime friend, former Cagney & Lacey (1981) co-star, and Emmy nominee (for Judging Amy (1999)) Tyne Daly to the 2003 Emmy Awards. After Ms. Daly won the Emmy (for her role as "Maxine"), Mr. Karlen gave her a hug and kiss which was caught on camera during the TV broadcast. Ms. Daly then went on to pay a brief but warm tribute to Mr. Karlen in her acceptance speech.
John Karlen appeared, with Producer Dan Curtis and other surviving actors and personnel, in a tribute to their long-ago gothic-horror soap opera Dark Shadows (1966), at the William Paley Museum of Television Arts, in Los Angeles CA, on March 8, 2001.
John Karlen's then-wife, Betty Karlen, guest-starred in an episode of Cagney & Lacey (1981), marking the only time they appeared on the same TV series at the same time, though they did not have a scene together.

[on Daughters of Darkness (1971)] We shot that in Belgium and France and uh.. The New York Times gave that one of the great reviews of vampire films of all time. It gave it a great, one of the truly great reviews. And for whatever reason, the movie was incredibly popular in Europe. Friends of mine would say they've been at a movie theater in France, or something, and they were lined up around the corner, to go and see it so.. It has its moments, that film, you know? And of course, we had the wonderful actress, Delphine Seyrig in it. Who really, truly, had the lead in it. And that was, she was just, I think, magnificent.

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