Karen Kondazian | |
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![]() Kondazian in 2012 | |
Born | Newton, Massachusetts, U.S. | January 27, 1941
Education | San Francisco State College (BA) University of Vienna London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art |
Occupations |
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Years active | 1972–2016 |
Partner | Lex Barker (1972–1973) |
Karen Kondazian (born January 27, 1941) is an American actress and author. [1] [2] She is a recipient of the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award's Best Actress award and is a four-time Drama-Logue Awards winner. She had a regular starring role in Shannon , as well guest-starring roles on Wiseguy , Frasier , NYPD Blue , and others.
Karen Kondazian was born in Newton, Massachusetts to an Armenian family. She attended Abraham Lincoln High School, and received a B.A. from San Francisco State College, and graduated from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. [3] [4] Kondazian began working in theater, starring in productions such as The Rose Tattoo and Master Class . [5]
As a child, she appeared on Art Linkletter's Kids Say the Darndest Things . [6]
She won the (1978) Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award's Best Actress award for her role in the Tennessee Williams play The Rose Tattoo (1978) and four Drama-Logue Awards for Sweet Bird of Youth (1980), Lady House Blues (1981), Vieux Carré (1983) and Tamara (1985). [7] Kondazian met Williams at a Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle luncheon honoring him, and Williams reportedly allowed Kondazian to produce any of his plays. [8] She was also nominated for an Ovation Best Actress Award in Master Class. [9]
Her work on the stage led to numerous TV and film roles, including a recurring starring role the CBS series Shannon as Irene Lokatelli, and guest-starring roles in Wiseguy, Frasier, NYPD Blue and the TV biopic James Dean . She also was in Yes, Giorgio and Cobra .
In 2000 Kondazian wrote the reference work The Actors Encyclopedia of Casting Directors and The Whip in 2012, published by the Hansen Publishing Group, a historical novel about stagecoach driver Charley Parkhurst. The Whip was well-reviewed for its historical accuracy and story. [10] [11]
Kondazian is a member of the Actors Studio and the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. [12]
Kondazian was in a relationship with actor Lex Barker from 1972 until his death on May 11, 1973. They were engaged. [13]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1977 | Bare Knuckles | Pamela Devlin | |
1981 | Gangster Wars | Mrs. Luciano | |
1981 | Dream On! | Unknown | |
1982 | Yes, Giorgio | Francesca Giordano | |
1982 | Forty Days of Musa Dagh | Mme. Kebussyan | |
1986 | Cobra | Nurse Irene | |
1995 | Steal Big Steal Little | Mrs. Agopian | |
1997 | My Brother Jack | Rose Casale | |
1998 | Shadow of Doubt | TV Host / Panel (voice) | |
1999 | California Myth | Sonia | |
2001 | Wedding Album | Unknown | Short film |
2001 | Beyond the City Limits | Helena's Mother | |
2007 | The Blue Hour | Tello | |
2009 | The Shift | Sophia | Direct-to-DVD |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1972 | The Hound of the Baskervilles | Mrs. Mortimer | Television film |
1972 | Appointment with Destiny | Kate Elder Holliday | Episode: "Showdown at O.K. Corral" |
1973 | The Waltons | Franzia | Episode: "The Gypsies" |
1980 | A Rumor of War | Mrs. Modesta | Television miniseries |
1981 | Time Warp | Mrs. Cesere | Television film |
1981–1982 | Shannon | Irene Lokatelli | 9 episodes |
1982 | Hill Street Blues | Widow Alessi | Episode: "The Shooter" |
1986 | Cagney & Lacey | Arroyo | Episode: "Capitalism" |
1987 | Moonlighting | Margaret Renborn | Episode: "Poltergeist III - Dipesto Nothing" |
1987 | Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color | Madeleinska | Episode: "Bride of Boogedy" |
1987 | CBS Summer Playhouse | Lila | Episode: "Reno and Yolanda" |
1988 | Wiseguy | Unknown | Episode: "Aria for Don Aiuppo" |
1990 | Ferris Bueller | Marjorie Ganesha | Episode: "Ferris Bueller Can't Win" |
1991 | Locked Up: A Mother's Rage | Unknown | Television film |
1991 | Murder, She Wrote | Rosalee Rossari | Episode: "Lines of Excellence" |
1992 | Baywatch | Bella | Episode: "Summer of '85" |
1992 | Mortal Sins | Rose Croce | Television film |
1995 | Land's End | Mrs. Commandante | Episode: "El Perico" |
1995 | Ellen | Gypsy Fortune Teller | Episode: "Ellen's Choice" |
1997 | Tracey Takes On... | Casaba Woman | Episode: "Sex" |
2000 | Animated Stories from the New Testament | Old Woman | Episode: "Lazarus Lives" |
2000 | Frasier | Adrianna Pettibone | Episode: "And the Dish Ran Away with the Spoon: Part 2" |
2001 | James Dean | Mrs. Pierangeli | Television film |
2002 | NYPD Blue | Mrs. Kilik | Episode: "Oh, Mama!" |
2005 | McBride: The Doctor Is Out... Really Out | Nurse Williams | Television film |
2009 | The Bill Engvall Show | Fatima | Episode: "The Way We Were" |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1996 | Zork Nemesis | Maria, Female Patient #2 |
Year | Title | Role | Venue | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
1972 | Richard II | Queen's Lady in Waiting | Ahmanson Theatre | |
1974 | Hamlet | Gertrude's Lady in Waiting | Mark Taper Forum Theater | |
1978–1979 | The Rose Tattoo | Serafina | Beverly Hills Playhouse | Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award – Best Actress |
1980 | Sweet Bird of Youth | Princess Kosmonopolis | Gene Dynarski Theater | Drama-Logue Award |
1981 | Lady House Blues | Liz Madden | South Coast Repertory Theater | Drama-Logue Award |
1983 | Vieux Carré | Mrs. Wire | Beverly Hills Playhouse | LA Weekly Theater Award – Best Actress Drama-Logue Award |
1984 | Broken Eggs | Sonia | Ensemble Studio Theatre | |
1985–1986 | Tamara | Aelis | Il Vittoriale | Drama-Logue Award |
1987 | The Night of the Iguana | Maxine | Old Globe Theatre | |
1989 | Freedomland | Claude | South Coast Repertory Theater | Play Nominated—Pulitzer Prize |
1989 | Mixed Blessings | Velia Martinez | Coconut Grove Playhouse | |
1991 | Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? | Martha | Berkeley Repertory Theatre | Nominated—San Francisco Drama Critics Circle Award – Best Actress |
1996 | Orpheus Descending | Lady | The Fountain Theatre | Nominated—Ovation Award – Best Actress |
2000 | The Night of the Iguana | Maxine | The Fountain Theatre | Back Stage Garland Award |
2003–2004 | Master Class | Maria Callas | The Fountain Theatre | Ovation Award – Best Production of the Year Back Stage Garland Award Maddy Award Entertainment Today Award – Best Actress |
2005 | Kissing Fidel | Miriam | 42nd Street Theater | [14] |
2007 | The Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore | Mrs. Goford | The Fountain Theatre | Nominated—LA Weekly Theater Award – Best Actress |
2016 | Baby Doll | Aunt Rose Comfort | The Fountain Theatre |
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