Karen MacKenzie

Last updated
Karen MacKenzie
Knots Landing character
Karen MacKenzie.jpg
Michele Lee as Karen Fairgate-MacKenzie
Portrayed by Michele Lee
Liane Curtis (flashbacks)
Duration1979–93, 1997
First appearanceDecember 27, 1979
"Pilot"
Last appearanceMay 9, 1997
Back to the Cul-de-Sac
Created by David Jacobs
In-universe information
OccupationPartner in a construction company
Former Host of Open Mike
Former Member of the Environmental Board
Former Partner in Lotus Point
Former Owner of Knots Landing Motors
Former Community organizer
MotherDorothy Cooper [1]
BrothersJoe Cooper
Husband Sid Fairgate (until 1981)
Mack MacKenzie (1983–)
Sons Eric Fairgate
Michael Fairgate
Daughters Diana Fairgate
Adoptive sonsJason Lochner (foster)
Adoptive daughtersMeg MacKenzie
StepdaughtersAnnie Fairgate
Paige Matheson
GrandchildrenUnnamed grandchild
(through Michael) [2]

Karen MacKenzie (maiden name Cooper; formerly Fairgate) is a long-running fictional character in the CBS primetime soap opera Knots Landing . Karen is portrayed by actress Michele Lee, and has appeared on the show since its pilot episode, first broadcast on December 27, 1979. Knots Landing follows the trials of four middle-class families living on a suburban cul-de-sac known as Seaview Circle in California. Lee portrayed Karen for the entire run of Knots Landing, being the sole cast member to appear in every episode of its fourteen seasons. At the time, her appearances in all 344 episodes set a record for an actress on American primetime television. Karen's storylines focus on family troubles, business dealings, addiction and kidnapping.

Contents

Series creator David Jacobs said "Karen is the tent pole. She says the things I want to say. She's the voice of the viewer." Entertainment Weekly also described Karen as being "efficient, kind, and understanding". During the course of her existence on the program, she was married to both Sid Fairgate (Don Murray) and second husband Mack MacKenzie (Kevin Dobson). Many other characters would try to undermine her relationship with Mack, such as his daughter Paige Matheson (Nicollette Sheridan), and former love interest Anne Matheson (Michelle Phillips), though Karen came to accept Paige as his daughter later on.

Due to her long-running tenure, television personality Joan Rivers commented that Lee was, in theory, the "First Lady of Knots Landing" during her guest appearance on The Late Show , which Rivers hosted at the time. [3] The characters of the series often represented what was happening in society at the time, which Lee acknowledged by saying: "Karen wanted to be a Pollyanna and wasn't ashamed of that. Remember in our society, maybe people don't remember, but remember when we could go over to other people's houses and come in through an open back door? I remember when I was a little girl and my mother and father would have people over and they'd walk into an unlocked door in our house." [4]

Development

Creation and casting

Prior to being cast in Knots Landing, Michele Lee had made a slew of film and television appearances. Lee holds the sole record for appearing in all 344 episodes of the dramatic series, setting a record at the time for a female actress in primetime television history. [5] [6] (S. Epatha Merkerson, who portrayed character Anita Van Buren on the crime drama Law & Order , surpassed Lee's record in 2008.) [7] After the success of Dallas, David Jacobs' presented his initial idea again and created Knots Landing , with some alterations of his original script. [8] In an interview, Jacobs explained: "Well, that's pretty good, but you know-and then he pulled out the pages that we'd left for them a few years ago on the show, or a year before on Knots, and he said, 'Is there any way we can make this a spin-off?' I just took one of the couples and made it, you know, Val and Gary who had already been created on the parent series and putting them into the mix, but when you have four couples and you change one, you sort of have to change the dynamic all the way around. However, once I wrote the script, remarkably little changed from the script and the pilot as you would see it." [9]

Characterization

Actor Don Murray portrayed Lee's on-screen husband for the first two seasons of Knots. Don Murray in Bus Stop trailer cropped.jpg
Actor Don Murray portrayed Lee's on-screen husband for the first two seasons of Knots.

Entertainment Weekly has said of Lee's character, "Her character, Karen MacKenzie, is efficient, kind, and understanding. Today, she's headed for big trouble, but Karen, onetime widow, single mom, addict, kidnappee, shooting victim, talk show hostess, and target of a psychotic fan, is resilient. Some on Knots say the show could not survive the loss of its moral mouthpiece." In 1991, the actress herself also commented, "Karen has gone through so much that it's hard to get her a [new] story line. Although she may be the only character who doesn't need a story line. She's a rock. She helps solve the problems. Certainly, after 12 years of playing Karen, you think, 'Oh, God, I wish I could play the town slut. But I have to save those roles for my hiatus." [6]

Jacobs also said, "Karen, Michele Lee's character, was - made the speeches that I would have made about subjects, so she sort of was my footprint. . .but she was different. And also, I never had to - I never had a problem hearing Karen, you know. She and I spoke the same way." The character evolved significantly from the beginning of the series to the end. In the beginning, Karen was somewhat of a "bad girl" in order to lure over some fans of J.R. Ewing from Dallas. [9] He noted:

"Well, Karen in the beginning was limited by her - well, we made Karen a little bit harsher in the first season than we otherwise would have because we were toying with the audience. And because it was a Dallas spin-off, the natural question was always, 'Well, where's your JR? Who's your JR?' And so, even though Michele Lee herself is a very likeable person, and even if she's being over the top she's a person of great enthusiasm, she's a person of great strength, in the pilot anyway, we were sort of pushing the possibility that she was gonna be roughly our equivalent. I always wanted to project the idea that we weren't Dallas, it was a different scale from Dallas, that whoever we had wasn't gonna be as successful as JR. But later on, the line "being married to a saint" was - Don Murray was so sweet, you know, and so rational all the time that, um, her enthusiasm, or the size of her enthusiasm, sometimes grew shrill and - I don't remember the context in which she said,'It's difficult being married to a saint" - but it's true, Sid had - you know, even the way he ran his business was totally moral. He was a totally moral kind of guy. Then later on, when Kevin makes the comment to her, it's really about her - um - if I recall, it's really about her correctness, you know, her dedication to her issues." [9]

Though she was often a maternal figure, Karen was never able to become a grandmother on the serial. Lee said on her personal website, "Yes. I know it might sound like a big ego...far from it. It was a business option to prolong a career." [5]

Impact on society

When often interviewed about the show, Lee brings up the fact that "as society changed...so did Knots Landing." Her character once gave a memorable speech about how society was often changing and becoming less of the trustworthy place it used to be. Karen became addicted to prescription medication, a key plotline for her character in the fifth season. Lee said, "Karen's addiction, at a time when we as a nation were examining our culture and addiction problems. It was powerful because of the knowledge that addiction could come to anyone, including a First Lady and Karen Mackenzie." [4] In an interview with the official Knots Landing website, the actress said: "Oh! Let me add to that last question by also mentioning the Pollyanna speech as one of my favorite moments as Karen. The Pollyanna speech was a testimony to our writers keeping our fingers on the pulse of what (the audience) was feeling in their own lives. If we were doing the show today I could give the Pollyanna speech and add a few more items." [4] She went further into detail by saying:

"I think Karen was very assertive in that statement. I hope there's a Pollyanna in all of us and that part doesn't ever die. I still have that part in me. I think what was interesting about that speech was that we weren't used to hearing our characters that impassioned. Karen showed the frustrations we were having with our society. There are two things to consider with that speech - the issue of Karen being called a Pollyanna and whether Karen actually was a Pollyanna. Karen wanted to be a Pollyanna and wasn't ashamed of that. Remember in our society, maybe people don't remember, but remember when we could go over to other people's houses and come in through an open back door? I remember when I was a little girl and my mother and father would have people over and they'd walk into an unlocked door in our house. Maybe apropos Knots Landing would have been Val opening the back door and Karen saying (simulates Karen calling from another room), 'Hi Val, come on in!' That would never happen now." [4]

Storylines

Years before the series begins, Karen Cooper moves to Philadelphia to study, where she meets and falls in love with young mechanic Sid Fairgate (Don Murray), who lives with his wife, Susan (Claudette Nevins) and their daughter, Annie (Karen Allen). When Sid divorces Susan, he marries Karen and they move to Knots Landing, California where they live with their three children Diana (Claudia Lonow), Eric (Steve Shaw) and Michael Fairgate (Patrick Petersen). Karen gets along with everybody in the neighborhood, except for her sister-in-law, Abby Cunningham (Donna Mills), who joins the show in its second season. She always sees through her conniving, manipulative persona, much to the dismay of Sid. However, it is Valene Ewing (Joan Van Ark), her next door neighbor, who soon becomes her closest and dearest friend. In 1981, Sid's brakes are messed with and his car plunges off the side of a cliff. When Sid dies shortly after, Karen takes over the running of Knots Landing Motors. When Sid's killers are released in 1982, she goes to see Federal Prosecutor Mack MacKenzie (Kevin Dobson) in order to get help to bring them to justice. They achieve this, and she and Mack fall in love and they elope to Las Vegas and are married in early 1983. Karen soon gets hooked on prescription pills when her daughter, Diana, runs off and marries murderer Chip Roberts (Michael Sabatino). When Chip accidentally dies, Diana goes to live with her aunt Abby and Abby's husband Gary Ewing (Ted Shackelford) at their ranch, thus increasing Karen's dependency on pills. When Mack finds her unconscious in the bathroom, she is admitted to hospital to recuperate.

Karen decides to divorce Mack when she discovers he is still tracking down the Wolfbridge Group, a dangerous crime organization. Karen's children frantically try to get her to change her mind from divorcing Mack and she eventually forgives him as she is still in love with him. However, Karen is accidentally shot by the Wolfbridge Group in the fifth season finale. She survives but ends up having a risky operation to remove the bullet which was lodged in a precarious position which may leave her paralysed. After recovering, she goes to work at the Lotus Point resort when Gary makes her an equal partner (Lotus Point was built on land that Sid and Abby's uncle left to them, and Karen inherited Sid's half as his widow). Once there, Karen insists on making Lotus Point as environmentally friendly as possible, refusing to compromise her principles purely for profit. In 1986, an old friend of Mack's, Phil Harbert (Louis Giambalvo), kidnaps Karen as he is seeking revenge for Mack testifying against him years ago. However, she escapes and is soon reunited with Mack.

When her friend Laura (Constance McCashin) dies in 1987, she leaves behind her forlorn husband, Greg Sumner (William Devane) and their baby daughter, Meg. When Karen realizes that Greg is grieving and is having a tough time coping without Laura, Greg gives Meg to Karen and Mack to bring up as their own child. While running Lotus Point with her fellow partners, Karen fights Manny Vasquez (John Aprea), who tries to use the resort's marina to transport drugs. Lotus Point then becomes a focus of bad news because of the drug bust and is later sold to a Japanese firm, which is secretly headed by her former sister-in-law Abby who has actually discovered there is oil beneath the resort. However, her scheme is thwarted by Karen and Abby is forced to donate Lotus Point to the state as a public park in order to escape prosecution for fraud.

Later on, Karen goes to work as a presenter on the TV show "Open Mike", and subsequently becomes a victim of harassment by the show's assistant producer, Jeff Cameron (Chris Lemmon). Soon after starting work there, she receives nasty packages which include an animals heart and a box of flowers which contain snakes. In 1992, Karen and Mack are given one-third interest in the Sumner Group corporation by Greg Sumner, to be run in trust for his daughter Meg. Karen and Mack separate once again when they battle to keep Meg after Mary Robeson (Maree Cheatham) arrives claiming to be Meg's biological grandmother through Laura. Karen takes Meg and goes to stay with her daughter Diana in New York, but reconciles with Mack when he comes to visit them and they return home to their home in Knots Landing.

In the 1997 reunion mini-series Knots Landing: Back to the Cul-de-Sac , Karen and Mack celebrate their 15th wedding anniversary. Now in business with Gary Ewing again, Karen is co-owner of a construction business.

Reception

Jamey Giddens of Pop Confidential praised Lee, saying "I can't remember a more comforting primetime presence than Lee, as Seaview Circle's courageous heroine Karen Fairgate MacKenzie. For 14 seasons, Lee's Karen was the glue that held Knots together. Amid dead husbands, nubile, surprise stepdaughters, snatched up baby twins, philandering neighbors and one hoeish sister-in-law, you could always count on Karen!" [10]

Trivia

Notes

  1. ↑ Saga of Seaview Circle novel
  2. ↑ Bill Corcoran (director), Julie Sayres (writer), Lisa Seidman (writer), Ann Marcus (writer) (May 7, 1997). "Knots Landing: Back to the Cul-de-Sac: Part 2". Knots Landing. Season 14. Episode 25. CBS.
  3. ↑ "Michele Lee on Joan Rivers with Lucille Ball (Part 3)". The Joan Rivers Show. Retrieved January 31, 2012.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Exclusive Interview: In conversation with actress Michele Lee". Knots Landing.net (The Official Knots Landing Website). CBS.
  5. 1 2 "Actress Michele Lee: Biography". Michele Lee Online.com. Michele Lee and company.
  6. 1 2 Harris, Mark (April 19, 1991). "Totally Knots". Entertainment Weekly . Time Warner . Retrieved April 16, 2012.
  7. ↑ "Interview with S. Epatha Merkerson". The Wendy Williams Show. Archived from the original on February 26, 2012. Retrieved January 31, 2012.
  8. ↑ Dallas: The Complete Story of the World's Favorite Prime-Time Soap, pp. 4–5
  9. 1 2 3 "Exclusive Interview: In conversation with series creator David Jacbos". Knots Landing.net (The Official Knots Landing Website). CBS.
  10. ↑ Giddens, Jamey. "Knots Landing's Michele Lee is Joining SFN Websoap Fumbling Thru The Pieces!". Pop Confidential.com. Archived from the original on 2012-06-24.

Related Research Articles

<i>Dallas</i> (1978 TV series) American television series

Dallas is an American prime time television soap opera that aired on CBS from April 2, 1978, to May 3, 1991. The series revolves around an affluent and feuding Texas family, the Ewings, who own the independent oil company Ewing Oil and the cattle-ranching land of Southfork. The series originally focused on the marriage of Bobby Ewing and Pamela Barnes, whose families were sworn enemies. As the series progressed, Bobby's elder brother, oil tycoon J.R. Ewing, became the show's breakout character, whose schemes and dirty business became the show's trademark. When the show ended on May 3, 1991, J.R. was the only character to have appeared in every episode.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karen Allen</span> American actress (born 1951)

Karen Jane Allen is an American film and stage actress. After making her film debut in Animal House (1978), she portrayed Marion Ravenwood opposite Harrison Ford in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), a role she reprised for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008). She also co-starred in Starman (1984) and Scrooged (1988). Her stage work has included performances on Broadway, and she has directed both stage and film productions.

<i>Knots Landing</i> American television series

Knots Landing is an American primetime television soap opera that aired on CBS from December 27, 1979, to May 13, 1993. A spin-off of Dallas, it was set in a fictitious coastal suburb of Los Angeles and initially centered on the lives of four married couples living on a cul-de-sac, Seaview Circle. Throughout its fourteen-year run, storylines included marital strife, rape, murder, kidnapping, assassinations, drug smuggling, politics, environmental issues, corporate intrigue, and criminal investigations. By the time of its conclusion, it had become the third-longest-running primetime drama on U.S. television after Gunsmoke and Bonanza and the last scripted primetime drama show that debuted in the 1970s to leave the air.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joan Van Ark</span> American actress (born 1943)

Joan Van Ark is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Valene Ewing on the primetime soap opera Knots Landing. A life member of The Actors Studio, she made her Broadway debut in 1966 in Barefoot in the Park. In 1971, she received a Theatre World Award and was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play for the revival of The School for Wives.

Constance McCashin is an American psychotherapist and former actress, best known for her role as Laura Avery Sumner in the CBS prime time soap opera, Knots Landing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Donna Mills</span> American actress

Donna Mills is an American actress. She began her television career in 1966 with a recurring role on The Secret Storm, and in the same year appeared on Broadway in the Woody Allen comedy Don't Drink the Water. She made her film debut the following year in The Incident. She then starred for three years on the soap opera Love is a Many Splendored Thing (1967–70), before starring as Tobie Williams, the girlfriend of Clint Eastwood's character in the 1971 cult thriller Play Misty for Me. Mills played the female lead in the heist film Murph the Surf (1975), and guested on such 1970s staples as Hawaii Five-O, Gunsmoke, The Love Boat, and The Six Million Dollar Man.

<i>Knots Landing: Back to the Cul-de-Sac</i> American TV series or program

Knots Landing: Back to the Cul-de-Sac is a 1997 American television miniseries which is a continuation of the 1979–1993 prime time soap opera Knots Landing and takes place four years after the series ended. Directed by Bill Corcoran, the four-hour miniseries was originally broadcast in two parts on CBS on May 7 and 9, 1997.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michele Lee</span> American actress, producer, and director

Michele Lee is an American actress, singer, dancer, producer, and director. She is known for her role as Karen Fairgate MacKenzie on the prime-time soap opera Knots Landing (1979–1993), for which she was nominated for a 1982 Emmy Award and won the Soap Opera Digest Award for Best Actress in 1988, 1991, and 1992. She was the only performer to appear in all 344 episodes of the series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kevin Dobson</span> American film and television actor (1943–2020)

Kevin Patrick Dobson was an American film and television actor, best known for his roles as Detective Bobby Crocker, the trusted protege of Lt. Theo Kojak in the CBS crime drama Kojak (1973–1978), and as M. Patrick "Mack" MacKenzie in the prime time soap opera Knots Landing (1982–1993).

Laurie Jill "Lar" Park Lincoln is an American actress. She appeared in the 1987 film House II: The Second Story as Kate, the 1988 horror film Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood as Tina Shepard, and a 1988 episode of the anthology horror series Freddy's Nightmares as Karyn. Lincoln starred in the television series Knots Landing from 1987 to 1991.

Felicity Waterman is an English actress known for her role as Vanessa Hunt during the final two seasons of the television drama series Knots Landing, and for her role as regular cast member Lt. Abigail Hawling on the syndicated television series Pensacola: Wings of Gold (1999–2000).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pam Ewing</span> Fictional character in CBS Dallas

Pamela Jean "Pam" Barnes Ewing is a fictional character from the CBS primetime soap opera Dallas. Pamela is portrayed by actress Victoria Principal, first appearing on the show in the first episode, entitled "Digger's Daughter", which was first broadcast on April 2, 1978. Dallas follows the trials of the wealthy Ewing family in the city of Dallas, Texas, which Pam has married into. Principal played Pam until the end of season 10 in 1987, when the character crashes her car into a truck carrying butane and propane and her body is severely burned. A year later, she was briefly played by actress Margaret Michaels in an attempt to write the character out. Pamela's storylines in season 1 focus on her relationship with her new husband, Bobby Ewing, and her fight against the considerable suspicion and hostility from within the Ewing family, due to Pamela being a member of the Barnes family. Pamela's love for Bobby remains a strong character trait throughout her tenure on the show, noted for its similarities to Romeo and Juliet, with two people from hostile families falling in love.

Garrison "Gary" Arthur Ewing is a fictional character from the CBS soap opera, Knots Landing, a spin-off of Dallas. The character of Gary Ewing was first played by actor David Ackroyd in a 2-part Dallas season two episode "Reunion" in 1978. Gary Ewing was the middle son of oil baron Jock and Miss Ellie Ewing, the father of Lucy Ewing and the ex-husband of Valene Ewing. Over a year later, the part of Gary Ewing was recast for the spin-off Knots Landing with actor Ted Shackelford in the role, and Gary became one of the main stars of the series in 1979. Shackelford played Gary Ewing in Knots Landing for its entire fourteen seasons (1979–1993), while continuing to make occasional appearances in Dallas during that time. The character of Gary made his last Knots Landing appearance in 1997 in the reunion series Knots Landing: Back to the Cul-de-Sac. Shackelford reprised his character for the new, updated version of Dallas in 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Valene Ewing</span> Fictional character in Knots Landing

Valene "Val" Ewing, portrayed by Joan Van Ark, is a fictional character in the CBS primetime soap opera Knots Landing, a spin-off from the long-running series Dallas, in which she also appeared. The character originated on Dallas in 1978 as the mother of Lucy Ewing and ex-wife of Gary Ewing. Van Ark made several guest appearances on Dallas before becoming one of the main stars of the spin-off Knots Landing in December 1979, though she continued to make small appearances in Dallas for the next several years. Van Ark played Valene in Knots Landing for thirteen of its fourteen seasons, which made her one of the show's longest running stars. The character made her last Knots Landing appearance in 1997, when she appeared in the reunion miniseries Knots Landing: Back to the Cul-de-Sac. In 2013, Van Ark reprised her character for the new, updated version of Dallas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lilimae Clements</span> Soap opera character

Lilimae Clements is a fictional character from the long-running CBS soap opera, Knots Landing. She was played by Julie Harris between 1980 and 1987. Although not a series regular until season 4, Lilimae was created by producer David Jacobs as one of the series' earliest characters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paige Matheson</span> Soap opera character

Paige Matheson is a fictional character from the CBS soap opera Knots Landing, a long-running serial about middle class life on the fictional cul-de-sac known as Seaview Circle in Los Angeles, California. She was played by actress Nicollette Sheridan between 1986 and 1993. She debuted in the penultimate episode of the seventh season and remained in the series until the final episode in 1993. The character made her last television appearance in 1997, when she appeared in the Knots Landing reunion miniseries Knots Landing: Back to the Cul-de-Sac.

Laura Avery Sumner is a fictional character from the CBS soap opera Knots Landing, a long-running serial about middle class life on the fictional cul-de-sac known as Seaview Circle in Los Angeles, California. She was played by actress Constance McCashin between 1979 and 1987. She debuted in the pilot episode and remained a principal actor in the series until the ninth-season episode "The Gift of Life".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abby Cunningham</span> Fictional character from the soap opera Knots Landing

Abby Fairgate is a fictional character from the CBS prime time soap opera Knots Landing, a long-running serial about middle class life on the fictional cul-de-sac known as Seaview Circle in Los Angeles, California. She was played by actress Donna Mills between 1980 and 1989. Abby was created by producer David Jacobs as one of Knots Landing's earliest characters. She debuted in the first episode of the second season. Mills remained a principal actor in the series until she left in its tenth season. She returned for the two-part series finale in 1993, and made her last appearance in 1997 when she appeared in the reunion miniseries Knots Landing: Back to the Cul-de-Sac.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mackenzie Ziegler</span> American singer and actress (born 2004)

Mackenzie Frances Ziegler is an American singer, actress, former dancer, and internet personality. She appeared as a child for six years on the Lifetime reality dance series Dance Moms together with her older sister, dancer and actress Maddie Ziegler.

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.