Karl Backus

Last updated
Karl Backus
Born
Karl Laurence Backus

1963or1964(age 60–61) [1]
Alma mater
Occupations
  • Actor
  • art director
Years active1981–present
Known for Oregon Shakespeare Festival
Notable credits
Spouse
Summer King
​
(m. 2000)​
Parents
  • Laurence Backus (father)
  • Joyce Backus (mother)

Karl Laurence Backus is an American actor and art director who appeared in multiple productions of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in the 1980s and 90s, a San Diego production of Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde (2003), and the films Skin: The Movie (2018), Thane of East County (2015), and Walking with the Enemy (2013). Backus has multiple ensemble nominations at the Idyllwild International Festival of Cinema. [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]

Contents

Career

In 1983, Backus was a public service announcer for KBST. [7] He worked as an art director for J. Walter Thompson [8] [2] and in 2015, he was with the San Diego Film Commission. [9] [10]

Backus is a member of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. [3] [11] He became a member around 1986 [6] and was part of seven teams sponsored by the Napa Valley Opera House [4] assigned to visit over 170,000 students annually across eight states [12] in the Western United States, including Alaska and Hawaii. [13] [5] [3] Following a performance at Edward C. Reed High School, Backus and his coworker were robbed of their equipment and clothing after discovering their car was stolen. [14]

Reception

Phyllis Wolfe at The Des Moines Register said his performance as Malcolm in Macbeth "hones his battle ax with a low, resounding ring downstage" and brought clarity to his lines. [15] Ron Cowan at Statesman Journal said his performance in Moliere Plays Paris "is briefly but unforgettably seen as a king who offhandedly invents the musical comedy." [16] Steven Winn at SFGate said Backus' scene in Arcadia was the best one, playing "a bored king who is both generous and high-handed." [17] George Weinberg-Harter at Backstage Magazine said Backus' performance as Edward Carson in Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde was the "understated seriousness of a complete legal professional." [18]

Personal life

Backus was born to Joyce and Laurence Backus of Central Point, Oregon. [8] He started acting around the time he was 20 [1] and in 1987, graduated from Southern Oregon University with Bachelor of Fine Arts [7] in theatre arts. Backus earned a master's degree in 1992 at Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training. Backus graduated from the Portfolio Center in 1999 and married Summer King in 2000. [8] He studied with José Quintero, Oleg Tabakov [19] and did high school theater with Shelley Malil in 1981. [20]

Stage credits

Theater performances
YearTitleRoleLocationNotes
Cloud Nine Betty / Gerry American College Theater Festival Regional winner [7]
Scapino! Scapino Southern Oregon State College, Ashland, OregonMainstage [7]
In a Northern LandscapeSamuel
Crimes of the Heart Barnette
Rashomon Woodcutter
Bar & GerBarStudio, by Geraldine Aron [7]
Fire in the DarkVan GoghStudio [7]
A Life in the Theatre John
Miss Julie Jean
1987–1988 Macbeth Elizabethan Stage, Oregon Shakespeare Festival [7] [21]
A Midsummer Night's Dream [7] [22]
The Shoemaker's Holiday [7] [23] [22]
Henry IV, Part One [7]
1989 Cyrano de Bergerac Apprentice Pickpocket / Boy / CadetFeaturing Roy Abramsohn [7] [6]
Two Gentlemen of Verona [6]
1993Macbeth Malcolm Iowa Shakespeare Project, Greenwood Park, Iowa [15]
1996 Arcadia King Louis XIV Angus Bowmer Theatre, Ashland, Oregon February [24]
June [17]
Moliere Plays ParisElizabethan Stage, Oregon Shakespeare FestivalBy Molière [16] [25]
Coriolanus [25]
Romeo and Juliet
1997Gregory [26] [27] [25]
2003 Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde Attorney Edward Carson San Diego, California [18] [28] [29]
2004Thief RiverMiddle-aged RayDiversionary Theatre, San Diego, CaliforniaBy Lee Blessing [30]
School visitation performances
YearTitleLocationNotes
1987 Romeo and Juliet Yerington High School [31] [32]
The Taming of the Shrew
'Tis Pity She's a Whore
Shoemaker's Holiday
1988 The Tempest Little Theater, Kingsburg High School [6]
Much Ado About Nothing
The Catcher in the Rye
Dandelion Wine
1996 Henry V Tumwater Middle School, Portland, Oregon [5]
Two SoldiersBy William Faulkner [5]
The Butter Battle Book [5]
1997Shh...Listen To MeCloverdale High School, Cloverdale, California Featuring segments from Two Gentlemen of Verona , In Flanders Fields , and Dancing at Lughnasa [3]

Filmography

YearTitleRoleNotes
1993Hidden FearsMan at the Y
2006What's the Vig?Kenneth Hart [33]
2011MisdirectionSimsungAlso executive producer [33]
2013 Walking with the Enemy Colonel Klein [34] [19]
2015 Thane of East County Duke [33]
2016 A Life Lived Jefferson [35]
Undocumented ReporterShort film
2018 Skin: The Movie Lance
2019GPSMalcombShort film
2024 Sincerely Saul Officer Porter [36]

Accolades

EventYearFilmAwardResult
Blast Off Film Festival2019 Skin: The Movie Best Acting EnsembleNominated
Idyllwild International Festival of Cinema 2020Best EnsembleNominated
2021GPSBest Ensemble CastNominated

References

  1. 1 2 "Locals enjoy Shakespeare presentation". Mason Valley News . 1987-11-27. p. 3. Retrieved 2024-08-28– via Newspapers.com.
  2. 1 2 "On the move". Adweek . 2000-10-30. Archived from the original on 2018-12-16. Retrieved 2024-07-31.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Oregon Shakespeare Festival Actors to visit Cloverdale High". Cloverdale Reveille . 1997-03-12. p. 3. Retrieved 2024-07-31– via Newspapers.com.
  4. 1 2 Givens, Ann (1997-01-24). "The broad side of the Bard". Napa Valley Register . p. 13. Retrieved 2024-07-31– via Newspapers.com.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Johnson, Oscar (1996-12-02). "Shakespeare opens students' eyes". The Olympian . p. 15. Retrieved 2024-07-31– via Newspapers.com.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 "Shakespeare on stage in Kingsburg". The Selma Enterprise . 1988-11-09. p. 20. Retrieved 2024-07-31– via Newspapers.com.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Winter–Spring 1989". Oregon Shakespeare Festival . 1989. Retrieved 2024-08-18.
  8. 1 2 3 "King-Backus". Tallahassee Democrat . 1999-12-26. p. 54. Retrieved 2024-07-31– via Newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ Accomando, Beth (2015-05-23). "San Diego's Film Community Optimistic After City Council Budget Meeting". KPBS Public Media . Retrieved 2024-07-31.
  10. ↑ "San Diego Mayor's Office Outlines Plans To Attract Film, Television Production". KPBS Public Media . 2015-06-04. Retrieved 2024-07-31.
  11. ↑ Leary, Kathleen F. (2009). Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Internet Archive. Carleston, SC : Arcadia Pub. p. 126. ISBN   978-0-7385-7086-0.
  12. ↑ "Timberline Shakespeare". The Olympian . 1989-11-18. p. 17. Retrieved 2024-08-28– via Newspapers.com.
  13. ↑ "Actors in Visalia". The Hanford Sentinel. 1988-11-10. p. 19. Retrieved 2024-08-28– via Newspapers.com.
  14. ↑ "New teaching tool gets Reno preview". Reno Gazette-Journal . 1987-11-19. p. 51. Retrieved 2024-08-28– via Newspapers.com.
  15. 1 2 Wolfe, Phyllis (1993-07-31). "Get thee thither to 'Macbeth' in the park". The Des Moines Register . p. 27. Retrieved 2024-08-28– via Newspapers.com.
  16. 1 2 Cowan, Ron (1996-02-26). "An enjoyable course of fluffy farce". Statesman Journal . pp. 27–28. Retrieved 2024-08-28– via Newspapers.com.
  17. 1 2 Winn, Steven (1996-06-20). "'Arcadia' – Encore In Ashland / Stoppard's work tops non-Shakespeare plays". SFGATE . ProQuest   303490247 . Retrieved 2024-07-31.
  18. 1 2 Weinberg-Harter, George (2019-11-05). "Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde". Backstage . Retrieved 2024-07-31.
  19. 1 2 "Walking with the Enemy | Trailer & Official Movie Site". Walking with the Enemy. Archived from the original on 2013-12-06. Retrieved 2024-07-31.
  20. ↑ Schroder, Susan (2010-09-08). "Actor's friends testify in his defense". San Diego Union-Tribune . Archived from the original on 2024-07-30. Retrieved 2024-07-31.
  21. ↑ "Review of MACBETH". Shakespeare Bulletin . 5/6 (6/1): 18–19. 1987. ISSN   0748-2558. JSTOR   26352373.
  22. 1 2 "Review of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream". Shakespeare Bulletin . 5/6 (6/1): 20–21. 1987. ISSN   0748-2558. JSTOR   26352376.
  23. ↑ "Review of 'The Shoemakers Holiday'". Shakespeare Bulletin . 5/6 (6/1): 21. 1987. ISSN   0748-2558. JSTOR   26352378.
  24. ↑ Hurwitt, Robert (1996-02-28). "Ashland plans on growing up Oregon Shakespeare Festival reaches for overdue big-time status". SFGATE . ProQuest   270421710 . Retrieved 2024-07-31.
  25. 1 2 3 Theatre world, 1996–1997 season. Internet Archive. New York : Applause. 1999. pp. 200–201. ISBN   978-1-55783-343-3.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link) CS1 maint: publisher location (link)
  26. ↑ Armstrong, Alan (1997). "Review of 'Romeo and Juliet'". Shakespeare Bulletin . 15 (2): 33–34. ISSN   0748-2558. JSTOR   26353079.
  27. ↑ "Romeo and Juliet". Shakespeare Quarterly . 48 (5): 732–743. 1997. ISSN   0037-3222. JSTOR   2871361.
  28. ↑ Welsh, Anne Marie (2003-01-20). "A righteous 'Gross Indecency'". San Diego Union Tribune . ProQuest   272062586 . Retrieved 2024-07-31.
  29. ↑ Jacques, Ken (2005). The play's the thing : a photographic odyssey through theatre in San Diego. Internet Archive. San Diego: Sunbelt Publications. p. 104. ISBN   978-0-932653-71-0.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)
  30. ↑ de Poyen, Jennifer (2004-08-30). "Diversionary has an intricate study of passion and denial". San Diego Union Tribune . ProQuest   272381824 . Retrieved 2024-07-31.
  31. ↑ "Shakespearean actors at local schools". Mason Valley News . 1987-11-27. p. 17. Retrieved 2024-08-28– via Newspapers.com.
  32. ↑ "Oregon Shakespearean Festival actors to present school & public programs here". Mason Valley News . 1987-11-13. p. 13. Retrieved 2024-08-28– via Newspapers.com.
  33. 1 2 3 "Karl Backus | Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved 2024-08-11.
  34. ↑ Chang, Justin (2014-04-26). "Film Review: 'Walking With the Enemy'". Variety . Retrieved 2024-07-31.
  35. ↑ "Actress Denise Richards Takes On Rare Dramatic Role in Award Winning Independent Film, A Life Lived". M2 PressWIRE. 2017-08-14. ProQuest   1928293514 . Retrieved 2024-07-31.
  36. ↑ McAndrews, Mary Beth (2025-09-09). "EXCLUSIVE 'Sincerely Saul' Trailer Reveals The Hells of Suburban Purgatory". Dread Central . Archived from the original on 2025-09-09. Retrieved 2025-09-09.
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.