Karen Valentine
| Karen Valentine | |
|---|---|
Valentine with Lloyd Haynes in Room 222 (1970)
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| Born |
Karen Lynne Valentine May 25, 1947 Sebastopol, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1964–2004 |
| Spouse(s) | Gary Verna (1977-present) Carl MacLaughlin (1969-1973; divorced) |
Karen Lynne Valentine (born May 25, 1947) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as the idealistic schoolteacher Alice Johnson in the ABC comedy drama series Room 222 from 1969 to 1974, for which she won Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 1970, and received Golden Globe Award nomination in 1971. She later went to star in own short-lived sitcom Karen (1975), and played female leading roles in films Hot Lead and Cold Feet (1978) and The North Avenue Irregulars (1979).
Valentine grew up in Sebastopol, California and won a spot representing California at the Miss Teenage America pageant, where she was awarded the Talent Award. Valentine was Miss Sonoma County and Top 10 at Miss California, state finals to Miss America. When Ed Sullivan saw her act (where she would comically dance in a flamboyant costume while lip-synching to Eydie Gormé's "Blame it on the Bossa Nova"), he was quoted as saying, "I want that girl on my show."
In 1966-1967, she started her television career as "The Resident Dream Girl" on The Dream Girl of 1967, replacing Beverly Adams from the first weekday broadcast opposite hosts Dick Stewart and Wink Martindale, and during that time she appeared on another Chuck Barris show, The Dating Game.
In 1969, Valentine won her breakthrough role as a new teacher on the ABC television series Room 222 with Lloyd Haynes and Michael Constantine. She was discovered by Gene Reynolds, the director of Room 222, who saw her lip-synching in rehearsal and saw that she was funny. She was nominated twice for an Emmy and once for a Golden Globe, winning an Emmy in 1970 for Outstanding Actress in a Supporting Role.
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