Patti Karr
{{Short description|American actress (1932–2020)}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Patti Karr
| image = PattiKarr1949.png
| alt = A young white woman with large dark eyes.
| caption = Patti Karr as a young dancer, from a 1949 newspaper.
| other_names =
| birth_name = Patsy Lou Karkalits
| birth_date = July 10, 1932
| birth_place = Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S.
| death_date = July 11, 2020 (aged 88)
| death_place = New York City, U.S.
| occupation = Actress
| years_active = 1950s to 2000s
| known_for =
| notable_works =
| spouse(s) =
| relatives =
}}
Patti Karr (July 10, 1932 – July 11, 2020), born Patsy Lou Karkalits, was an American actress, dancer, and singer in Broadway musicals, and in film and television.
Early life
Patsy Lou Karkalits was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, the daughter of Charles F. Karkalits and Estelle Klebold Karkalits.{{Cite web|last=Gans|first=Andrew|date=August 3, 2020|title=Broadway Actor Patti Karr Dies at 88|url=http://www.playbill.com/article/broadway-actor-patti-karr-dies-at-88|access-date=2020-12-30|website=Playbill|language=en}} Her father was a businessman; her mother died when Patsy was a baby.{{Cite news|date=1933-01-02|title=Funeral Pending for Mrs. C. F. Karkalits|pages=16|work=Fort Worth Star-Telegram|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/66452210/funeral-pending-for-mrs-c-f-karkalits/|access-date=2020-12-31|via=Newspapers.com}} She was raised in Fort Worth, Texas,{{Cite news|last=Brooks|first=Elston|date=1969-08-12|title=Enchanted Evenings Await 'South Pacific' Viewers|pages=6|work=Fort Worth Star-Telegram|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/66458160/enchanted-evenings-await-south/|access-date=2020-12-31|via=Newspapers.com}} where she graduated from Paschal High School and attended Texas Christian University.{{Cite news|last=Adler|first=Dorothy|date=1954-11-10|title=Patti Karkalits|pages=15|work=Fort Worth Star-Telegram|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/66457465/patti-karkalitsdorothy-adler/|access-date=2020-12-31|via=Newspapers.com}}{{Cite news|last=Brooks|first=Elston|date=1967-07-23|title=Paschal Pattie Returns as Patti|pages=77|work=Fort Worth Star-Telegram|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/66458454/paschal-pattie-returns-as-pattielston/|access-date=2020-12-31|via=Newspapers.com}} She began her dancing career in Texas,{{Cite news|date=1947-05-18|title=40 in Dance Recital|pages=46|work=Fort Worth Star-Telegram|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/66457892/40-in-dance-recital/|access-date=2020-12-31|via=Newspapers.com}}{{Cite news|last=Hand|first=Martha|date=1970-07-01|title=Hometown Girl Makes Good: Miss Patti Returns with 'Charity'|pages=1|work=Fort Worth Star-Telegram|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/66467405/hometown-girl-makes-good-miss-patti/|access-date=2020-12-31|via=Newspapers.com}} appearing in the corps de ballet of the Fort Worth Civic Opera.{{Cite news|last=Whitlock|first=Clyde|date=1948-10-31|title=Carmen Ballet Polished Under Eyes of Master|pages=28|work=Fort Worth Star-Telegram|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/66452649/carmen-ballet-polished-under-eyes-of/|access-date=2020-12-31|via=Newspapers.com}}{{Cite news|date=1949-02-11|title=To Dance Sunday|pages=30|work=Fort Worth Star-Telegram|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/66453015/to-dance-sunday/|access-date=2020-12-31|via=Newspapers.com}} She also danced with the Pittsburgh Light Opera, and the Summertime Opera Company in Houston.{{Cite news|last=Halsell|first=Grace|date=1950-09-11|title=Fort Worth Ballerina Signs with Brigadoon|pages=19|work=Fort Worth Star-Telegram|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/66457241/fort-worth-ballerina-signs-with/|access-date=2020-12-31|via=Newspapers.com}}
Career
Karr first appeared on Broadway in 1953 as a dancer in a musical, Maggie. She went on to appear in over twenty Broadway productions, mostly musicals, including Carnival in Flanders (1953), Pipe Dream (1955-1956), Bells Are Ringing (1956-1959), The Body Beautiful (1958), Redhead (1959-1960), Once Upon a Mattress (1959-1960), Bye Bye Birdie (1960-1961),{{Cite web|last=Garcia|first=Kevin Thomas|date=October 21, 2010|title=Photo Coverage: BYE BYE BIRDIE Celebrates 50th Anniversary at Sardi's|url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Photo-Coverage-BYE-BYE-BIRDIE-Celebrates-50th-Anniversary-at-Sardis-20101021|access-date=2020-12-31|website=BroadwayWorld|language=en}} Do Re Mi (1960-1962), Look to the Lilies (1970), A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1972), Different Times (1972), Seesaw (1973), Irene (1973-1974), Pippin (1974-1976), A Broadway Musical (1978), and the 1993 revival of My Fair Lady.{{Cite book|last=Dietz|first=Dan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6NBiAwAAQBAJ&dq=Patti+Karr&pg=PA53|title=The Complete Book of 1960s Broadway Musicals|date=2014-04-10|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=978-1-4422-3072-9|language=en}}{{Cite book|last=Dietz|first=Dan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=12NECgAAQBAJ&dq=Patti+Karr&pg=PA111|title=The Complete Book of 1970s Broadway Musicals|date=2015-09-03|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=978-1-4422-5166-3|language=en}} She was often the understudy of stars, including Chita Rivera, Carol Burnett, Michele Lee, Nancy Walker, and Gwen Verdon.{{Cite news|date=1968-07-10|title=Bells Are Ringing Musical Features Johnson, Karr|pages=6|work=Plano Daily Star-Courier|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/66459135/bells-are-ringing-musical-features/|access-date=2020-12-31|via=Newspapers.com}} She also appeared in off-Broadway plays and musicals, and national touring companies of several shows.{{Cite book|last=Dietz|first=Dan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fgOqZWHCLbUC&dq=Patti+Karr&pg=PA205|title=Off Broadway Musicals, 1910-2007: Casts, Credits, Songs, Critical Reception and Performance Data of More Than 1,800 Shows|date=2010-03-10|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-0-7864-5731-1|language=en}}{{Cite news|last=Corry|first=John|date=February 19, 1980|title=Theater: 'The Housewives' Cantata': Down Musical Years|page=C5|work=The New York Times|via=ProQuest}}{{Cite news|last=Corry|first=John|date=May 15, 1982|title=Theater: A Trio of 'Baseball Wives'|page=13|work=The New York Times|via=ProQuest}}{{Cite news|last=Holden|first=Stephen|date=December 13, 1981|title=Theater: Cole Porter's 'Something for the Boys'|page=94|work=The New York Times|via=ProQuest}} In 1965, she played Anita in a production of West Side Story, when it toured Japan for nine weeks.{{Cite news|date=1965-01-24|title=Civic Light Opera Stars Patti Karr|pages=21|work=The San Bernardino County Sun|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/66458797/civic-light-opera-stars-patti-karr/|access-date=2020-12-31|via=Newspapers.com}}
Karr's film credits included small roles in Mighty Aphrodite (1995), Our Italian Husband (2006), and The Savages (2007). On television, Karr appeared in the soap operas Ryan's Hope, All My Children, Guiding Light, and The Edge of Night,{{Cite web|last=Clifford|first=Kambra|date=August 3, 2020|title=Soap alum Patti Karr has died|url=https://www.soapcentral.com/amc/news/2020/0804-patti_karr_obit.php|access-date=2020-12-30|website=Soap Central|language=en-US}} and had guest roles on dozens of other American series. She played three different roles in the Law & Order franchise. Her final television credit was as a diner patron in the last scene of "Made in America", the final episode of The Sopranos, in 2007.{{Cite web|last=Heffernan|first=Virginia|date=2007-06-11|title='Sopranos' Allegedly Solved, or 'I guess you never hear it coming when it's your turn'|url=https://themedium.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/06/11/sopranos-solved-or-i-guess-you-never-hear-it-coming-when-its-your-turn/|access-date=2020-12-31|website=The Medium|language=en-US}}
Personal life
Karr lived on West End Avenue in New York City.{{Cite news|last=Siegal|first=Nina|date=November 1, 1998|title=A Manhole Not Fit for Men|page=CY7|work=The New York Times|via=ProQuest}} She was injured in a "bizarre accident" in 2017, when strong winds picked up a discarded Christmas tree from the curb, and it hit her in the face as she was walking her dog near her home.{{Cite web|date=2017-01-30|title=Longtime Broadway Actress Hit By Flying Christmas Tree|url=https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2017/01/30/flying-christmas-tree/|access-date=2020-12-30|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|last=Fractenberg|first=Ben|date=January 30, 2017|title=Windblown Christmas Tree Knocks Broadway Actress Unconscious on UWS|url=https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20170130/upper-west-side/patti-karr-christmas-tree-knocked-unconscious|access-date=2020-12-31|website=DNAinfo New York|archive-date=2020-12-31|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201231031327/https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20170130/upper-west-side/patti-karr-christmas-tree-knocked-unconscious/|url-status=dead}} She died in 2020, the day after her 88th birthday.
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|id=0440081}}
- {{IBDB name|id=72644}}
- [http://www.iobdb.com/CreditableEntity/5611 Patti Karr] at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20210519214427/https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2bc6a89563 Patti Karr] at the British Film Institute{{better source needed|reason=Help request: a live link can be searched for at https://collections-search.bfi.org.uk/web/search/expert - if available, replace the archive URL with the live link. Or if none found, remove this 'better source needed' template. | date=October 2023}}
- A 1978 photograph, "Patti Karr, Anne Francine & Gwyda Donhowe in a rehearsal shot fr. the Broadway musical 'A Broadway Musical'", in the Martha Swope Photographs collection of the New York Public Library.
- A 1972 photograph, "Sam Stoneburner as Stephen Adams Levy and Patti Karr as Kimberly Langley in
'Different Times'", in the collection of the Museum of the City of New York.
{{Subject bar|portal1=Biography}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Karr, Patti}}