Karen Lynn Gorney (born ) is an American actress who had roles in television shows and films including the soap opera ''

All My Children ''All My Children'' (often shortened to ''AMC'') is an American television soap opera that aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from January 5, 1970, to September 23, 2011, and on The Online Network (TOLN) from April 29 to September 2, 20 ...

'' and the movie ''

Saturday Night Fever ''Saturday Night Fever'' is a 1977 American dance drama film directed by John Badham and produced by Robert Stigwood. It stars John Travolta as Tony Manero, a young Italian-American man from the Brooklyn borough of New York. Manero spends his ...

''.

Early life

Gorney's father is

Jay Gorney Jay Gorney (December 12, 1896– June 14, 1990) was an Americans, American theater and film song writer. Life and career Gorney was born Abraham Jacob Gornetzsky on December 12, 1896, in Białystok, Russia (now part of Poland), the son of Fri ...

, who was born in Białystok, Poland, and was a composer who wrote the music for the song about America's

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, "

Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" is one of the best-known American songs of the Great Depression. Written by lyricist Yip Harburg and composer Jay Gorney, it was part of the 1932 musical revue ''Americana''; the melody is based on a Russian-Je ...

" Her family is Jewish. She earned a

Bachelor of Fine Arts A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a standard undergraduate degree for students for pursuing a professional education in the visual, fine or performing arts. It is also called Bachelor of Visual Arts (BVA) in some cases. Background The Bachelor ...

degree from

Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of its predecessors was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools; it became the Carnegie Institute of Technology ...

and a

Master of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts admini ...

from

Brandeis University , mottoeng = "Truth even unto its innermost parts" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = NECHE , president = Ronald D. Liebowitz , pro ...

. Karen is the sister of Daniel Gorney, and half-sister of author, professor, and physician Roderic Gorney, who has taught for many years at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

Career

Early work

Gorney made her film debut as a teenage resident of a mental health treatment center in ''

David and Lisa ''David and Lisa'' is a 1962 American drama film directed by Frank Perry. It is based on the second story in the two-in-one novellas ''Jordi/Lisa and David'' by Theodore Isaac Rubin; the screenplay, written by Frank Perry's wife Eleanor Perry ( ...

'' (1962). Her next work on the big screen came in 1970 with the film ''

The Magic Garden of Stanley Sweetheart ''The Magic Garden of Stanley Sweetheart'' is a 1970 American film made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) about a confused college student's experiences with sex, relationships, and drugs in late 1960s New York City. Produced by Martin Poll and direct ...

''. From 1970 to 1974, Gorney played the role of Tara Martin on the

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

''. After she left the show, Gorney had agreed to return when her replacement, actress/writer Stephanie Braxton, decided to leave the show. She returned for the 1976–1977 season but was eventually fired as Tara and did not return to the show until almost 20 years later. In 1977, Gorney co-starred in her third film, and biggest role to date, as Stephanie Mangano in ''

'', alongside

John Travolta John Joseph Travolta (born February 18, 1954) is an American actor. He came to public attention during the 1970s, appearing on the television sitcom ''Welcome Back, Kotter'' (1975–1979) and starring in the box office successes ''Carrie'' (19 ...

. The next year, she appeared as a celebrity panelist on ''

Hollywood Squares ''Hollywood Squares'' (originally ''The Hollywood Squares'') is an American game show in which two contestants compete in a game of tic-tac-toe to win cash and prizes. The show piloted on NBC in 1965 and the regular series debuted in 1966 on the ...

''.

Return to film, stage, and TV

After a lengthy gap, during which she managed an art gallery in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

, New York, Gorney eventually returned to acting in the early 1990s, appearing in small roles in such films as '' The Hard Way'' (1991), ''

Ripe Réseaux IP Européens (RIPE, French for "European IP Networks") is a forum open to all parties with an interest in the technical development of the Internet. The RIPE community's objective is to ensure that the administrative and technical coo ...

'' (1996), and ''

Creating Karma ''Creating Karma'' is a 2006 American screwball comedy film directed by Jill Wisoff about an uptight, New York fashion editor who becomes a poet after losing her job, moving in with her eccentric new-age therapist sister, and meeting Mr. Wrong, o ...

'' (2006), and returning to ''All My Children'' during 1995 in cameo spots. More recently, she has guest-starred in a number of TV shows, including ''

Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment, launching the '' Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire run on NBC, premiering on ...

'', ''

The Sopranos ''The Sopranos'' is an American Crime film#Crime drama, crime drama television series created by David Chase. The story revolves around Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a New Jersey-based American Mafia, Italian-American mobster, portraying h ...

'', and '' Six Degrees'', as well as doing independent films and off-Broadway shows. Due to her connection with disco music, and her popular role in ''Saturday Night Fever'', she has been featured on a number of disco documentaries and specials, including '' Get Down Tonight: The Disco Explosion'', which she co-hosted with ''Saturday Night Fever'' choreographer

Deney Terrio Denis George Mahan (born June 15, 1950), better known as Deney Terrio, is an American choreographer and hosted the television musical variety series ''Dance Fever'' from 1979 to 1985. Early life and career Raised in Titusville, Florida, Terrio ...

for

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

. During the show, Gorney and Terrio dance to Bee Gees' hit single " More Than a Woman" as she did with co-star John Travolta in ''Saturday Night Fever'' back in 1977. She appeared on VH1's ''

When Disco Ruled the World ''When Disco Ruled the World'' is a music documentary that aired on VH1 in 2005. Overview The series documented the impact that disco music had on popular culture in the 1970s. The show featured several disco innovators and people related to t ...

'' and was interviewed for the disco video documentary ''Disco: Spinning the Story''. In 1997, Gorney had an uncredited role as an announcer in the film 'Men in Black.' She appeared in the UK on

ITV1 ITV1 (formerly known as ITV) is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the British media company ITV plc. It provides the Channel 3 public broadcast service across all of the United Kingdom except for t ...

's lunchtime programme ''

Loose Women ''Loose Women'' (previously known as ''Live Talk'' from 2000 to 2001) is a British talk show that broadcasts on ITV1 weekdays from 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm. The show focuses on a panel of four female presenters who interview celebrities, talk about ...

'' (a topical debate programme from a woman's perspective) on 28 September 2007, helping to promote the 30th anniversary of the launch of the film ''Saturday Night Fever'' and the Bee Gees's new ''Greatest Hits'' album. She was featured in the role of the Judge in the 2008

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

feature film A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

'' Dear J''. Gorney is a long-time resident of New York City. In 2008, she appeared in the stage production ''Monsterface'' at the Irish Rep Theater. In October 2010, Gorney performed the role of "Belaria" in Frog and Peach Theatre Company's production of ''

Cymbeline ''Cymbeline'' , also known as ''The Tragedie of Cymbeline'' or ''Cymbeline, King of Britain'', is a play by William Shakespeare set in British Iron Age, Ancient Britain () and based on legends that formed part of the Matter of Britain concerni ...

'' at the

West End Theatre West End theatre is mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres in and near the West End of London.Christopher Innes, "West End" in ''The Cambridge Guide to Theatre'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998), pp. 1194–1 ...

, in

Manhattan, New York Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

Music

Along with her acting work, Gorney is a singer and has released three albums: ''Used to Love You Madly'', ''Hot Moonlight!'', and ''The Dance of the Deadly's''. She has performed at various jazz clubs and cafes.

Filmography

Films

Television

Discography

References

External links

* *
Official site for Karen Lynn Gorney
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gorney, Karen Lynn 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses Actresses from Beverly Hills, California American film actresses American soap opera actresses American stage actresses American television actresses American voice actresses Brandeis University alumni Carnegie Mellon University College of Fine Arts alumni Living people Jewish American actresses Year of birth missing (living people)