Karen Valentine (born May 25, 1947) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as young idealistic schoolteacher Alice Johnson in the ABC comedy drama series ''

Room 222 ''Room 222'' is an American comedy-drama television series produced by 20th Century Fox Television that aired on ABC for 112 episodes, from September 17, 1969 until January 11, 1974. The show was broadcast on Wednesday evenings at 8:30 ( EST) fo ...

'' from 1969 to 1974, for which she won the

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series This is a list of winners and nominees of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. In early Primetime Emmy Award ceremonies, the supporting categories were not always genre-, or even gender-, specific. Begi ...

in 1970, and received a

Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...

nomination in 1971. She later went to star in her own short-lived sitcom ''

Karen Karen may refer to: * Karen (name), a given name and surname * Karen (slang), a term and meme for a demanding woman displaying certain behaviors People * Karen people, an ethnic group in Myanmar and Thailand ** Karen languages or Karenic l ...

'' (1975), and played leading roles in the Disney films ''

Hot Lead and Cold Feet ''Hot Lead and Cold Feet'' (originally titled ''Welcome to Bloodshy'') is a 1978 American comedy-Western film produced by Walt Disney Productions and starring Jim Dale, Karen Valentine, Don Knotts, Jack Elam and Darren McGavin. It was release ...

'' (1978) and ''

The North Avenue Irregulars ''The North Avenue Irregulars'' is a 1979 American comedy crime film produced by Walt Disney Productions, distributed by Buena Vista Distribution Company, and starring Edward Herrmann, Barbara Harris, Karen Valentine and Susan Clark. Don Tait ...

'' (1979).

Early life

Valentine was born in

Sebastopol, California Sebastopol ( ) is a city in Sonoma County, in California with a recorded population of 7,521, per the 2020 U.S. Census. Sebastopol was once primarily a plum and apple-growing region. Today, wine grapes are the predominant agriculture crop, a ...

, in 1947. She is of Portuguese heritage, and her grandfather changed the family name from Valentin before her birth.

Career

In 1966–1967, she started her television career as "The Resident Dream Girl" on '' The Dream Girl of 1967'', replacing

Beverly Adams Beverly Sassoon (born ) is a Canadian-American actress and author. Early life Adams was born in Alberta, Canada, but was a citizen of the United States. She is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Wayne Adams. Raised Roman Catholic, she moved with her ...

from the first weekday broadcast opposite hosts Dick Stewart and

Wink Martindale Winston Conrad "Wink" Martindale (born December 4, 1933) is an American disc jockey, radio personality, game show host, and television producer. In his six-decade career, he is best known for hosting ''Gambit'' from 1972 to 1976 (and again from ...

, and during that time, she appeared on another

Chuck Barris Charles Hirsch Barris (June 3, 1929 – March 21, 2017) was an American game show creator, producer, and host. Barris was known for hosting ''The Gong Show'' and creating ''The Dating Game'' and ''The Newlywed Game''. He was also a songwrite ...

show, ''

The Dating Game ''The Dating Game'' is an American television game show that first aired on December 20, 1965, and was the first of many shows created and packaged by Chuck Barris from the 1960s through the 1980s. ABC dropped the show on July 6, 1973, but it c ...

''.

Karen Valentine Lloyd Haynes Room 222 1970

In 1969, Valentine won her breakthrough role as a student teacher and then a new teacher on the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

television series ''Room 222'' with

Lloyd Haynes Samuel Lloyd Haynes (September 19, 1934 – January 1, 1987) was an American actor, best known for his starring role in the Emmy Award-winning series ''Room 222''. Biography A native of South Bend, Indiana, Haynes served in the U.S. Marines from ...

Denise Nicholas Denise Donna Nicholas (born July 12, 1944) is an American actress, author, and social activist. Nicholas is known primarily for her roles as high-school guidance counselor Liz McIntyre on the ABC comedy-drama series ''Room 222'' and Councilwoma ...

, and

Michael Constantine Michael Constantine (born Gus Efstratiou (Ευστρατίου); May 22, 1927 – August 31, 2021) was an American actor. He is most widely recognized for his portrayal of Kostas "Gus" Portokalos, the Windex bottle-toting Greek father of Toula ...

. She was discovered by

Gene Reynolds Eugene Reynolds Blumenthal (April 4, 1923 – February 3, 2020) was an American screenwriter, director, producer, and actor. He was one of the developers and producers of the TV series ''M*A*S*H''. Early life Reynolds was born on April 4, 1923, ...

, the director of ''Room 222'', who saw her lip-synching in rehearsal and realized she was funny. She was nominated twice for an

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

and once for a

Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...

, winning an Emmy in 1970 for Outstanding Actress in a Supporting Role. Valentine later starred in her own television series, ''

'', in 1975. She played

Gidget Gidget () is a fictional character created by author Frederick Kohner (based on his teenaged daughter, Kathy) in his 1957 novel, ''Gidget, the Little Girl with Big Ideas''. The novel follows the adventures of a teenaged girl and her surfing fri ...

in the 1969 film ''

Gidget Grows Up ''Gidget Grows Up'' is a 1969 American made-for-television comedy film directed by James Sheldon with stars Karen Valentine, Edward Mulhare and Paul Petersen as well as alphabetically listed special guest stars Warner Anderson, Bob Cummings, Nina ...

'', and the title role in the critically acclaimed true story ''Muggable Mary, Street Cop'' (1982). Valentine appeared in many other movies for television including ''

The Daughters of Joshua Cabe ''The Daughters of Joshua Cabe'' is a 1972 American made-for-television Western film directed by Philip Leacock. The story is about an aging homesteader in the Old West who needs children to help him establish his claim on his property. With his ...

'' (1972); ''

Coffee, Tea or Me? ''Coffee, Tea or Me?'' is a book of purported memoirs by the fictitious stewardesses Trudy Baker and Rachel Jones, written by the initially uncredited Donald Bain and first published in 1967. The book depicts the anecdotal lives of two lusty yo ...

'' (1973); ''The Girl Who Came Gift-Wrapped'' (1974); ''

Murder at the World Series ''Murder at the World Series'' is a 1977 American TV movie starring Lynda Day George, Murray Hamilton, and Karen Valentine and directed by Andrew V. McLaglen. Plot A psychopath, once rejected for membership of the Houston Astros, plans reveng ...

'' (1977); ''Go West, Young Girl'' (1978); and ''Skeezer'' (1982). Valentine was a semi-regular on ''

The 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 Television pilot, piloted on NBC in 1965 and the regular series debut ...

'' from 1971 to 1977 on both NBC-TV and in syndication, often trading quips with

Paul Lynde Paul Edward Lynde (; June 13, 1926January 10, 1982) was an American comedian, actor and game show panelist. A character actor with a distinctively campy and snarky persona that often poked fun at his barely closeted homosexuality, Lynde was well ...

. She guest-starred on many series, including ''

Starsky & Hutch ''Starsky & Hutch'' is an American action television series, which consisted of a 72-minute pilot movie (originally aired as a ''Movie of the Week'' entry) and 92 episodes of 50 minutes each. The show was created by William Blinn (inspired by th ...

''; ''

Baretta ''Baretta'' is an American detective television series which ran on ABC from 1975 to 1978. The show was a revised and milder version of a 1973–1974 ABC series, '' Toma'', starring Tony Musante as chameleon-like, real-life New Jersey police ...

''; ''

McMillan & Wife ''McMillan & Wife'' (known simply as ''McMillan'' from 1976–77) is an American police procedural television series that aired on NBC from September 17, 1971, to April 24, 1977. Starring Rock Hudson and Susan Saint James in the title roles, the ...

''; ''

Cybill ''Cybill'' is an American television sitcom created by Chuck Lorre, which aired on CBS from January 2, 1995, to July 13, 1998. Starring Cybill Shepherd, the show revolves around the life of Cybill Sheridan, a twice-divorced single mother of tw ...

''; and ''

Murder, She Wrote ''Murder, She Wrote'' is an American crime drama television series, created by Peter S. Fischer, Richard Levinson and William Link, starring Angela Lansbury, and produced and distributed by Universal Television for the CBS network. The series f ...

''; as well as multiple episodes of ''

The Love Boat ''The Love Boat'' is an American romantic comedy/drama television series that aired on ABC from 1977 to 1986; in addition, four three-hour specials aired in 1986, 1987, and 1990. The series was set on the luxury passenger cruise ship MS ''Pac ...

'' and ''

Love, American Style ''Love, American Style'' is an anthology comedy television series that aired on ABC from 1969 to 1974. The series was produced by Paramount Television. During the 1971–72 and 1972–73 seasons, it was a part of ABC's Friday primetime lineup ...

''. She had a starring role in the 25th episode of the third season of the 1985 revival of ''

The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology television series created by Rod Serling. The episodes are in various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dystopian fiction, suspense, horror, su ...

'', entitled "Many, Many Monkeys". Her feature films include ''

Forever Young, Forever Free ''Forever Young, Forever Free'' (original South African title: ''e'Lollipop'') is a 1975 South African drama film directed by Ashley Lazarus and starring José Ferrer and Karen Valentine. Plot A white orphan, Jannie, is dropped off at an orphan ...

'' (1975); ''

'' (1978); ''

''; (1979) and '' The Power Within'' (1995). She also has had many leading roles in made-for-television movies. Valentine has continued to work in television and on stage. She co-starred with

John Larroquette John Bernard Larroquette (; born November 25, 1947) is an American actor. He is known for his starring roles in the NBC military drama series '' Baa Baa Black Sheep'' (1976–1978), the NBC sitcom ''Night Court'' (1984–1992; for which he recei ...

in a 2004

Hallmark Channel The Hallmark Channel is an American television channel owned by Crown Media Holdings, Inc., which in turn is owned by Hallmark Cards, Inc. The channel's programming is primarily targeted at families, and features a mix of television movies and ...

TV movie, ''

Wedding Daze ''Wedding Daze'' (also known as ''The Pleasure of Your Company'' and ''The Next Girl I See'') is a 2006 American romantic comedy film written and directed by Michael Ian Black and starring Jason Biggs and Isla Fisher. Plot Against the advice ...

''. She has starred on stage in many productions, including ''

Romantic Comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...

'' on Broadway and National Tour, ''Breaking Legs'' Off-Broadway and National Tour, and the Los Angeles production of ''

Steel Magnolias ''Steel Magnolias'' is a 1989 American comedy-drama film directed by Herbert Ross and starring Academy Award winner Sally Field, Dolly Parton, Shirley MacLaine, Daryl Hannah, Olympia Dukakis and Julia Roberts. The picture is a film adaptation ...

''.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Valentine, Karen Living people American film actresses American television actresses American people of Portuguese descent Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series Primetime Emmy Award winners 1947 births 21st-century American women