Katherine Victoria Walsh (April 11, 1947 – October 7, 1970) was an American

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a Character (arts), character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek ...

best known for her performance as Lulu in

Roger Corman Roger William Corman (born April 5, 1926) is an American film director, producer, and actor. He has been called "The Pope of Pop Cinema" and is known as a trailblazer in the world of independent film. Many of Corman's films are based on works t ...

's movie '' The Trip'' ( 1967).

Early life

Walsh was born on April 11, 1947 in

Kenton County, Kentucky Kenton County is a county located in the northern part of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 169,064, making it the third most populous county in Kentucky (behind Jefferson County and Fayette County). It ...

, (or South Fort Mitchell, Kentucky, to Martha and Thomas Walsh. Her father, Thomas Walsh (died 1965), was President of the Atlantic Underwriters Agency. He was killed in the November 8, 1965 crash of American Airlines Flight 383 in

Boone County, Kentucky Boone County is a county located in the northern part of the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 135,968, making it the fourth-most populous county in Kentucky. Its county seat is Burlington. The county was formed ...

. She was the family's oldest child, and she had two brothers and two sisters. Walsh attended

Villa Madonna Academy The Benedictine Sisters of St. Walburg Monastery is a Roman Catholic congregation of women. whose motherhouse, St. Walburg Monastery, is located at Villa Madonna, in Villa Hills, Kentucky. It was founded in 1859 by three sisters of the Benedictine c ...

Dixie Heights High School Dixie Heights High School is a 6-A high school located at 3010 Dixie Highway in Edgewood, Kentucky, United States, but has a mailing address of Fort Mitchell. History The school was built by the Works Progress Administration. It opened for cla ...

, the

Royal Academy of Dramatic Art The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA; ) is a drama school in London, England, that provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London, close to the Sen ...

London, England London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major s ...

, and the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

. Walsh was discovered at Paramount Studios by a

William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was a British textile designer, poet, artist, novelist, architectural conservationist, printer, translator and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts Movement. He ...

agent while she was having lunch with a girlfriend. The agent took Walsh to Columbia, where she read scenes, had an interview, and had a screen test. Columbia signed her under a then-new expanded talent program. She was 17 at the time, and Judge Ben Koenig of Los Angeles Superior Court approved the long-term contract.

Career

Walsh made her acting debut in the 1966 film '' The Chase''. She went on to guest star in various shows such as ''

The Monkees The Monkees were an American rock and pop band, formed in Los Angeles in 1966, whose lineup consisted of the American actor/musicians Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork alongside English actor/singer Davy Jones. The group was conc ...

'' (in the debut episode, "Royal Flush"), '' The Virginian'', and ''

Daniel Boone Daniel Boone (September 26, 1820) was an American pioneer and frontiersman whose exploits made him one of the first folk heroes of the United States. He became famous for his exploration and settlement of Kentucky, which was then beyond the we ...

''. Walsh is best known for the last professional acting assignment of her career, as Lulu in '' The Trip'' ( 1967), starring

Dennis Hopper Dennis Lee Hopper (May 17, 1936 – May 29, 2010) was an American actor, filmmaker and photographer. He attended the Actors Studio, made his first television appearance in 1954, and soon after appeared in ''Giant'' (1956). In the next ten years ...

and

Peter Fonda Peter Henry Fonda (February 23, 1940 – August 16, 2019) was an American actor. He was the son of Henry Fonda, younger brother of Jane Fonda, and father of Bridget Fonda. He was a prominent figure in the counterculture of the 1960s. Fond ...

, written by

Jack Nicholson John Joseph Nicholson (born April 22, 1937) is an American retired actor and filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of all time. In many of his films, he played rebels against the social structure. He received numerous ...

, and directed by

Death

On October 7, 1970, Walsh died while at a small party in her

flat Flat or flats may refer to: Architecture * Flat (housing), an apartment in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and other Commonwealth countries Arts and entertainment * Flat (music), a symbol () which denotes a lower pitch * Flat (soldier), ...

Kensington Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West End of London, West of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up b ...

, an area in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. The Coroner's report in London returned an open verdict because of insufficient evidence, concluding death was due to alcohol and barbiturate poisoning, but that it had been impossible to establish whether the death was due to suicide or accident.

References

External links

* *
Legends of London
1947 births 1970 deaths 20th-century American actresses Actresses from Kentucky Alcohol-related deaths in England Alumni of RADA Alumni of University College London American film actresses American television actresses Barbiturates-related deaths Unsolved deaths in England {{US-screen-actor-1940s-stub

Early life

Career

Death

See also

References

External links