James Karen Biography

Fast Facts

• Served in the United States Air Force during World War II
• Made his Broadway debut in the original production of A Streetcar Named Desire in 1947
• Appeared in the 1965 Buster Keaton movie Film; received the Buster Award from the International Buster Keaton Society in 2001 for his close professional and personal friendships with Buster and Eleanor Keaton
• In 1968, he became a spokesperson for Pathmark supermarkets
• Presented with a Life Career Award by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films in 1998
• Had a role as Martha Kent's friend in Superman Returns (2006), but his scenes were edited out of the film's theatrical release
• Touched on his character-actor status in a 2006 interview about the DVD release of the cult hit Frankenstein Meets the Space Monster (1965), explaining, "It was the first and last time I played the lead in a picture
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