Karen Akers

Karen Akers
Born Karen Orth-Pallavicini
(1945-10-13) October 13, 1945
New York City, New York, U.S.
Alma mater Manhattanville College
Hunter College
Years active 1984–present
Spouse(s) Jim Akers (1968–mid-1980s)
Kevin Power (1993–present)
Children 2
Website Official website

Karen Akers (born October 13, 1945) is an American actress and singer, who has appeared on Broadway, and in cabaret and film.

Early life

She was born Karen Orth-Pallavicini in New York City on October 13, 1945. Her immigrant father, Heinnick Christian Orth-Pallavicini, was of Austrian and Swiss-Italian heritage. He was reportedly a member of the European nobility family Pallavicino who dropped his title when he came to America. Her American-born mother, Mary Louise (née Adams), a chaplain,[1] had Russian, Norwegian, and French forebears on one side of her family and Scotch-Irish ones on the other. Her younger sister, Nicole Orth-Pallavicini, is also an actress. Another younger sister, Marie Orth-Pallavicini, is married to David Baker Cadman, a grandson of John Cadman, 1st Baron Cadman.[2] Akers graduated from Manhattanville College.

Career

Akers first appeared on Broadway in the original production of Nine, a musical directed by Tommy Tune and based on the Federico Fellini film 8½, as Luisa Contini, the wife of promiscuous film director Guido Contini (played by Raúl Juliá). The show opened May 9, 1982, and had a successful run of 732 performances, closing February 4, 1984. Akers won a Theatre World Award for her performance. She was one of three actresses in the show nominated for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical, with the award eventually going to fellow cast member Liliane Montevecchi.

In 1985 Karen appeared in such feature films as Woody Allen's The Purple Rose of Cairo as a celluloid chanteuse, and in Heartburn (as the mistress of Jack Nicholson's character).

She appeared on Broadway in Grand Hotel, a musical adaptation of the novel and film, scored by Robert Wright, George Forrest, and Maury Yeston. In Grand Hotel Akers was reunited with Nine director Tommy Tune and Nine cast members Liliane Motevecchi and Kathi Moss. The show opened November 12, 1989, for a run of 1,018 performances, through April 19, 1992.

Akers covered "Sooner or Later" in her 1991 album Unchained Melodies, a song written for Madonna by Stephen Sondheim the year before.[3]

Personal life

On September 19, 1993, Karen married Kevin Patrick Power, vice president of the satellite communications company Orion Network Systems, in a Roman Catholic ceremony at St. Paul's Chapel Columbia University in New York.[4] It was her second marriage. She has two sons from her first marriage to Jim Akers in 1968,[5] which ended in divorce.

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1985 The Purple Rose of Cairo Kitty Haynes Also on the soundtrack, uncredited, performing "One Day at a Time".
1986 Heartburn Thelma Rice
1988 Vibes Hillary

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1984 Hart to Hart Raquel Moskowitz TV Series; 1 episode: "Whispers in the Wings"
1985 The Equalizer Cynthia TV Series; 1 episode: "China Rain"
1987 Cheers Sally TV Series; 1 episode: "My Fair Clavin"
1991 Today Herself TV Series; 1 episode: "Episode dated 5 November 1991"
1983–1997 Great Performances Herself TV Series; 2 episodes:
  • "Ellington: The Music Lives On" (1983)
  • "Ira Gershwin at 100: A Celebration at Carnegie Hall" (1997)

DVD Concert Films

Partial discography

References

  1. ↑ http://www.filmreference.com/film/6/Karen-Akers.html
  2. ↑ thepeerage.com Retrieved on July 6, 2007
  3. ↑ "Karen Akers "Sooner or Later"". CD Universe. Retrieved May 2, 2009.
  4. ↑ http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE5D91131F933A1575AC0A965958260 Query.nytimes.com Retrieved on 05-09-07
  5. ↑ 'On "The Worldly Wise World of Karen Akers - NY Times'nytimes.com Retrieved on 02-03-13
  6. ↑ "Karen Akers: On Stage At Wolf Trap". view.com. Retrieved October 20, 2013.
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