Karen Kondazian
| Karen Kondazian | |
|---|---|
 Karen Kondazian, 2012 | |
| Born |
Karen Kondazian January 27, 1950 Newton, Massachusetts |
| Alma mater | San Francisco State College, University of Vienna, London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art |
| Occupation | Actor, Novelist |
| Website | http://www.karen-kondazian.com |
Karen Kondazian (born January 27, 1950 in Newton, Massachusetts) is an American award-winning actress and author.[1][2] She is a recipient of the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award's Best Actress award and is a four-time Drama-Logue Awards winner. She had a recurring role in CBS' Shannon, as well guest starring roles on Wiseguy, Frasier and NYPD Blue, among others.
Life and career
Karen Kondazian attended Abraham Lincoln High School, and received a B.A. from San Francisco State College, and graduated from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.[3] She began working in theater, starring in productions such as The Rose Tattoo and Master Class.[4]
As a child, she appeared on Art Linkletter's Kids Say the Darndest Things[5] She was also engaged to actor Lex Barker.
She won the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award's Best Actress award for her role in the Tennessee Williams play The Rose Tattoo and four Drama-Logue Awards for Sweet Bird of Youth (1980), Lady House Blues (1981), Vieux Carré (1983) and Tamara (1985).[6] Kondazian met Williams at a Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle luncheon honoring him, and Williams reportedly allowed Kondazian to produce any of his plays.[7] She was also nominated for an Ovation Best Actress Award in Master Class.
Her work on the stage lead to numerous TV and film roles, including a recurring role the CBS series Shannon as Irene Lokatelli, and guest starring roles in Wiseguy, Frasier, NYPD Blue and the TV biopic James Dean. She can also be seen in Yes, Giorgio and Cobra.
In 2000 Kondazian wrote the reference work The Actors Encyclopedia of Casting Directors and The Whip in 2012, published by the Hansen Publishing Group, a historical novel about stagecoach driver Charley Parkhurst. The Whip was well reviewed for its historical accuracy and story.[8][9]
Kondazian is a member of the Actors Studio and the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.[10]
Theatre work
| Year | Production | Role | Awards/Nominations/Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | Richard II (Ahmanson Theatre, LA) | Queen’s Lady in Waiting | |
| 1974 | Hamlet (Mark Taper Forum Theater, LA) | Gertrude’s Lady in Waiting | |
| 1978-79 | The Rose Tattoo (Beverly Hills Playhouse) | Serafina | Winner – Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award – Best Actress |
| 1980 | Sweet Bird of Youth (Gene Darnyasky Theater, LA) | Princess Kosmonopolis | Winner – Drama-Logue Award |
| 1981 | Lady House Blues (South Coast Repertory Theater) | Liz Madden | Winner – Drama-Logue Award |
| 1983 | Vieux Carré (Beverly Hills Playhouse) | Mrs. Wire | Winner – LA Weekly Theater Award – Best Actress Winner – Drama-Logue Award |
| 1984 | Broken Eggs (Ensemble Studio Theatre, NY) | Sonia | |
| 1985-86 | Tamara (Il Vittoriale, LA) | Aelis | Winner - Drama-Logue Award |
| 1987 | The Night of the Iguana (Old Globe Theatre, SD) | Maxine | |
| 1989 | Freedomland (South Coast Repertory Theater) | Claude | play (Nominated) – Pulitzer Prize |
| Mixed Blessings (Coconut Grove Playhouse) | Velia Martinez | ||
| 1991 | Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Berkeley Repertory Theatre) | Martha | Nominated - San Francisco Drama Critics Circle Award – Best Actress |
| 1996 | Orpheus Descending (The Fountain Theatre, LA) | Lady | Nominated – Ovation Award – Best Actress |
| 2000 | The Night of the Iguana (The Fountain Theatre, LA) | Maxine | Winner – Back Stage Garland Award |
| 2003-04 | Master Class (The Fountain Theatre, LA), (Odyssey Theater, LA), (Lobero Theatre, SB) |
Maria Callas | Winner – Ovation Award – Best Production of the Year Winner – Back Stage Garland Award Winner - Maddy Award Winner - Entertainment Today Award - Best Actress |
| 2005 | Kissing Fidel (42nd Street Theater, NY) | Miriam | [11] |
| 2007 | The Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore (The Fountain Theatre, LA) | Mrs. Goford | Nominated – LA Weekly Theater Award – Best Actress |
| 2016 | Baby Doll (The Fountain Theatre, LA) | Aunt Rose Comfort | |
Filmography
| Year | Film | Role | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Yes, Giorgio | Francesca Giordano | |
| 1986 | Cobra | Nurse Irene | |
| 1995 | Steal Big Steal Little | Mrs. Agopian | |
| 1998 | My Brother Jack | Rose Casale | |
| 2007 | The Blue Hour | Tello | |
| 2009 | The Shift | Sophia | |
TV Roles
| Year | Film | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | David L. Wolper’s Appointment With Destiny | Kate Elder Holliday | 1 Episode Showdown at O.K. Corral |
[12] |
| The Hound of the Baskervilles | Mrs. Mortimer | TV movie - starring Stewart Granger | ||
| 1973 | The Waltons | Franzia | 1 Episode The Gypsies | |
| 1980 | A Rumor of War | Mrs. Modesta | TV movie | |
| 1981 | The Gangster Chronicles (recurring) | Mrs. Luciano | Mini-series (NBC) Lucky Luciano | |
| 1982 | Shannon | Irene Locatelli | 9 Episodes (CBS) John's Awakening Beating The Prime Favor For An Enemy Copscam Curtain Calls Secret Rage The Untouchable Neither A Borrower Gotham Swansong | |
| Hill Street Blues | Widow Alessi | 1 Episode The Shooter | ||
| 1986 | Cagney and Lacey | Mrs. Arroyo | 1 Episode Capitalism | |
| 1987 | Moonlighting | Margaret Renborn | 1 Episode Poltergeist III - Dipesto Nothing | |
| Walt Disney's Bride of Boogedy | Madeleinska | TV Movie | ||
| 1988 | Wiseguy | Linda DeSica | 1 Episode Aria for Don Aiuppo | |
| 1990 | Ferris Bueller | Marjorie Ganesha | 1 Episode Ferris Bueller Can't Win | |
| 1991 | Murder She Wrote | Rosalee Rossari | 1 Episode Lines of Excellence | |
| 1992 | Baywatch | Bella | 1 Episode Summer of '85 | |
| Mortal Sins | Rose Croce | TV movie | ||
| 1995 | The Ellen Show | Gypsy Fortune Teller | 1 Episode Ellen's Choice | |
| Land's End | Mrs. Commandante | Pilot El Perico | ||
| 1997 | Tracey Takes On... | Casaba Woman | 1 Episode Sex | |
| 2000 | Frasier | Adrianna Pettibone | 2 Episodes And The Dish Ran Away With The Spoon - Part 1 And The Dish Ran Away With The Spoon - Part 2 | |
| 2001 | James Dean | Mrs. Pierangeli | (TNT) TV movie | |
| 2002 | NYPD Blue | Mrs. Kilik | 1 Episode Oh, Mama! | |
| 2005 | McBride: The Doctor Is Out... Really Out | Nurse Williams | (Hallmark Channel) TV movie | |
| 2009 | The Bill Engvall Show | Fatima | 1 Episode The Way We Were | |
Bibliography
Video game
Kondazian's likeness has been used in the Video Game Zork Nemesis
| Year | Name of Game | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Zork Nemesis | Female patient (Maria) #2 |
Awards
Acting
- Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Actress, The Rose Tattoo (1979)
- Drama-Logue Award for Sweet Bird of Youth (1980)
- Drama-Logue Award for Lady House Blues (1981)
- LA Weekly Theater Award for Best Actress, Vieux Carré (1983)
- Drama-Logue Award for Vieux Carré (1983)
- Drama-Logue Award for Tamara (1985)
- Back Stage Garland Award for The Night of the Iguana (2000)
- Ovation Award for Master Class, Best Production of the Year (2004)
- Back Stage Garland Award for Master Class (2004)
- Maddy Award for Master Class (2004)
- Entertainment Today Award for Best Actress for Master Class (2004)
Writing
- 2014 Readers Favorite Gold Medal Prize for Winner Best Western Fiction The Whip [17]
- 2013 Global Ebook Awards First Place - Winner Best Historical Fiction The Whip[18]
- USA Book News Award for Best Historical Fiction for The Whip (2012)[19]
- National Indie Excellence Award for Best Western for The Whip (2013)[20]
- International Book Award for Best Western for The Whip (2013)[21]
References
- ↑ Riggs, Thomas (2001). Contemporary Theatre, Film and Television. Gale Group. p. 187. ISBN 0787646393.
- ↑ "New novel details legendary Watsonville woman's life". KSBW. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
- ↑ "Karen Kondazian". Lincoln Alumni. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
- ↑ Cuthbert, David. "'A Witch and a Bitch' to the rescue". Retrieved 18 July 2013.
- ↑ Pachelli, Nick. "Was Legendary Stagecoach Driver Charlie Parkhurst Gay or Trans?". The Advocate. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
- ↑ "1969 – 1979 Awards". Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
- ↑ Koehler, Robert. "Working in L.A., Living Tennessee". The LA Times. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
- ↑ Kondazian, Karen (June 14, 2012). "Karen Kondazian interviewed on KRON 4 San Francisco with Jan Wahl". KRON 4 Morning News (Interview). Interview with Jan Wahl. San Francisco: KRON.
- ↑ "Review: The Whip". The Historical Novel Society. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
- ↑ "Author Karen Kondazian Discusses Her New Book 'The Whip'". KCAL9. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
- ↑ Isherwood, Charles (September 22, 2005). "Planting Big Wet Ones on the Face of Cuba". New York Times. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
- ↑ David L. Wolper Official Website APPOINTMENT WITH DESTINY (1971-1973)
- ↑ "A Good Read: The Whip". CBS. Retrieved 29 September 2012.
- ↑ "Author Karen Kondazian Discusses Her New Book 'The Whip'". CBS. Retrieved 29 September 2012.
- ↑ "Fiction Reviews, November 1, 2011". Library Journal. Retrieved 29 September 2012.
- ↑ "BookRadio Show Premieres in Santa Monica". MediaBistro. Retrieved 23 November 2012.
- ↑ "2014 Readers Favorite Award Contest Winners".
- ↑ "2013 Global Ebook Awards Winners".
- ↑ "The USA Best Book Awards (2012 Winners)". USA Book News. Retrieved 23 November 2012.
- ↑ "WINNERS OF THE 2013 AWARDS!". National Indie Excellence Award. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
- ↑ "2013 International Book Awards". International Book Awards. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
External links
- Karen Kondazian at the Internet Movie Database
- Official website
- The Whip Official website
- KCAL9 Interviews Karen Kondazian
- Karen Kondazian featured in ABC/NBC Monterey