Just days after Karen Black’s husband provided an update about the her battle with cancer, it’s being reported that the actress has passed away. She was 74.
Stephen Eckelberry posted about his wife’s condition on August 7. Less than 24 hours later, the Burnt Offerings star would lose her battle with the disease .
Eckelberry said on his official blog that the Motion Picture Television Fund helped place Karen Black in a nursing facility following her stay at St. John’s Hospital. With the assistance of friends, family, and fans, the actress’ husband and daughter were able to stay by her side.
“I have given up predicting what is going to happen to Karen. In June family members flew in fearing the worse, but Karen is still here. You look at the scans, they tell you one thing, then you meet Karen, and what you are left with is how amazingly alive she is,” Eckelberry explained in a blog post.
Unfortunately, Karen Black would pass away shortly after his update started making the rounds online. As a fan of the actress’ work, this writer is extremely saddened by the news.
Park Ridge, Illinois native Karen Blanche Ziegler was born on July 1, 1939. An exceptionally gifted student, she enrolled at Northwestern University at the tender age of 15. After two years of study, she made the trek to New York and quickly found work in several off-Broadway productions.
Following her performance in the 1969 classic Easy Rider, Black would earn an Academy Award nomination for her turn as a waitress in the Jack Nicholson drama Five Easy Pieces. She also appeared in such notable films as The Pyx, The Great Gatsby, Nashville, Family Plot, Burnt Offerings, Trilogy of Terror, Capricorn One, and Tobe Hoopers 1986 remake of Invaders from Mars.
Countless fans and co-workers have paid their respects to the late actress on Twitter. You can find some of their reactions to the news embedded below.
This about says it all for me. I was wearing one of my Karen Black t-shirts today, even before I heard the news…. http://t.co/DeWUuzAsMr
— Bruce LaBruce (@BruceLaBruce) August 9, 2013
Tonight I will raise a big frothy one in memory of Karen Black
— Andrew Daintith (@TellySavalas) August 9, 2013
#RIP Karen Black. In your honour, I will watch The Day of the Locust this weekend. Probably House of 1000 Corpses too <3 #MotherFirefly
— Susie (@SiouxsieKate) August 9, 2013
RIP Karen Black, thanks for giving me and my siblings hours of childhood fun watching Airport ’75…
— Owen Duff (@owenduffmusic) August 9, 2013
Karen Black was a one of a kind… I will miss her.
— Traci Lords (@thetracilords) August 9, 2013
Are you a fan of Karen Black ? What’s your favorite movie starring the late actress?
[Image via Phil Stafford / Shutterstock.com ]