Karen Lynn Gorney (born January 28, 1945)Gorney, Sondra (2005).
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?: The Life of Composer Jay Gorney
'. Lanham, MD: The Scarecrow Press. p. 40. . "Florence had wanted a son for me. But she looked at me and declared, 'Honey, girls are nice, too.' So that is how my Karen Lynn Gorney was ushered into the world on January 28, 1945. She was destined to be an actress." is an American actress who had roles in television shows and films including the soap opera ''

All My Children ''All My Children'' (often shortened to ''AMC'') is an American television soap opera that aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from January 5, 1970, to September 23, 2011, and on The Online Network (TOLN) from April 29 to September 2, 2 ...

'' and the movie ''

Saturday Night Fever ''Saturday Night Fever'' is a 1977 American Dance in film, dance Drama (film and television), drama film directed by John Badham and produced by Robert Stigwood. It stars John Travolta as Tony Manero, a young Italian Americans, Italian-America ...

''.

Early life

Born in Los Angeles and raised in New York City, Gorney was one of three children of

Jay Gorney Jay Gorney (December 12, 1896– June 14, 1990) was an American theater and film song writer. Life and career Gorney was born Abraham Jacob Gornetzsky on December 12, 1896, in Białystok, Russia (now part of Poland), the son of Frieda (Perls ...

,"Karen Lynn Gorney Fired Her Agent, Got the Job and Is a 'Hot Property'"
''The Baltimore Sun''. February 3, 1978. p. 25. Retrieved August 20, 2023. the Polish-born composer who wrote the music for the song about America's

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

, " Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" Her family is Jewish. She attended the

High School of Performing Arts The High School of Performing Arts (informally known as "PA") was a public alternative high school established in 1947 and located at 120 West 46th Street in the borough of Manhattan, New York City, from 1948 to 1984. In 1961, the school was ...

and then earned a

Bachelor of Fine Arts A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a standard undergraduate degree for students pursuing a professional education in the visual arts, Fine art, or performing arts. In some instances, it is also called a Bachelor of Visual Arts (BVA). Background ...

degree from

Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The institution was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools. In 1912, it became the Carnegie Institu ...

and a

Master of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts admi ...

from

Brandeis University Brandeis University () is a Private university, private research university in Waltham, Massachusetts, United States. It is located within the Greater Boston area. Founded in 1948 as a nonsectarian, non-sectarian, coeducational university, Bra ...

. Karen is the sister of Daniel Gorney, and half-sister of author, professor, and physician Roderic Gorney, who has taught for many years at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

Career

Early work

Gorney made her film debut as a teenage resident of a mental health treatment center in ''

David and Lisa ''David and Lisa'' is a 1962 American drama film directed by Frank Perry. It is based on the second story in the two-in-one novellas ''Jordi/Lisa and David'' by Theodore Isaac Rubin; the screenplay, written by Frank Perry's wife Eleanor Per ...

'' (1962). Her next work on the big screen came in 1970 with the film '' The Magic Garden of Stanley Sweetheart''. From 1970 to 1974, Gorney played the role of Tara Martin on the

soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...

''. After she left the show, Gorney had agreed to return when her replacement, actress/writer Stephanie Braxton, decided to leave the show. She returned for the 1976–1977 season but was eventually fired as Tara and did not return to the show until almost 20 years later. In 1977, Gorney co-starred in her third film, and biggest role to date, as Stephanie Mangano in ''

'', alongside

John Travolta John Joseph Travolta (born February 18, 1954) is an American actor. He began acting in television before transitioning into a leading man in films. List of awards and nominations received by John Travolta, His accolades include a Primetime Em ...

. The next year, she appeared as a celebrity panelist on ''

Hollywood Squares ''Hollywood Squares'' (originally ''The Hollywood Squares'', later stylized as ''H2: Hollywood Squares'') is an American game show in which two contestants compete in a game of tic-tac-toe to win cash and prizes. The show originally aired as a ...

''.

Return to film, stage, and TV

After a lengthy gap, during which she managed an art gallery in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

, New York, Gorney eventually returned to acting in the early 1990s, appearing in small roles in such films as '' The Hard Way'' (1991), ''

Ripe Réseaux IP Européens (RIPE, French for "European IP Networks") is a forum open to all parties with an interest in the technical development of the Internet. The RIPE community's objective is to ensure that the administrative and technical co ...

'' (1996), and '' Creating Karma'' (2006), and returning to ''All My Children'' during 1995 in cameo spots. More recently, she has guest-starred in a number of TV shows, including ''

Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment and Universal Television, launching the ''Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire ...

'', ''

The Sopranos ''The Sopranos'' is an American Crime film#Crime drama, crime drama television series created by David Chase. The series follows Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a New Jersey American Mafia, Mafia boss who suffers from panic attacks. He reluct ...

'', and '' Six Degrees'', as well as doing independent films and off-Broadway shows. Due to her connection with disco music, and her popular role in ''Saturday Night Fever'', she has been featured on a number of disco documentaries and specials, including '' Get Down Tonight: The Disco Explosion'', which she co-hosted with ''Saturday Night Fever'' choreographer Deney Terrio for

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

. During the show, Gorney and Terrio dance to Bee Gees' hit single " More Than a Woman" as she did with co-star John Travolta in ''Saturday Night Fever'' back in 1977. She appeared on VH1's '' When Disco Ruled the World'' and was interviewed for the disco video documentary ''Disco: Spinning the Story''. In 1997, Gorney had an uncredited role as an announcer in the film 'Men in Black.' She appeared in the UK on

ITV1 ITV1 (formerly known as ITV) is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the British media company ITV plc. It provides the ITV (TV network), Channel 3 ...

's lunchtime programme ''

Loose Women ''Loose Women'' (known as ''Live Talk'' from 2000 to 2001) is a British talk show that broadcasts on ITV weekdays from 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm. The show focuses on a panel of four female presenters who interview celebrities, talk about aspects of ...

'' (a topical debate programme from a woman's perspective) on 28 September 2007, helping to promote the 30th anniversary of the launch of the film ''Saturday Night Fever'' and the Bee Gees's new ''Greatest Hits'' album. She was featured in the role of the Judge in the 2008

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

feature film A feature film or feature-length film (often abbreviated to feature), also called a theatrical film, is a film (Film, motion picture, "movie" or simply “picture”) with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole present ...

'' Dear J''. Gorney is a long-time resident of New York City. In 2008, she appeared in the stage production ''Monsterface'' at the Irish Rep Theater. In October 2010, Gorney performed the role of "Belaria" in Frog and Peach Theatre Company's production of ''

Cymbeline ''Cymbeline'' (), also known as ''The Tragedie of Cymbeline'' or ''Cymbeline, King of Britain'', is a play by William Shakespeare set in British Iron Age, Ancient Britain () and based on legends that formed part of the Matter of Britain concer ...

'' at the

West End Theatre West End theatre is mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres in and near the West End of London.Christopher Innes"West End"in ''The Cambridge Guide to Theatre'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998), pp. 1194–1195, ...

, in

Manhattan, New York Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

. In 2016, she appeared as Esther in theater play ''From Silence'' by Anne Marilyn Lucas, it narrates the stories of Holocaust survivors and their families.

Music

Along with her acting work, Gorney is a singer and has released three albums: ''Used to Love You Madly'', ''Hot Moonlight!'', and ''The Dance of the Deadly's''. She has performed at various jazz clubs and cafes.

Filmography

Films

Television

Discography

References

External links

* *
Official site for Karen Lynn Gorney
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gorney, Karen Lynn 1945 births 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses Actresses from New York City American film actresses American soap opera actresses American stage actresses American television actresses American voice actresses Brandeis University alumni Carnegie Mellon University College of Fine Arts alumni Living people Jewish American actresses