Karen Austin is an American

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

. She played Lana Wagner on the sitcom '' Night Court'' in 1984. Her film appearances include '' Summer Rental'' (1985), '' Jagged Edge'' (1985), and ''

The Ladies Club ''The Ladies Club'' is a 1986 American rape and revenge film directed by Janet Greek (under the pseudonym A.K. Allen) and starring Karen Austin, Diana Scarwid, Christine Belford, and Bruce Davison Bruce Allen Davison (born June 28, 1946) i ...

'' (1986).

Career

Austin first gained notability in the late 1970s with a string of television guest appearances on highly rated programs such as ''

Happy Days ''Happy Days'' is an American television sitcom that aired first-run on the ABC network from January 15, 1974, to July 19, 1984, with a total of 255 half-hour episodes spanning 11 seasons. Created by Garry Marshall, it was one of the most su ...

'', ''

The Rockford Files ''The Rockford Files'' is an American detective drama television series starring James Garner that aired on the NBC network from September 13, 1974 to January 10, 1980, and remains in syndication. Garner portrays Los Angeles private investiga ...

'', ''

CHiPs ''CHiPs'' is an American crime drama television series created by Rick Rosner and originally aired on NBC from September 15, 1977, to May 1, 1983. It follows the lives of two motorcycle officers of the California Highway Patrol (CHP). The seri ...

'', and ''

Dallas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

''. In the 1980s, she was a regular on the first season of the successful NBC comedy series ''Night Court'', where she played

court clerk A court clerk (British English: clerk to the court or clerk of the court ; American English: clerk of the court or clerk of court ) is an officer of the court whose responsibilities include maintaining records of a court, administer oaths to witn ...

Lana Wagner for 10 episodes before leaving the series. Her character was replaced by Mac Robinson ( Charles Robinson) for the remaining eight seasons. She had a lead role as the wife of

John Candy John Franklin Candy (October 31, 1950 – March 4, 1994) was a Canadian actor and comedian known mainly for his work in Hollywood films. Candy rose to fame in the 1970s as a member of the Toronto branch of the Second City and its '' SCTV'' seri ...

's character in '' Summer Rental'' (1985).

Personal life

Austin was married to Kris Slava at age 19; the couple divorced seven years later.

Filmography and TV credits

References

External links

* * Living people American film actresses American television actresses Mary Baldwin University alumni Actresses from West Virginia 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses Year of birth missing (living people) {{US-screen-actor-1950s-stub