John Karlen

• Name — John Karlen • Birth Name — John Adam Karlewicz • Born — 28 May 1933 • Birthplace — New York City, New York, U.S. • Died — 22 January 2020 • Place of death — Burbank, California, U.S. • Education — American Academy of Dramatic Arts • Occupation — Actor • Years Active — 1949–2016 • Children — 1

Karlen was born May 28, 1933, in Brooklyn, the son of Polish American parents Helen Agnes (née Balondowicz) and Adam Marion Karlewicz. He served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. He enrolled in the American Academy of Dramatic Arts on a scholarship.

Karlen's first acting experiences were on early television productions such as From These Roots and Kraft Television Theatre. His Broadway stage career began in 1959 in Sweet Bird of Youth. He accumulated roles on both stage and television before winning one of his signature roles in 1967 in the daytime serial Dark Shadows. It was Karlen's pivotal character of Willie Loomis who released vampire Barnabas Collins from his coffin, setting off the events of the series. Karlen would stay with the television series for 182 episodes, playing various characters through 1971. In addition to Willie, he played Carl Collins, a parallel-universe William H. Loomis, Desmond Collins and Kendrick Young. In the 1971 film Night of Dark Shadows, he played Alex Jenkins along with other cast members from the Dark Shadows TV show. While not appearing on Dark Shadows in the late sixties, he appeared on Love Is a Many Splendored Thing as Jock Porter and Hidden Faces as Sharkey Primrose. He reunited with his Dark Shadows co-stars for the 1970 House of Dark Shadows as Willie Loomis, and, in 1971, with Night of Dark Shadows as Alex Jenkins. From 2006 to 2019, Karlen reprised the role of Loomis for a series of Dark Shadows audio dramas produced by Big Finish Productions. Karlen moved to a series of guest appearances on television productions, establishing himself in 1982 as Harvey Lacey Sr., husband of Tyne Daly's character Mary Beth Lacey on Cagney & Lacey. He appeared in 110 episodes over six years. Karlen won an Emmy Award for his portrayal of Harvey Lacey Sr. in 1986; he received 2 further nominations, in 1985 and 1987. His career included numerous movie roles, during which he reprised the Harvey Lacey Sr. character in four Cagney and Lacey television movies: Cagney & Lacey: The Return in 1994, Cagney & Lacey: Together Again and Cagney & Lacey: The View Through the Glass Ceiling in 1995, and Cagney & Lacey: True Convictions in 1996.

In 1963, Karlen married acting teacher Betty Karlen. They divorced in 1998.

Karlen died from heart failure in Burbank, California on January 22, 2020, at age 86.

Film • Year — Title — Role — Notes • 1970 — House of Dark Shadows — Willie Loomis • 1971 — Daughters of Darkness — Stefan Chilton • Night of Dark Shadows — Alex Jenkins • 1976 — A — Deputy Lenny Lutz • 1978 — Killer's Delight — Danny • 1981 — Pennies from Heaven — Detective • 1984 — Racing with the Moon — Mr. Nash • Impulse — Bob Russell • Gimme an 'F — "Bucky" Berkshire • 1986 — Native Son — Boris Max • 1991 — The Dark Wind — Jake West • 1993 — Surf Ninjas — Mac • 2016 — The Job Interview — The Applicant — Short film Television • Year — Title — Role — Notes • 1949 — The Big Story — Andy Franks — "Theory and Practice" • 1957 — Kraft Television Theatre — Young Man — "Heroes Walk on Sand" • 1959 — Naked City — Chuck — "The Manhole" • Armstrong Circle Theatre — Private First Class James Cook — "Thunder Over Berlin" • 1962 — The Detectives — Frankie — "Strangers in the House" • The — Lieutenant Tyrell — "Signals for an End Run" • 1963 — Stoney Burke — Mickey — "Job" • The Doctors — Danny "Danny Boy" Delaney — 6 episodes • Hallmark Hall of Fame — Ned — "The Patriots" • 1964 — East Side/West Side — Billy — "One Drink at a Time" • Brenner — Ben Laney — "Laney's Boy" • 1966 — Hawk — John Polanski — "The Longleat Chronicles" • 1967 — N.Y.P.D. — Gary Doyle — "Murder for Infinity" • Love Is a Many Splendored Thing — Jock Porter — "Episode #1.55" • 1967–71 — Dark Shadows — Willie Loomis Carl Collins William H. Loomis Desmond Collins Kendrick Young — 182 episodes • 1968 — Hidden Faces — "Sharkey" Primrose — Unknown episodes • 1971 — Another World — Casey — 18 episodes • 1972 — Night of Terror — Pete Manning — TV movie • The — Ed — "Through a Flame Darkly" • The — Johnny Wexford — "Belinda, End of Little Miss Bubble Gum" • 1973 — Shirts and Skins — Herbie Bush — TV movie • The — Jim Russel — "The Vanishing Lady" • Egan — Jack / Ida Deveaux — TV movie • Wide World Mystery — Otto Roget — "Frankenstein: Part 1" • Medical Center — Frank Crane — "Judgment" • Police Story — Detective #1 — "Slow Boy" • Kojak — "Pinky" — "Web of Death" • 1974 — The Invasion of Carol Enders — David Hastings — TV movie • Wide World Mystery — Frank Linwood — "Nightmare at 43 Hillcrest" • Shazam! — Nick Roberts — "Thou Shalt Not Kill" • Doc Elliot — Vincent Parker — "The Pharmacist" • Melvin Purvis: G-Man — Tony Anthony Redecci — TV movie • 1975 — Medical Center — Danny Taggert — "No Hiding Place" • Mannix — Hood #1 — "Quartet for a Blunt Instrument" • Delancey Street: The Crisis Within — Richard Copell — TV movie • Trilogy of Terror — Mr. Anmar — TV movie • The Kansas City Massacre — Sam Cowley — TV movie • Police Story — "Rush" — "Incident in the Kill Zone" • Joe Forrester — Mason — "The Witness" • Mobile One — Mickey Scanlon — "The Boxer" • The — Vernon — "Poisoned Snow" • 1976 — The — Alan Campbell — TV movie • The — Nat Reeves — "No Minor Vices" • Serpico — Eddie Hibbard — "Rapid Fire" • The — Reverend Ezekiel L. Henshaw — "The Baptism" • Hawaii Five-O — Harris — "Anatomy of a Bribe" • 1977 — Police Story — Shep — "Prime Rib" • Charlie's Angels — Leonard Chaffey — "Angel Baby" • The — Benton — "Welcome Home, Vince" • ABC Weekend Special — Bill Leggett — "My Dear Uncle Sherlock" • Hunter — Power Plant Worker — "Bluebird Is Back" • All in the Family — Leo — "Mike Goes Skiing" • Most Wanted — "Red" Murphy — "The White Collar Killer" • 1978 — Kojak — Hicks — "The Captain's Brother's Wife" • Barnaby Jones — Johnny Alban — "A Frame for Murder" • Barnaby Jones — Eddie "Easy Eddie" — "The Scapegoat" • The — Leo — "Rosendahl and Gilda Stern Are Dead" • Colorado C.I. — Kessler — TV movie • The — Rocky — "The Lady on Thursday at Ten" • 1979 — The Last Ride of the Dalton Gang — Charlie Powers — TV movie • Lou Grant — Ken Navaretti — "Gambling" • Sword of Justice — Jerry Lombardi — "Blackjack" • The Return of Mod Squad — Marty — TV movie • Kaz — Fred — "The Battered Bride" • Supertrain — Quinn — "Express to Terror" • Starsky & Hutch — Stanton — "Ballad for a Blue Lady" • Quincy, M.E. — Sergeant Alistair Adams — "Semper-Fidelis" • Quincy, M.E. — Customs Agent Brice — "Hot Ice" • Vega$ — Eddie Stolvak — "The Day the Gambling Stopped" • 1980 — The — Duane Haley — TV movie • 1981 — Vega$ — Geddes — "Out of Sight" • Quincy, M.E. — Customs Agent Brice — "Dear Mummy" • American Dream — Coach Ritter — "American Dream" • Trapper John, M.D. — Marty — "A Case of the Crazies" • 1982 — Rosie: The Rosemary Clooney Story — Uncle George — TV movie • King's Crossing — Sheriff — "The Home Front" • Hill Street Blues — Corrupt South Ferry Cop Loomis — 2 episodes • Fame — Detective Kessler — "Tomorrow's Farewell" • 1982–1988 — Cagney & Lacey — Harvey Lacey — 110 episodes • 1983 — Bay City Blues — Clancy — 2 episodes • The Winds of War — Ed, PBY Pilot — "Into the Maelstrom" • Miss Lonelyhearts — Reverend Walker — TV movie • 1985 — Finder of Lost Loves — Dr. Arthur Barwell — "Final Analysis" • Hostage Flight — DiSalvo — TV movie • 1986 — Welcome Home, Bobby — Geffin — TV movie • The Return of Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer — Chapel — TV movie • 1987 — Downpayment on Murder — Albert — TV movie • The New Mike Hammer — Adam Simon — "Green Lipstick" • Daddy — Mike Burnette — TV movie • 1988 — Police Story: Burnout — Captain Harrison — TV movie • ABC Afterschool Special — Joe Farrell — "Date Rape" • 1989 — Snoops — Lieutenant Sam Akers — 4 episodes • 227 — Nathan Pollack — "Jackée" • Baby Cakes — Al — TV movie • The Cover Girl and the Cop — Lieutenant Wingo — TV movie • Murder, She Wrote — Lieutenant Martin McGinn — "The Grand Old Lady"' • 1990 — Nightmare on the 13th Floor — Sergeant Madden — TV movie • 1991 — In a Child's Name — Joe Silvano — 2 episodes • Perry Mason: The Case of the Glass Coffin — Jake Morrison — TV movie • 1992 — Murder, She Wrote — Patrick MacNair — "To the Last Will I Grapple with Thee" • Calendar Girl, Cop, Killer? The Bambi Bembenek Story — John Garner — TV movie • 1993 — Without Warning: Terror in the Towers — Jack McAllister — TV movie • 1994 — Roseanne: An Unauthorized Biography — Jerry Barr — TV movie • MacShayne: Winner Takes All — Waldo Church — TV movie • Cagney & Lacey: The Return — Harvey Lacey — TV movie • 1994–1995 — Mad About You — Gus Stemple — 3 episodes • 1995 — Murder, She Wrote — Superintendent Arthur Joyce — 2 episodes • Cagney & Lacey: Together Again — Harvey Lacey — TV movie • Cagney & Lacey: The View Through the Glass Ceiling — Harvey Lacey — TV movie • 1996 — Cagney & Lacey: True Convictions — Harvey Lacey — TV movie

• Year — Title — Role(s) — Performances — Venue — Notes • 1959-60 — Sweet Bird of Youth — Tom Junior — 375 — Martin Beck Theatre — Replacement • 1960-61 — Invitation to a March — Aaron Jablonski Schuyler Grogan — 113 — Music Box Theatre • 1963 — The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui — Shorty Ensemble — 8 — Lunt-Fontanne Theatre • 1963 — Luther — Ensemble • 1964 — The — Stage Manager — 5 — Brooks Atkinson Theatre • 1965 — All in Good Time — Geoffrey Fitton — 44 — Royale Theatre • Postmark Zero — Unknown — 8 — Brooks Atkinson Theatre • 1966 — Monopoly — Joe (Monopoly) Mr. Stein (Suburban Tragedy) — 49 — Stage 73

John Karlen was born on 28 May 1933 in Brooklyn. Karlen held the nationality of United States. Karlen was educated at American Academy of Dramatic Arts, which Karlen left in 1958.