Karen Valentine Blame It On The Bossa Nova/Ed Sullivan November 10, 1963

This is such a Datalounge thread. How refreshing! 👏

Here OP.

Go to 1m20s

She appears to be lip miming (badly) the Edie Gorme' song (Sullivan usually prohibited lip-syncing). Her movements are racist; like all people south of The Border are slightly retarded.

Karen Valentine was from my home town:

1-My older brother who went to high school with her said she was very stuck-up.

2-The main industry of the town we were in was apple-growing and canning. The Valentines had a chicken ranch. They bought a new car in 1965, a Rambler Marlin. The father had a fatal heart attack in 1966

3-Their family name was anglicized when they came into the U.S. Don't remember what it was.

4-I went to school with her sister Valerie. If you took away some of Karen's looks, most of her talent and any actual suggestion of a personality, you had Valerie. She also mimed a record for a 7th grade talent show. Think it was a Jayne Mansfield record.

5-I had little to do with Valerie because she was also stuck-up. This was what you got from our town. Attitude from someone who lived on a chicken ranch.

Eydie, R3.

Did you go to Petaluma or Santa Rosa for “fun?”

she looks older than a teenager in this video from 1963 which probably means she was possibly in her late twenties when Room 222 went on the air- hardly a teenager

That was so...odd

Maybe so, R7/OP, but young people did look a lot older back in the day.

Wiki says it was a repeat of her talent from that year’s Miss Teen America pageant. She had caught someone’s eye…I guess.

The lipsynching was purposeful…it was a comedic performance. It failed, but it was all intentional.

Her weird chin always grossed me out.

I think she was 16 or 17 in the clip.

Datalounge rumor - Karen was a lesbian

I will always add something to a Kaaren Valentine thread.

She didn’t play a teenager on Room 222, she played a teacher.

She started off as a student teacher.

But not a teenager…

R10 is correct. The first time I saw that video was when Karen was on The Mike Douglas Show and she was talking about the Miss Teen USA pageant and winning the talent competition that year - although she didn't win the title.

She was married for awhile to one of the Hager Twins who posed for Playgirl.

Miss Teenage America, not Teen USA—different pageant that didn’t start until years later.

Of course.....I always get my pageants confused.

You’re forgiven…

Also, not to be confused with the prissy pageant of the day “America’s Junior Miss” . Their winner that same year —1963—was some Southern belle bitch named Diane Sawyer. WHET?

Some of the men she dances with were good looking.

They danced around her, near her but not with her.

NY was full of handsome chorus boys in those days

I saw her in a production of Extremities at a theater near Rancho Mirage in the mid-1980s, she was a revelation! Too bad she wasn't given the chance to sink her teeth into some significant film roles, I'd love to see what she would have done with A Cry in the Dark or Silence of the Lambs.

R25 = Karen Valentine.

She played Gidget in a 1969 tv movie. She was not bad in it but by 1969 that whole Gidget thing was totally out of date.

I remember watching her on the pageant and winning the talent competition. If I recall correctly, she got the Sullivan offer during the show. I also watched her recreate it on Ed's show.

On a couple of interviews she gave she seemed a bit sad and disconnected from her family.....

Hmmmmm internet bios mention two husbands neither of which is one of the Hagers.....maybe I just dreamed that or they were dating or something.

R$ did you have a local dance - jazz/ballet/acro - teacher in your town because those steps in that video looked like something she learned in Miss Ludie's basement......

With her hairdo and body type and dance moves at times she evokes that dl fave Bonnie Franklin.

R30 she WON the talent portion!

R4 - that is......see above.

R32 is that you, Miss Ludie?

For you fans of Sonoma County’s finest: authentic news photos of young Karen in her pageant days

Karen admiring a picture of her own crowning moment as Santa Rosa’s finest young lady.

Karen Valentine, 78 (born May 25, 1947; Sebastopol, California) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as young idealistic schoolteacher Alice Johnson in the ABC comedy drama series Room 222 from 1969 to 1974, for which she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 1970, and received a Golden Globe Award nomination in 1971. She later went to star in her own short-lived sitcom Karen (1975), and played leading roles in the Disney films Hot Lead and Cold Feet (1978) and The North Avenue Irregulars (1979).

Sally Field stole Karen's career.

Sally was already a tv star when Karen was still in pageants.

Pathetic admission: When I first visited NYC around 1980 I spotted a poster for some off broadway play (I think the illustration was of a park bench) featuring Ms. Valentine. I thought, "Wow, Karen VALENTINE, live on stage! You could actually sit near her!"

I'd just never been anywhere that had any proximity to any stars. The funny thing is, I'd only glimpsed her on "Room 222" reruns once or twice, but I still dimly knew she was a "name." And that was enough to awe ME.

Later when I moved to NYC and then L.A. I realized that poster was probably for some awful, tacky production, running four nights or something.

Karen did so well on Sullivan that it was immediately announced she was invited back on the Ed Sullivan Show a few weeks later. The Kennedy Assassination and her need to work on a new act lengthened those weeks into months. Karen finally made it back on March 29, 1964 but had to sing in her own voice and her act was another dated Charleston-themed number in all black fringe and a long cigarette holder. Lots of articles about her leaving for New York and not a peep after - even in her hometown paper. Looks like lightning did not strike a second time and Karen went back into pageant life in her hometown and that next summer became Miss Teen Sebastipol. No footage of that second Sullivan performance can be found.

She was a Sebastopol Festival Queen and then Miss Sonoma County. Not a second Miss Teen.

Miss Alice Johnson Room 222 forever.

Walt Whitman aka the original L.A. High School (replaced after the Sylmar earthquake).

Here is her Emmy win.

1970 was a fallow era in television history.

How did you get that thumbnail to display, R45?

Does Karen have what it takes to become a true DL icon?

Fuck no!

If she closes in on 100, she does, R48,

Apparently Karen and Shanna Reed were in talks with HBO to do a mini-series version of 'Night Mother but sadly things hit a snag when one of the two actresses demanded too much creative control.

Pageants, movies of the week, sitcoms, nutty award speech…old neighbors postíng here. I’d say she meets several of the DL’s requirements already.

R48. Vicki dear...Karen Valentine is already a DL icon.

There's room for others.

Thanks, OP. Karen Valentine was very cute. And I love her hairstyle. Absolutely hate the current style of long, straight hair on women.

[quote] Pageants, movies of the week, sitcoms, nutty award speech…old neighbors postíng here. I’d say she meets several of the DL’s requirements already.

Yes. But she hasn’t said or done anything controversial, absurd or outrageous. True DL icons have something messy, hilarious and/or delicious in their past. Or present.

More evidence required.

She was a Petaluma wrist-wrestling champ under an assumed name. Would that help?

Fuck you R46. 1970 also brought us this classic Emmy moment.

Those bongo boys were cute, but the beatnik shtick was probably old by 1963.

Karen danced like a chicken with its head cut off, reflecting her lived experience as a farm girl.

[quote] Karen danced like a chicken with its head cut off, reflecting her lived experience as a farm girl.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Well, I have to admit she IS pretty adorable at R45.

I saw her in a play with Gary Sandy in Boston, maybe in the early 90s. She was a Mafia princess I think. Bizarre cast have no idea what it was called.

I hope Gary wore tight jeans.

It’s all he had…

Karen, Vicki, Linda Purl, and Jessica Walter together at last.

You're all DL icons, ladies!

It was the first of a series of baby having movies on ABC

R63 This should be the opening night feature at the First DL International Film Festival.

Excellent find! 👏

It gets better, R63.

According to IMDB, Maude’s big-titted daughter Adrienne Barbeau and DL’s favorite raging heterosexual and inexplicable Oscar winner Helen Hunt are also part of this star studded cast.

Plus, Desi Arnaz Jr.? And Abe Vigoda?

This is like finding a Picasso in a thrift shop.

I think Abe Vigoda played Vicki's much younger lover.

[Quote] she looks older than a teenager in this video from 1963 which probably means she was possibly in her late twenties when Room 222 went on the air- hardly a teenager

she probably was but she was playing a teacher not a student

[Quote]-Their family name was anglicized when they came into the U.S. Don't remember what it was.

Valentin R4

She’s a Portagee!

So was my mom.

pork a cheese

R66, Having Babies was originally titled Making Babies. Gee, I wonder why they changed it.

Has Karen commented yet on Bobby Sherman’s death?

No, R73, she’s referred all queries to Susan Dey.

R31

The Gary Sandy comment reminded me that she did a lot of "strawhat circuit" and dinner theater stuff. I'm sure John Kenley probably cast her in multiple plays, probably in things like The Marriage Go Round or an abridged version of A Doll's House.

Karen's all-female Waiting for Godot with Georgia Engel and Ruth Buzzi was a masterclass in subtlety

Especially, R77, with Ruth's then-demented state.

Was Karen a Sally or a Phyllis?

Or both?

Gary Sandy...mmmmm. I waited on him several times back in the day and I swear he flirted with me.

^^ he was in relationships with Loni Anderson and Morgan Fairchild.

I think that king of MAKES you gay?

Great photos and videos.

When KV was on the Hollywood Squares she sat beside Paul Lynde who always made her laugh.....at the Kenley Players on Ohio many times. Including Born Yesterday with Lou Asner and Lyle Waggoner.

That’s Ed Grant, silly.

Paul Lynde was a Kenley regular. It probably constituted most of the times he ever played a leading man, so I'm sure he enjoyed it. I think he got caught by the vice squad in one of the Kenley cities---I think it was Toledo.

Gary Sandy did tons of dinner theater--I do recall that.

Did Gary or she ever work with Mary Tyler Richards or Rhoda Harper. Betty Ann Nivens? Murray MacLeod? Phyllis Leachman?

[quote]Plus, Desi Arnaz Jr.? And Abe Vigoda?

Not to mention Richard "Hold me, David!" Masur!

[quote]Has Karen commented yet on Bobby Sherman’s death?

[quote]No, [R73], she’s referred all queries to Susan Dey.

Susan Dey has declined to comment at this time.

Everyone in "Having Babies" had remarkable staying power. All have remained DL icons including Greg Mullavey from"Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman."

Even Linda Purl?

Gary Sandy also played Billy Flynn in the highly regarded LBCLO "Chicago" with Bebe Neuwirth and Juliet Prowse.

Almost all the Hollywood Squares questions revolved around Karen Valentines' lack of a chest.

Q: Raquel Welch has two of them, Karen Valentine has none of them.

Q: An ostrich's are the size of grapefruits. Karen Valentines are the size of eggs. What are they?

Only on Datalounge can you find a 100-post thread on Karen Valentine.

The Emmy-winning Karen Valentine, R91!

Queen of Dinner Theater Karen Valentine!

Her world must have intersected with DL faves like Joyce Bulifant, Arlene Golonka or Sandy Duncan.

Did she do Nunsense?

I dunno,, she’s giving me Gilda Radner as Roseanne Rosannadana vibes in this vid. And dances like a beheaded chicken.

Who *didn't*, r94?

Wow - imagine seeing that and saying - hey, call the boys - we've got something here! Let's put this on Ed Sullivan!

Whew - that's not even good enough for a high school talent competition.

Was everyone THAT starved for entertainment back then?

[quote] Was everyone THAT starved for entertainment back then?

That’s why The Beatles, who appeared on Ed Sullivan less than three months later, were such a revelation. It was like a black & white world suddenly transforming into color.

R98 - that's a good comparison. I remember watching something - I can't remember what - but it was about the 60s and some older woman was saying that people had this view of the 1950s and early 60s as being so perfect.

However, she said - it was so mind-numbingly dull culturally. The mid to late 60s was like a total shake up and fun finally.

63 had some early surfer fun songs and Motown girl groups - but this list of the top 100 is pretty snooze-worthy.

The first thing that came to mind when I watched OP’s linked video was “Spaz attack.” I think that’s what we sometimes called nutty behavior like that when I was a kid in the 1960s.

Why did her career go straight down the shitter?

R56 Wow, Patty was all dolled-up in that clip from her Emmy win.

Duke's mother was staying with her, and being quite a handful. As they were getting ready for the awards show, the mother was complaining that her own dress wasn't fancy enough for TV. Irritated, Duke gave her the designer dress she'd planned to wear, herself, and just pulled any old thing out of the closet.

Proof of her being in an unstable state of mind is how she tied the front of her sweater vest together with red yarn. She wasn't doing that well : (

R103 Actually, I was making an admittedly mean double entendre joke about Patty’s halted speech and taking “dolls.” Your comment about what was actually going on is more interesting. I wonder if what her mother did sent Patty into a depressed state and that was why she seemed so slow and spaced out.

If I recall correctly, Patty was dressed up but the clothes didn’t look that great at her Tony win, either. Between her mother and the Rosses (her “caretakers”), it was a miracle she made it to the award shows in one piece.

Tony?!

lol R83.....I really have to stop drinking when I'm posting on DL.

R105 Oops, Oscar.

I wasn’t going to say anything - -

A lovely girl, very smart and demure.

I'd so hoped for a daughter like Karen. Instead, I got an ungrateful, emotionally needy harlot. How I suffer as a mother.

r109 At least she's not a fat pig.

R103 I recall reading somewhere that part of the reason she seemed so awkward the last 15 seconds of her speech, when there were lots of long pauses, is that she was using her hands to sign. Her hands were just below camera range, people watching didn't realize what she was doing, so it just looked odd and demented.

^^ just quit with the enabling excuses, would ya?

R53- I loved the straight long Marcia Brady hairstyle that all teen girls had ca. 1971

I used to assume she was Italian but I only recently found out she was of Portuguese descent.

Portagee

r113 Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!

Rep 6:

We went from our town (population 3,000 back then) to Santa Rosa (population then 35,00) because it was 7 miles away. SR was the location of Hitchcock's Shadow of a Doubt. The library shown in the film is gone, but I don't know the fate of the 'Til Two bar. The train station there, albeit in an "urban-renewal" form. Don't remember how far Petaluma is but it seemed to be about 30 minutes away.

In those days, Highway 101 went through towns and a lot of it was two-lane. I think part of it was an expressway with stoplights running through SR. 101 went through the main road of Petaluma. It became a four-lane, rerouted freeway until later. There remains a section of the old road on the west side of the freeway between Petaluma and Novato. At one point, Petaluma was known as the Chicken Capital of the World. The town was divided into two sections, Old Petaluma (gays would be drawn to its funky old storefronts and movie theater) and New Petaluma, a suburban sprawl. I think Wynona Ryder was from New Petaluma.

That wrist-wrestling contest got a big boost from our other celebrity, comic strip "Peanuts" creator Charles Schulz. I think it was Snoopy that went to the wrist-wrestling games in Petaluma. Schulz's family moved to Sebastopol in 1958. Their address was Coffey Lane and their place was called Coffey Grounds. People were welcome to wander through their property. I attended a father-and-son dinner where Schulz spoke and accurately created sketches of a lot of different comic characters.

In high school I attended an art class with one of Schulz's daughters, Meredith. Our teacher liked to give long lectures while we worked. In one of them, he was going on about how cartoonists employed someone to do part of their work. Meredith spoke up. "Do you mean Charles Schulz, too?" "Yes" said the teacher. "No he doesn't", replied Meredith. "Charles Schulz is my father."

One final note: Karen Valentine got voted "Miss Congeniality" in that teen beauty pageant. Knowing what I do of her, it's hard to believe.

R117: The actual voting for "senior superlatives" like that for homecoming queen was usually "ironic" and often censored. At my high school, the homecoming elections should have elected some real non-beauties to the Court I'm guessing the faculty advisor for was in on the irony of giving Valentine "Miss Congeniality".

Irony, R118, was not big in the early ‘60s.

In '96, she was supposed to star in a two act show off Broadway with Timothy Olyphant -"The SantaLand Diaries' by David Sedaris. I don't know what story she would have performed, but "they" say that the story didn't translate, and was scrapped. So, the show became a one act, with just the SLD. The show had 6 previews, 66 performances , closing a week early. It was performed at The Atlantic Theater.

I have to wonder, would the show have had a longer run, if Miss Karen Valentine was in it? One never will knnow.

R119: Yes it was. My sister's class (1960) had plenty of it

R117 In a biography of Charles Schulz (“Schulz and Peanuts” by David Michaelis), the author stated that Schulz did indeed use others to do some of his work, and if I recall correctly, the author has quotes from Schulz about it.

It started after Peanuts “blew up” and began to be marketed like crazy on all sorts of items. It’s possible that the daily cartoons were largely, if not totally, drawn by Schulz, but some of the ancillary items were drawn by other people who met Schulz’s demanding standards.

Hopefully she is living a swell life somewhere and counting her millions. Not bad for a little chicken farm lady.

What would be the source of her "millions," R123. Did she "marry well"?

Karen waited a few years to jump on the perm bandwagon, but better late than never!

R125. Bitch stole my hairdo.

If anyone was destined to headline a traveling production of "Nunsense," it is Karen Valentine.

r120 - it would have been another Sedaris story, "Season's Greetings to our Friends and Family", which would have had Karen (as seemingly goody-two-shoes" Mrs. Dunbar) reading her holiday letter which builds into this horrifying revelation about the bastard Vietnamese child her husband had during the war who's now surfaced and come to live with the family that year. Racist and hilarious. The double bill played here in Chicago in 1997. Santaland Diaries was a hit and kept running for years. Here's Julia Sweeney reading it on This American Life.