Quick Facts
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Karen Kondazian (born January 27, 1950) is an American actress and author. She is a recipient of the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award's Best Actress award and is a four-time Drama-Logue Awards winner. She had a regular starring role in Shannon, as well guest-starring roles on Wiseguy, Frasier, NYPD Blue, and others.
Life and career
Karen Kondazian was born in Newton, Massachusetts to an Armenian family. She attended Abraham Lincoln High School, and received a B.A. from San Francisco State College, and graduated from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. Kondazian began working in theater, starring in productions such as The Rose Tattoo and Master Class.
As a child, she appeared on Art Linkletter's Kids Say the Darndest Things.
She won the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award's Best Actress award for her role in the Tennessee Williams play The Rose Tattoo and four Drama-Logue Awards for Sweet Bird of Youth (1980), Lady House Blues (1981), Vieux Carré (1983) and Tamara (1985). Kondazian met Williams at a Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle luncheon honoring him, and Williams reportedly allowed Kondazian to produce any of his plays. She was also nominated for an Ovation Best Actress Award in Master Class.
Her work on the stage led to numerous TV and film roles, including a recurring starring role the CBS series Shannon as Irene Lokatelli, and guest-starring roles in Wiseguy, Frasier, NYPD Blue and the TV biopic James Dean. She also was in Yes, Giorgio and Cobra.
In 2000 Kondazian wrote the reference work The Actors Encyclopedia of Casting Directors and The Whip in 2012, published by the Hansen Publishing Group, a historical novel about stagecoach driver Charley Parkhurst. The Whip was well-reviewed for its historical accuracy and story.
Kondazian is a member of the Actors Studio and the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
Personal life
Kondazian was in a relationship with actor Lex Barker from 1972 until his death on May 11, 1973. They were engaged.
Theatre
| Year | Title | Role | Venue | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | Richard II | Queen’s Lady in Waiting | Ahmanson Theatre | |
| 1974 | Hamlet | Gertrude’s Lady in Waiting | Mark Taper Forum Theater | |
| 1978–1979 | The Rose Tattoo | Serafina | Beverly Hills Playhouse | Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award – Best Actress |
| 1980 | Sweet Bird of Youth | Princess Kosmonopolis | Gene Darnyasky Theater | Drama-Logue Award |
| 1981 | Lady House Blues | Liz Madden | South Coast Repertory Theater | Drama-Logue Award |
| 1983 | Vieux Carré | Mrs. Wire | Beverly Hills Playhouse | LA Weekly Theater Award – Best Actress Drama-Logue Award |
| 1984 | Broken Eggs | Sonia | Ensemble Studio Theatre | |
| 1985–1986 | Tamara | Aelis | Il Vittoriale | Drama-Logue Award |
| 1987 | The Night of the Iguana | Maxine | Old Globe Theatre | |
| 1989 | Freedomland | Claude | South Coast Repertory Theater | Play Nominated—Pulitzer Prize |
| 1989 | Mixed Blessings | Velia Martinez | Coconut Grove Playhouse | |
| 1991 | Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? | Martha | Berkeley Repertory Theatre | Nominated—San Francisco Drama Critics Circle Award – Best Actress |
| 1996 | Orpheus Descending | Lady | The Fountain Theatre | Nominated—Ovation Award – Best Actress |
| 2000 | The Night of the Iguana | Maxine | The Fountain Theatre | Back Stage Garland Award |
| 2003–2004 | Master Class | Maria Callas | The Fountain Theatre | Ovation Award – Best Production of the Year Back Stage Garland Award Maddy Award Entertainment Today Award – Best Actress |
| 2005 | Kissing Fidel | Miriam | 42nd Street Theater | |
| 2007 | The Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore | Mrs. Goford | The Fountain Theatre | Nominated—LA Weekly Theater Award – Best Actress |
| 2016 | Baby Doll | Aunt Rose Comfort | The Fountain Theatre |
Awards
Acting
- Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Actress, The Rose Tattoo (1979)
- Drama-Logue Award for Sweet Bird of Youth (1980)
- Drama-Logue Award for Lady House Blues (1981)
- LA Weekly Theater Award for Best Actress, Vieux Carré (1983)
- Drama-Logue Award for Vieux Carré (1983)
- Drama-Logue Award for Tamara (1985)
- Back Stage Garland Award for The Night of the Iguana (2000)
- Ovation Award for Master Class, Best Production of the Year (2004)
- Back Stage Garland Award for Master Class (2004)
- Maddy Award for Master Class (2004)
- Entertainment Today Award for Best Actress, Master Class (2004)
Writing
- 2014 Readers Favorite, Gold Medal Prize for Winner Best Western Fiction, The Whip
- 2013 Global Ebook Awards, First Place - Winner Best Historical Fiction, The Whip
- USA Book News Award, Best Historical Fiction, The Whip (2012)
- National Indie Excellence Award, Best Western, The Whip (2013)
- International Book Award, Best Western, The Whip (2013)
