{"id":52998,"date":"2018-10-25T11:36:58","date_gmt":"2018-10-25T15:36:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/?p=52998"},"modified":"2018-10-25T12:10:03","modified_gmt":"2018-10-25T16:10:03","slug":"remembering-character-actor-great-james-karen-1923-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/?p=52998","title":{"rendered":"Remembering Character Actor Great James Karen: 1923 -2018"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Often times when character actors pass away, obituaries like this one make the claim that “you may not know his name, but you sure did know his face!” There is a reason for this cliche-but-true statement, and that is that these type of journeyman performers travel from role to role throughout their careers — not so much pursuing fame and fortune, but to enhance their craft. James Karen<\/a>, who died yesterday at his Los Angeles home of cardiac arrest at the age of 94, was one of these individuals.<\/p>\n

Best known for his film roles in Poltergeist<\/a><\/em> and The Return of the Living Dead<\/a><\/em>, Karen portrayed hundreds of characters on stage, screen, and in movies throughout his decade-spanning career. His genial nature and everyman quality resulted in his long-running role as the spokesperson for the Pathmark supermarket chain:<\/p>\n