---
name: "James Karen"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/james-karen"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "28 November 1923"
died: "23 October 2018"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 5
average_fi1m_score: 86
updated: "2026-09-16T21:21:03.393965+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# James Karen

Actor. Born 28 November 1923 in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, USA. Died 23 October 2018.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 28 November 1923, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, USA
- **Died:** 23 October 2018
- **Active:** 1976–2001
- **Also known as:** Jim Karen, 詹姆斯·凯伦, Jacob Karnofsky

## Biography

James Karen (born Jacob Karnofsky) was an American character actor known for work on Broadway, in film and on television. Born on 28 November 1923 in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, he trained at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre in New York and made his Broadway debut in the original production of A Streetcar Named Desire.

Karen appeared in more than 200 film and television roles. He played Mr. Teague in Poltergeist (1982), Frank in The Return of the Living Dead (1985), Lynch in Wall Street (1987) and Wally Brown in Mulholland Drive (2001). He was also a long-running spokesman for the Pathmark supermarket chain and had recurring television roles including on Eight Is Enough. He died on 23 October 2018 in Los Angeles.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, apnews.com, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (5)

- *Mulholland Drive* (2001), Fi1m 92, as Wally Brown — [page](https://film.one/film/mulholland-drive.md)
- *Wall Street* (1987), Fi1m 74, as Lynch — [page](https://film.one/film/wall-street.md)
- *The Golden Girls* (1985), Fi1m 88, as Raymond — [page](https://film.one/tv/the-golden-girls.md)
- *Poltergeist* (1982), Fi1m 84, as Mr. Teague — [page](https://film.one/film/poltergeist.md)
- *All the President's Men* (1976), Fi1m 90, as Hugh Sloan's Lawyer — [page](https://film.one/film/all-the-presidents-men.md)

## Also known for

- *The Pursuit of Happyness* (2006), Martin Frohm
- *Superman Returns* (2006), Ben Hubbard
- *American Dad!* (2005), Larry Herman (voice)
- *The Return of the Living Dead* (1985), Frank
- *Any Given Sunday* (1999), Christina's Advisor
- *Congo* (1995), College President / Elliot's Boss
- *MacGyver* (1985), Robert Sanborn / Papillon
- *Thirteen Days* (2000), George Ball

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/james-karen