Patti Karr obit

 Broadway Actor Patti Karr Dies at 88

Ms. Karr appeared in over 20 Main Stem productions, including as an understudy for Chita Rivera, Gwen Verdon, and Michele Lee.

She was not on the list.

Patti Karr, who appeared in over 20 Broadway productions, died July 11, 2020, of natural causes. She was 88.

Born Patsy Lou Karkalits July 10, 1932, in St. Paul, Minnesota, she was the youngest child of Charles and Estelle (Klebold) Karkalits. Ms. Karr made her Broadway debut in 1953 as a member of the dancing ensemble in the short-lived musical Maggie. Her numerous other credits included Carnival in Flanders, Pipe Dream, Bells Are Ringing, The Body Beautiful, Redhead, Once Upon a Mattress, Do Re Mi, New Faces of 1962, Look to the Lilies, Different Times, Pippin, Lysistrata, Irene, A Broadway Musical, Got tu Go Disco, and Musical Chairs.

Ms. Karr was also a frequent understudy and standby, most notably for Chita Rivera in The Rink, Carol Burnett in Once Upon a Mattress, Gwen Verdon in Redhead, and Michele Lee in Seesaw. In Seesaw, she would eventually take over the role of Gittel Mosca for the final months of the musical's run in 1973. She also understudied numerous parts in the 1972 revival of Stephen Sondheim's A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.

Ms. Karr made her final Broadway appearance in the 1993 revival of My Fair Lady, playing Queen of Transylvania in a cast led by Richard Chamberlain and Melissa Errico. She also toured with the Lerner and Loewe musical. Her Off-Broadway credits included Skits-oh-Frantics!, Month of Sundays, Up Eden, The Housewives' Cantata, and I Can Get It for You Wholesale.

On screen Ms. Karr was seen in the daytime series Ryan's Hope, All My Children, Guiding Light, and The Edge of Night as well as in Quincy M. E., Happy Days, Kate & Allie, The Twilight Zone, Murder, She Wrote, The Law and Harry McGraw, Highway to Heaven, Tax Season, Cagney & Lacey, Mad About You, Sex and the City, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Our Italian Husband, The Savages, and The Sopranos.

Ms. Karr is pre-deceased by her parents, brother, and two sisters. She is survived by nieces and nephews, including Dagny Henry and Richard Karkalits. Memorial donations may be made to North Shore Animal League.

Actress

Lorraine Bracco, James Gandolfini, Edie Falco, Steven Van Zandt, Dominic Chianese, Robert Iler, Michael Imperioli, Nancy Marchand, Vincent Pastore, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, and Tony Sirico in The Sopranos (1999)

The Sopranos

9.2

TV Series

Old Woman in Diner

2007

1 episode

 

The Savages (2007)

The Savages

7.1

Woman with Red Pillow

2007

 

Sam Waterston, Camryn Manheim, Hugh Dancy, Reid Scott, Mehcad Brooks, and Odelya Halevi in Law & Order (1990)

Law & Order

7.8

TV Series

Rosalie Horton

Judge Rita Haines

1997–2005

2 episodes

 

Brooke Shields, Maria Grazia Cucinotta, and Pierfrancesco Favino in Our Italian Husband (2004)

Our Italian Husband

4.2

Elegant Woman

2004

 

Vincent D'Onofrio, Kathryn Erbe, Eric Bogosian, Julianne Nicholson, and Chris Noth in Law & Order: Criminal Intent (2001)

Law & Order: Criminal Intent

7.5

TV Series

Mrs. Merced

2003

1 episode

 

Kim Cattrall, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kristin Davis, and Cynthia Nixon in Sex and the City (1998)

Sex and the City

7.3

TV Series

Mrs. Collier

2002–2003

2 episodes

 

Helen Hunt and Paul Reiser in Mad About You (1992)

Mad About You

6.8

TV Series

Appalled Woman (as Patti Carr)

1998

1 episode

 

Tyne Daly and Sharon Gless in Cagney & Lacey: The View Through the Glass Ceiling (1995)

Cagney & Lacey: The View Through the Glass Ceiling

6.7

TV Movie

Mrs. Palmiero

1995

 

Vic Noto in Loving (1983)

Loving

7.0

TV Series

Kate Rescott Slavinsky (Temporary)

1995

2 episodes

 

Woody Allen and Mira Sorvino in Mighty Aphrodite (1995)

Mighty Aphrodite

7.0

Greek Chorus

1995

 

Guiding Light (1952)

Guiding Light

6.5

TV Series

Maude Grandon

1995

1 episode

 

Tax Season (1989)

Tax Season

3.0

1989

 

Michael Landon in Highway to Heaven (1984)

Highway to Heaven

6.8

TV Series

Sarah

1988

1 episode

 

Jerry Orbach and Barbara Babcock in The Law and Harry McGraw (1987)

The Law and Harry McGraw

7.5

TV Series

Iris Delaney

1988

1 episode

 

The Judge (1986)

The Judge

7.8

TV Series

Renee Sordo

1987

1 episode

 

Angela Lansbury in Murder, She Wrote (1984)

Murder, She Wrote

7.2

TV Series

Clara Polsby

1986

1 episode

 

The Twilight Zone (1985)

The Twilight Zone

7.7

TV Series

April (segment "Ye Gods")

1985

1 episode

 

Kate & Allie (1984)

Kate & Allie

6.9

TV Series

Rita (as Patti Kerr)

1985

1 episode

 

Ron Howard, Henry Winkler, Marion Ross, Tom Bosley, Erin Moran, Don Most, and Anson Williams in Happy Days (1974)

Happy Days

7.4

TV Series

Woman

1984

1 episode

 

Sharon Gabet and Larkin Malloy in The Edge of Night (1956)

The Edge of Night

7.8

TV Series

Holly Meech

1983

2 episodes

 

Jack Klugman in Quincy M.E. (1976)

Quincy M.E.

7.3

TV Series

Miriam

1983

1 episode

 

Susan Lucci, Debbi Morgan, Rebecca Budig, Cameron Mathison, and Darnell Williams in All My Children (1970)

All My Children

6.8

TV Series

Barbara Cousins

1982

1 episode

 

A Stranger Is Watching (1982)

A Stranger Is Watching

5.3

Receptionist

1982

 

Kate Mulgrew, Bernard Barrow, Helen Gallagher, Malcolm Groome, and Michael Hawkins in Ryan's Hope (1975)

Ryan's Hope

7.2

TV Series

Tony

1980

2 episodes