Editing Lana Clarkson (section)

== Career ==
In the early 1980s, Clarkson landed bit parts in film and television. She made her screen debut as a minor character in ''[[Fast Times at Ridgemont High]]'' (1982), director [[Amy Heckerling]]'s coming-of-age comedy.<ref name=bbc1>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/2724183.stm |title=Shooting victim was B-movie actress |publisher=BBC News |date=February 4, 2003 |access-date=January 24, 2013}}</ref> She played the wife of science teacher Mr. Vargas ([[Vincent Schiavelli]]). The film was her first speaking role. She appeared in ''[[Scarface (1983 film)|Scarface]]'' (1983) behind [[Michelle Pfeiffer]] dancing on the floor of the Babylon Club. Her first big role was in the Nico Mastorakis science-fiction thriller Blind Date. 

As an actress, Clarkson became best known for her five feature films for producer [[Roger Corman]],<ref name="Briggs">{{cite news |url=https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2003/02/lana-clarkson-b-movie-goddess.html |last=Briggs |first=Joe Bob |author-link=Joe Bob Briggs |title=Lana Clarkson: Requiem for the Barbarian Queen |work=[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]] |date=February 7, 2003 }}</ref> beginning with his fantasy film ''[[Deathstalker (1983 film)|Deathstalker]]'' (1983), as a female warrior and love interest to the title character played by Richard Hill.<ref name=bbc1 /> Corman oriented his films towards young male viewers, using a mix of action and female nudity. Clarkson's work in ''Deathstalker'' led to her being offered the title role in Corman's next film, ''[[Barbarian Queen]]'' (1985), a role Corman referred to as "the original [[Xena]]" because of the parallel in featuring a strong female leading character in an action-oriented sword-swinging role.<ref name="bio">{{cite web|url=http://www.lanaclarkson.com/www/bio.html |title=Lana Clarkson |publisher=Lana Clarkson |access-date=January 24, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120222203030/http://www.lanaclarkson.com/www/bio.html |archive-date=February 22, 2012}}</ref>

In 1987, Clarkson appeared in the [[John Landis]] spoof ''[[Amazon Women on the Moon]]''. Following that, Clarkson starred in Roger Corman's ''Barbarian Queen'' sequel, ''[[Barbarian Queen II: The Empress Strikes Back]]''.<ref name=bbc1 />

Clarkson starred as a supporting character in the period horror film ''[[The Haunting of Morella]]'' (1990) as the evil attendant to a young woman played by model/actress [[Nicole Eggert]]. In the film, Clarkson played a dominating lesbian character who tries to resurrect the spirit of a witch burned at the stake during the [[Salem witch trials]]. In her final film for Corman, ''[[Vice Girls]]'' (1996), Clarkson played one of three cops who posed as strippers to catch a serial killer.<ref name="Briggs" />

Clarkson's work in the [[B movie]] sci-fi genre inspired a cult following, making her a favorite at comic book conventions, where she made some promotional appearances signing autographs for her fans. She appeared in numerous other B movies as well as a range of television spots. She also appeared in commercials for [[Mercedes-Benz]], [[Kmart (United States)|Kmart]], [[Nike, Inc.|Nike]],<ref name=bbc1 /> [[Mattel]] and [[Anheuser-Busch]]. Her television appearances include parts on ''[[Night Court]]'', ''[[Silk Stalkings]]'', ''[[Riptide (American TV series)|Riptide]]'', ''[[Three's Company]]'', ''[[Knight Rider (1982 TV series)|Knight Rider]]''<ref name=bbc1 /> and ''[[Wings (NBC TV series)|Wings]]'', and a guest appearance as a villain on [[Black Scorpion (TV series)|the television adaptation]] of Roger Corman's film ''[[Black Scorpion (film)|Black Scorpion]]'' in what would be her final role.

Clarkson traveled around the United States and Europe while working on fashion photo shoots. Other projects took her to Japan, Greece, Argentina, Italy, Switzerland, France, Jamaica, and Mexico.

In the 1980s, she volunteered weekly at the [[HIV/AIDS|AIDS]] charity [[Project Angel Food]], which delivers food for those in Los Angeles disabled by [[HIV]] or AIDS, at a time when the disease was greatly feared by the general public.<ref name=bbc1 />

Clarkson's career stalled as she approached her thirties. Unable to earn a living as an actress, Clarkson sought alternative sources of income, including operating her own website on which she sold autographed DVDs of her films and communicated directly with her fans on her own message board. Although she made a living playing [[sex symbol]]s, Clarkson wished to be a comic actress or perform as a comedian. Her publicist friend [[Edward Lozzi]] told ''[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]]'' writer [[Dominic Dunne]] that Clarkson had been working on a stand-up comedy act that he had witnessed.<ref>{{cite web |last=Dunne |first=Dominick |author-link=Dominick Dunne |date=August 2007 |title=Legend with a Bullet |url=http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2007/08/dunne200708 |access-date=March 6, 2013 |website=[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]]}}</ref>

In 2001, while living in [[Venice, Los Angeles|Venice, California]], for the last several years, Clarkson developed, wrote, produced, and directed a showcase reel titled ''Lana Unleashed''. She took a part-time side job as a hostess in early January 2003 at the [[House of Blues]] in [[West Hollywood, California]], to make ends meet.<ref name="bbc0529" />