Editing Karen Black (section)

===1960–1970: Stage and film beginnings===
[[File:Karen Black mirror.jpg|thumb|upright=.9|Posing by a mirror, circa 1966]]
In 1960, Black moved to New York City to pursue an acting career, residing in a [[cold water flat]] in Manhattan.{{sfn|Segrave|Martin|1990|p=85}} She took odd jobs working as a secretary, a front desk person at a hotel, and at an insurance office, and lived on "thirty dollars a week."<ref>{{cite interview|series=Conversations with Coco|title=An Evening with Karen Black, Part 2|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pa7FsBpSVT8| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211030/Pa7FsBpSVT8| archive-date=October 30, 2021|date=October 23, 2010|location=[[Los Angeles LGBT Center|Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center]]|author1=Peru, Coco|author1-link=Miss Coco Peru|author2=Black, Karen|time=1:35}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Black initially began performing with the Rockefeller Players, a theater troupe in [[Westwood, New Jersey]].<ref>{{cite news|work=The Record|location=Hackensack, New Jersey|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/35158964/the_record/|title='The Playroom' Will Continue|date=December 28, 1965|page=29|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> She briefly joined at the [[Actors Studio]], but left shortly after enrolling, later commenting: "How can a man who isn't an actor teach you how to act?"{{sfn|Segrave|Martin|1990|p=85}}

Black made her screen debut with a minor role in the independent film ''The Prime Time'' (1960), which she would later deem "the worst film ever made."{{sfn|Segrave|Martin|1990|p=85}} Disillusioned by this foray into film, Black returned to work in theater.{{sfn|Segrave|Martin|1990|p=85}} She worked as an [[understudy]] in the [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] production of ''Take Her, She's Mine'' in December 1961 under director [[George Abbott]].<ref name=pb>{{cite web|url=http://www.playbill.com/person/karen-black-vault-0000046849|work=[[Playbill]]|title=Karen Black|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160314114845/http://www.playbill.com/person/karen-black-vault-0000046849|archive-date=March 14, 2016}}</ref> She made her formal Broadway debut in 1965's ''The Playroom'',<ref name=pb/> which received favorable reviews and for which she was nominated for a [[New York Drama Critics' Circle]] Award for Best Actress.<ref>{{cite book|title=Contemporary Theatre, Film and Television|volume=31|page=40|last=Riggs|first=Thomas|year=2000|isbn=978-0-787-64636-3|publisher=Gale Group|location=Detroit, Michigan}}</ref>

In 1966, she appeared with [[José Ferrer]] in a stage production of ''[[After the Fall (play)|After the Fall]]'' at the [[Coconut Grove Playhouse]] in Miami, earning an Angel award for best supporting actress.<ref>{{cite news|title=Karen Black Puts on Real Act|date=February 9, 1966|first=Beatrice|last=Washburn|work=The Miami Herald|page=C1}}</ref><ref name=DeVine>{{cite news|title=Karen Black: Good-Fortune Kooky|date=June 18, 1967|first=Lawrence|last=DeVine|work=The Miami Herald Sunday Magazine|pages=14–15}}</ref> Black returned to film with a leading role in the comedy ''[[You're a Big Boy Now]]'' (1966), directed by [[Francis Ford Coppola]], portraying the love interest of a young male student.{{sfn|Segrave|Martin|1990|p=86}} The film earned Black favorable reviews, and the experience prompted her to relocate to Los Angeles.<ref name=DeVine/> Beginning in 1967, she appeared in guest roles in several television series, including ''[[The F.B.I. (TV series)|The F.B.I.]]'', ''[[Run for Your Life (TV series)|Run for Your Life]]'', ''[[The Big Valley]]'', ''[[Mannix]]'' and ''[[Adam-12]]''.

Her feature film career expanded in 1969, playing the role of an acid-tripping prostitute opposite [[Dennis Hopper]] and [[Peter Fonda]] in the counterculture film ''[[Easy Rider]]'';{{sfn|Segrave|Martin|1990|p=86}} the first choice for the role was [[Lana Wood]], who had turned it down.<ref>{{cite interview|title=SpyCon2 presents Lana Wood: Plenty O'Toole talks Bond!|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Yj0U9mOvXA|date=October 10, 2020|author=Rocko Jerome|time=54:27}}</ref> Black's sequence in the film was cut from 16 hours of footage.<ref name=npr/> The following year, Black appeared as Rayette, the waitress girlfriend of [[Jack Nicholson]], in the film ''[[Five Easy Pieces]]'' (1970), for which she was nominated for an [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress]],{{sfn|Segrave|Martin|1990|p=86}} and earned her first [[Golden Globe Award]] for Best Supporting Actress. She also won a [[New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress]] for her performance in the film.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://screenprism.com/insights/article/how-do-bobbys-love-interests-in-five-easy-pieces-help-reveal-parts-of-his-c|website=Screen Prism|title=How do Bobby's love interests in "Five Easy Pieces" help reveal parts of his character?|author=Saporito, Jeff|access-date=December 3, 2015|archive-date=December 10, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151210044710/http://screenprism.com/insights/article/how-do-bobbys-love-interests-in-five-easy-pieces-help-reveal-parts-of-his-c|url-status=dead}}</ref>