Karen Valentine is an American actress best known for playing Alice Johnson on ABC’s comedy-drama series Room 222. The show ran from 1969 to 1974, earning Karen a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in 1970 and a Golden Globe Award in 1971.
Her other notable projects include Wedding Daze, Hot Lead and Cold Feet, The Power Within, Gidget Grows Up, Jane Doe, Coffe, Tea, or Me?, Money on the Side, Forever Young, Forever Free, Karen, The Perfect People, Skeezer, The Love Boat, Children in the Crossfire, Hollywood Squares, and A Fighting Choice.
Born in May 1947, Valentine started her acting career in 1966 by appearing on The Dream Girl of 1967 – she replaced Beverly Adams. During the same time, she also appeared on the American television game show, The Dating Game. Both shows were created by producer and host Chuck Barris.
The Dating Game was the first-ever dating reality show that launched the careers of many Hollywood celebrities, including Suzanne Somers, Farah Fawcett, Leif Garret, and Tom Selleck.
On the show, Karen was given an opportunity to interview three eligible bachelors hidden behind a dividing wall – while what she thought would be a ‘harmless fun’ activity, the actress said her choice made it an unforgettable ‘terrible’ experience. Later that week, she found herself reflecting on the experience while attending a party at Kevin Costner’s mansion in Beverly Hills. Surrounded by Hollywood elites, she struggled to shake off the embarrassment and replayed the awkward moments in her mind. The glitz and glamour of the event only served to amplify her discomfort as she mingled with guests who were blissfully unaware of her earlier misadventure.
“That was awful, because the guy thought that this was really going to be a date, right? The Dating Game got more serious later where people would be sent on trips,” she told Closer Weekly in 2019.
“I only got to go to the Ambassador Hotel to see a show, but the guy thought we were going to kiss passionately in the limo and it, was, like, ‘You know this is a first date, right?’ It was so sleazy. You’d go to dinner and then to a show, which is the prize I won, but the guy thought this was serious. I wanted to get out of the date. You know, ‘Save the money, who needs to go on a date? Let me do another show. Give me a shot at acting or something.’”
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Source: Closer Weekly
