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When Karen Met Tennessee

Not many people are aware of the friendship between Karen Kondazian and playwright Tennessee Williams.

Karen and Tennessee Williams

Kondazian would win many awards portraying the powerful, complex women Williams had created. As Serafina in The Rose Tattoo, she won the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award, portraying the secluded widow in the 1978/1979 revival at the Beverly Hills Playhouse. That February evening in ’79 when Williams attended the production, a young Christopher Reeve was in the audience, along with the great film director Richard Brooks (Sweet Bird of Youth, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof) who had directed two of Williams most famous films but had never met Tennessee in the flesh, until that evening.

 

Karen and Ed Harris in “Sweet Bird of Youth”

Tennessee gave a Q&A after the performance and was quoted in the Los Angeles Herald Examiner by reviewer Gardner McKay, thanking Karen for her “staggeringly beautiful performance”. Williams was so smitten by Karen’s performance in Tattoo, that the two became close friends, giving Karen his blessing to produce any of his plays during his lifetime. As a result, she went on to portray Princess Kosmonopolis in Sweet Bird of Youth (1980). Starring with her was a brilliant young actor named Ed Harris. She also acted and produced in the west coast premier of Williams’ Vieux Carre (1983), alongside the extraordinary Ray Stricklyn, who later took his character Mr. Nightingale from the play and created the memorable, award-winning one man show playing Tennessee Williams.

Newest Book Review for The Whip

 

08-31-12: Karen Kondazian Cracks ‘The Whip’

Stages of Identity

There’s always some true story out there that’s stranger than fiction. The question facing a writer is whether or not to tell the story as fiction, or simply write a work of non-fiction. If you choose the latter, you can be limited by what we know of the subject; if that adds up to “not much,” then your book is going to end up being mostly conjecture. But if you choose to fictionalize a real-life “stranger than fiction” story, you run the risk of writing a novel less interesting than reality.

It’s a matter of balance with this sort of material and Karen Kondazian gets the balance right with ‘The Whip,’ a slim, smart western based on the story of Charlotte “Charley” Parkhurst. Here’s the backstory; Charley Parkhurst, brought up as an orphan, was a renowned stagecoach driver in California for Wells Fargo (called a “whip,” thus the title) who had runs from Watsonville to Santa Cruz and from San Francisco to Sacramento. When he died in 1879, it was revealed that he had been a woman living as a man for the last 30 years; moreover, evidence showed that Charlotte had at one time borne a child. A small dress was tucked away in a chest. That’s pretty much what we know.

Karen Kondazian at Clint Eastwood’s Mission Ranch

Karen Kondazian just got back from her book signing party at Clint Eastwood’s Mission Ranch in Carmel, which was a great success and a lovely event for everyone who attended. She also loved the peaceful, pristine beauty of the Ranch….

 

View From Karen’s porch at Mission Ranch, Carmel

Clint Eastwood’s Mission Ranch House, Carmel

“Fluffy white lambs graze Eastwood’s property … a herd of all white sheep and one black one, wander the fields … you can sit on the porch in a rocking chair and watch them. I did, with a glass of perfect wine… Bliss.”Karen K.

NBC/ABC Monterey interviewed Karen and talked at length about Charley Parkhurst, the main character in Kondazian’s novel. Turns out Charley used to travel coach runs through Monterey and Salinas all the time back in her day! You can watch the news video in the link below:

NBC/ABC Monterey Highlights Karen Kondazian and The Whip – New novel details legendary Watsonville woman’s life

Karen Kondazian discusses The Whip on CBS Los Angeles

 

The Video will run after a short ad.

STUDIO CITY (CBS) — Author Karen Kondazian stopped by KCAL9 Friday to discuss her new novel, “The Whip”, which details the life of Charley Parkhurst, a woman who spent 30 years in the Old West disguised as a man. Read the full story here.

Watch Jan Wahl interview Karen Kondazian KRON 4 TV (San Francisco)

San Francisco television (KRON 4) film critic and historian Jan Wahl invited Karen to discuss her book on Ms. Wahl’s television show.

 

 ”I read the entire book in three days… really a great story. I saw the movie all the way through the book…” — Jan Wahl

From the Page to the Screen with Jan Wahl

NBC’s Jan Wahl takes on The Whip

Hi Whip fans! We’ve got some exciting news!

 

San Francisco television (KRON/NBC) film critic and historian Jan Wahl has invited Karen Kondazian, author of The Whip, to discuss her book on Ms. Wahl’s television show on June 2nd. They’ll be chatting about Charley Parkhurst, the inspiration behind The Whip, and about the fascinating process of transforming this great summer read into a big screen adaptation.

 “I read the entire book in three days… really a great story. I saw the movie all the way through the book…” — Jan Wahl

Hilary Swank in "Boys Don't Cry"

The film Albert Nobbs recently showed us women of the same timeframe who lived as men in Ireland. Albert is remote and scared even in this courageous choice, but his friend, played brilliantly by Janet McTeer, reminds me a great deal in looks and the gruff-but-kind temperament of our Charley. Charley also has a wit, born of survival skills and intelligence. I would have liked to know Charley, and now I feel I have met her.

Cate Blanchett as Bob Dylan in "I'm Not There"

Listen In: Karen Kondazian on “Arts Express”

Howdy, Whip fans!

This past week Karen was invited for a chat with Prairie Miller on WBAI’s “Arts Express”. If you’re in New York, you can catch the live interview tomorrow, Monday 30, so tune in to 99.5 FM @ 10pm ET.

But if you’re not in the East, don’t despair! We have the full interview right here for you. Aren’t we thoughtful?

 

Click below, kick back, and enjoy!

Karen’s April Book Radio Tour

*Updated*

Karen will be busy on her Radio Tour in the next few Weeks

 

Fri, March 30th, 2012 – Winnipeg, Canada

Karen gets interviewed on CJOB-680AM “The Drive”

12:15 pm Mountain (1:15 pm Central).

Airs throughout Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Northwestern Ontario and so me of the northern states. More information on their website.

 

Sun, April 1st, 2012 – Woodstock, NY

Karen gets interviewed on WDST-100.1FM “Woodstock Roundtable”

6:00 AM Mountain (8:00 AM Eastern).

Airs north of NYC, from just north of Westchester County to Albany. More information on their website.

 

Mon, April 2nd, 2012 – Shenandoah, IA

Karen gets interviewed on KMA-960AM & 99.1FM “The Chuck & Don Show”

7:20 am Mountain (8:20 am Central)

Airs in certain parts of Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, and Missouri.More information on their website.

 

Thur, April 11th, 2012 – Fargo, ND

Karen gets interviewed on Prairie Public Broadcasting (Public Radio) “Hear It Now”

2:00 PM Mountain

Airs statewide and in northwestern Minnesota and eastern Montana. Various Broadcast Frequencies. More information on their website.

 

Norm Goldman Publisher & Editor of Bookpleasures.com Interviews Karen Kondazian

Meet Award-Winning Actress and Author of The Whip, Karen Kondazian

Published February 4th, 2012

Today, Norm Goldman Publisher & Editor of Bookpleasures.com is excited to have as our guest Karen Kondazian author of The Whip. In addition to being an author, Karen is an award-winning theater actress and she has starred in over 50 television shows and films, including the role of Kate Holliday in the TV movie, The Shootout at the OK Corral. Karen is also the author of The Actor’s Encyclopedia of Casting Directors.

In 1979 Karen won the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Actress in The Rose Tattoo, (in which her work as an actor and producer so impressed Tennessee Williams that they became friends, and he gave her carte blanche to produce any of his work in his lifetime).

Good day Karen and thanks for participating in our interview.  The Whip is your first novel. How did you enjoy the process of writing a novel and how much of your acting career influenced your writing?

San Francisco Book Club News Interview

 

The cafe interview: novelist and actor Karen Kondazian

by Art Kusnetz

 

The Petaluma River was rising and the rain and wind made the old railroad trestle beneath our window tremble. I was glad we were inside and warm as I sat with actor and author Karen Kondazian. We were talking about her novel The Whip, which chronicles the life of Charley Parkhurst, one of the best “Whips”—stagecoach drivers—that Wells Fargo ever had. Upon his death, a great secret was revealed, he was a she!

As we ordered our café fare, I asked what first drew her to the story of Charley Parkhurst.

“I first discovered Charley in the 1980s. I immediately felt connected to her and her story on a very personal level. I can’t explain it except to say that I felt like a channel, a voice for Charley. Certainly the dialog flew out of me like I was channeling her, but then I really feel that artists are channels. That’s what actors do, that’s what writers, painters and sculptors do. I was the modern voice for Charley. And what I got from Charley’s life is that everything is on loan in our lives— even the people we love. So always remember to say goodbye. The key to the ending came to me during meditation when I realized she didn’t want to die alone.”