Karen Arthur (born August 24, 1941) is an American television and film director, producer, and actress. She directed more than 40 feature and made-for-television movies, miniseries, and television series. In 1985 she become the first woman to win a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series.
Arthur began her career as an actress, appearing in the 1967 romantic comedy film A Guide for the Married Man, and later co-starred in the drama film Winning (1969). She made several guest-starring appearances on television series before making her directorial debut with the 1975 crime drama film, Legacy, which received a special prize at the Locarno Film Festival. She later directed feature films The Mafu Cage (1978) and Lady Beware (1987).
In 1975, Arthur made her directorial debut with the crime drama film Legacy starring Joan Hotchkis. She later directed three more feature films, including Lady Beware (1987) and The Mafu Cage (1978), but the majority of her work has been in television, where she has had a long and prolific career directing television movies and series. In 1976 she directed one of episodes of Rich Man, Poor Man Book II and in 1979 directed her first made-for-television movie Charleston. In 1983 she directed Australian miniseries Return to Eden, the mini-series was a huge ratings success.
She worked as an episodic director on Hart to Hart, Remington Steele, Emerald Point N.A.S. and most notable Cagney & Lacey (8 episodes). In 1985, she won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series (for an episode of Cagney & Lacey), becoming the first woman to do so.
Arthur directed many various made-for-television movies and miniseries, such as (1984), A Bunny's Tale (1985), The Rape of Richard Beck (1985), Bridge to Silence (1989), Fall from Grace (1990), (1995), Dead By Sunset (1995), True Women (1997) and A Will of Their Own (1998).
As of 2008 she was a resident of the town of Springfield, Vermont.
Partial filmography
+ List of film and television works
External links
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