Karyn Kupcinet

Short Biography

Karyn Kupcinet was born on March 6, 1941 in Chicago, Illinois, USA as Roberta Lynn Kupcinet. She was an actress, known for The Little Shop of Horrors (1960), The Gertrude Berg Show (1961) and The Ladies Man (1961). She died on November 28, 1963 in West Hollywood, California, USA.Trivia (15)Karyn Kupcinet was murdered on Thanksgiving Day, 1963. The crime has never been solved.Daughter of Irv KupcinetSister of Jerry KupcinetThe apartment where she died is located at 1227 1/2 North Sweetzer Avenue in West Hollywood, not far from where Dorothy Dandridge died a year-and-a-half later.Born Roberta Kupcinet, she did not change her first name to Karyn until she was 20 years old.In 1971, Irv and Essee Kupcinet founded the Karyn Kupcinet International School for Science as part of the Weizmann Institute of Science in their daughter's memory.Was romantically involved with actor Andrew Prine at the time of her murder. He was among a number of people, including two other actors, questioned by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and released. There never was an official suspect. That sheriff's department covered West Hollywood where the crime occurred.Her last on-screen appearance was in the Perry Mason (1957) episode, Perry Mason: The Case of the Capering Camera (1964). The episode aired on January 16, 1964, seven weeks after her still-unsolved murder.Starred as teacher Annie Sullivan in a Laguna Beach summer theater production of "The Miracle Worker".Allegedly used the name "Tammy Windsor" professionally for a short period of time, although this has been disputed. The first season of The Andy Griffith Show (1960), which is easy to access on DVD and on basic cable television, features a guest star named Tammy Windsor who does not resemble Kupcinet. The first billing for "Karyn Kupcinet" was in the Jerry Lewis comedy The Ladies Man (1961). She has a bit part as one of dozens of young ladies living in a boardinghouse.Attended Pine Manor College in Wellesley for a semester, then went to study acting at the Actor's Studio with Lee Strasberg in New York.Made her acting debut at age 13 in a Chicago production of "Anniversary Waltz.".During the last 24 hours of her life, Kupcinet had dinner with her actor-friend Mark Goddard and his wife. A year-and-a-half later, Goddard's career became very successful when he started playing the part of Major Don West on Lost in Space (1965).Was found strangled in her West Hollywood apartment. Her father, Chicago columnist Irv Kupcinet, believed he knew who did it but could never prove it. Speculation had it even linked to the JFK assassination. Mr. Kupcinet called such speculation "an atrocious outrage." He said his daughter didn't know the assassin(s). He said nobody ever told him to back off from investigating the assassination, and his daughter's killer was not part of any plans to silence a journalist.Visited President Harry S. Truman in the White House as a child, accompanied by her parents and brother.