PASSINGS

Anna Karen Morrow

Actress was on ‘Peyton Place’ show

Anna Karen Morrow, 94, an actress who had a regular role on the 1960s prime-time soap opera “Peyton Place” and also appeared on Broadway, in films and on numerous other television shows, died Wednesday at a retirement home in Woodland Hills.

The actress, a longtime resident of Encino, died from complications of old age, her daughter Lissa Morrow Christian said.

As Anna Karen, her film credits included “The Price of Fear,” which starred Merle Oberon, “The Wrong Man” alongside Henry Fonda and “It Happened in Athens” with Jayne Mansfield.

On “Peyton Place,” she played Mrs. Chernak, the Harrington family housekeeper. She also appeared in the TV series “ Star Trek,” “Gunsmoke,” “Hazel” and “The Perry Como Show,” and on Broadway in the play “Red Gloves.”

She was the widow of Jeff Morrow, who also acted on stage and screen and was perhaps best known for his performances in several science fiction films that achieved cult status. He died in 1993.

She was born Sept. 20, 1914, in New Jersey and worked as a model in New York before becoming an actress. Later in life she worked in real estate and as a fundraiser for the Muscular Dystrophy Assn.

-- times staff and wire reports

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