Overview
Camilla Carr, an actress best known for memorable turns in low-budget horror and sharp guest spots on television, has died at 83. Her son, Caley O’Dwyer, told reporters she passed away in El Paso from complications related to Alzheimer’s and a dislocated hip.
From Texas stages to late‑’60s films
Born in Memphis, Texas, in 1942, Carr cut her teeth in local theater — meeting future husband Hugh Feagin while acting at Theatre Three in Dallas — and studied at the University of North Texas. She moved into regional film work, including a small role in the Texas-shot crime picture A Bullet for Pretty Boy (1970).
Cult horror run: small budgets, big weird energy
Carr became a familiar face in director S.F. Brownrigg’s 1970s grindhouse world. She played volatile characters in Don’t Look in the Basement (1973) and Poor White Trash Part II (1974, also known as Scum of the Earth), and later took on a twisted dual-role in Keep My Grave Open (1977). These films were made on shoestring budgets but have stuck around thanks to their oddball charm and Carr’s committed performances.
That Designing Women moment
On TV she could stop a scene cold. In a 1987 episode of Designing Women she guest-starred as a client who voiced a cruel, controversial opinion about people dying of AIDS — a line that was meant to expose prejudice rather than endorse it. The episode’s writer, series creator Linda Bloodworth Thomason, had personal reasons for tackling the topic, and the script went on to earn awards attention.
TV and stage chops beyond the drive-in
Carr popped up in a variety of projects outside the horror circuit: a part in Logan’s Run (1976), multi-episode turns on Falcon Crest in 1988, and appearances on One Day at a Time and Another World. She also kept her stage pedigree sharp, playing Maxine in a 1991 production of Tennessee Williams’ The Night of the Iguana for the Los Angeles Theatre Center.
Writer, novelist and a late comeback
She wasn’t just an actor — Carr wrote teleplays and published a comic novel in 1989 called Topsy Turvy Dingo Dog, which follows a B-movie actress returning to her quirky Texas hometown for a reunion. In 2015 she even returned from retirement for Don’t Look in the Basement 2, directed by Anthony Brownrigg, son of S.F. Brownrigg.
Personal life and legacy
Carr’s first marriage to fellow actor Hugh Feagin grew out of their theater work. She later married screenwriter Edward Anhalt (an Oscar winner) from 1968 until their divorce in 1976. Her son praised her craft and said she did strong work even when playing unsympathetic characters.
She leaves behind a body of work that’s equal parts camp, grit and surprising heart — the kind of performer who could make a drive‑in scream or a sitcom audience gasp, often in the same week. Fans of cult cinema and character acting will remember her knack for stealing scenes long after the credits roll.