Karen Valentine, born in 1947, is an American actress recognized for her compelling performances in both television and film. While she gained acclaim as the idealistic schoolteacher Alice Johnson in the series Room 222, her role in Money on the Side (1982) reveals her ability to navigate the darker themes of exploitation cinema. In this film, Valentine embodies a character caught in a morally ambiguous world, adding depth to the narrative and showcasing her range in a genre that often challenges societal norms.
Money on the Side
Feast your eyes on a hairspray and shoulderpads morality tale from the early 80’s – like an after school special for bored horny housewives. Linda Purl spends all day eating chocolates and all night being berated by her physically abusive hubby Gary Graham who’s going to be laid off from the factory soon – so she decides to make a few extra bucks for the family by becoming a whore. Karen Valentine has a retarded son and her hard-working hubby Richard Masur refuses to acknowledge the kid is one sandwich short of a picnic so she has to look elsewhere for the extra money she needs to send him to a special school – you guessed it she’s going pro too! And Jamie Lee Curtis is married to an alcoholic gambler who keeps pissing away their life savings and crashing their uninsured cars – so she of course decides to sell her ass as well. If all that wasn’t reason enough to watch then let me add that the hard-nosed copper out to bust this ring of hooker housewives is none other than Doc Emmett Brown himself; Christopher Lloyd, and he really has a gripe with these skanky hos for some reason – he even browbeats one of em into committing suicide! Also look out for BSG’s President Laura Roslin; Mary McDonnell as a sleazy slag trolling hotel bars for johns who ends up getting raped and beaten by a furtive pervert that is stalking the local hooker community.
