Cult Horror Icon Dies at 83, Leaving Fans in Mourning

Cult horror and television actress Camilla Carr has passed away at the age of 83. Her son, Caley O’Dwyer, confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter that Carr died on Wednesday in El Paso, Texas, due to complications from Alzheimer’s disease and a dislocated hip.

Carr, a Texas native born on September 17, 1942, became a cult figure in 1970s horror films. She is especially remembered for her work with producer-director S.F. Brownrigg, appearing in his films Don’t Look in the Basement (1973), Poor White Trash Part II (1974), also known as Scum of the Earth, and Keep My Grave Open (1977).

In these films, Carr played intense and often unsettling characters, including a violent mental patient, a manipulative hillbilly daughter, and a woman with a murderous split personality. Her performances left a lasting mark on cult cinema, earning her a dedicated following.

Carr also made a memorable television appearance in October 1987 on CBS’ Designing Women. In the episode They’re Killing All the Right People, written by series creator Linda Bloodworth Thomason, she played a Sugarbaker client who made a controversial remark: “As far as I’m concerned, this disease has one thing going for it: It’s killing all the right people.”

Reflecting on the role years later, her son said, “It was a sh**** character, but she did a great job for an important cause.” The episode itself received an Emmy nomination, inspired by the death of Thomason’s mother from AIDS.

Beyond horror and television, Carr had a diverse career in stage and screen. She appeared in Logan’s Run (1976), played housekeeper Nellie Maxwell in three episodes of Falcon Crest in 1988, and made appearances on One Day at a Time and Another World. Her theater work included a notable role as Maxine in a 1991 production of Tennessee Williams’ The Night of the Iguana at the Los Angeles Theatre Center. She even returned briefly to film in 2015 for Don’t Look in the Basement 2, directed by Anthony Brownrigg, S.F. Brownrigg’s son.

Carr also explored writing, authoring the 1989 comic novel Topsy Turvy Dingo Dog, which followed a B-movie actress returning home for a high school reunion, and contributing to television film scripts.

On the personal side, Carr was married twice. She met her first husband, actor Hugh Feagin, in Dallas while performing at Theatre Three. The couple appeared together in films including A Bullet for Pretty Boy (1970) and several of Brownrigg’s cult films. She was later married to Oscar-winning screenwriter Edward Anhalt, known for Panic in the Streets and Becket, from 1968 to 1976.

Carr lived a quiet life in her later years, but her fearless performances and contributions to cult horror and television will be remembered by fans.

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