Camilla Carr, cult star of 70s horror, passes away

Camilla Carr, best known for starring in a number of cult horror films back in the 1970s, has passed away at the age of 83.

The late actress died in El Paso, Texas – the state where she was born – while her death was confirmed by her son Caley O’Dwyer.

O’Dwyer, who works as a writer, poet, and painter, told The Hollywood Reporter that his mother’s death was a result of Alzheimer’s related complications and a dislocated hip.

Carr is also remembered for her brief appearance in the ‘80s sitcom, Designing Women. She was seen in the episode titled They’re Killing All the Right People, which aired in October 1987.

However, the better part of her career was spent working in exploitation horror, with many of the films done by Carr later going on to assume cult status.

She appeared in multiple releases helmed by director and producer S. F. Brownrigg, a pioneer of low budget horror.

Often playing deranged or wild characters in Brownrigg’s films, some of her most memorable performances were as a disturbed patient who murders a nurse in Don’t Look in the Basement (1973), an unprincipled hillbilly girl in Poor White Trash Part II (1974) — also known as Scum of the Earth — and a split personality killer in Keep My Grave Open.

One of Camilla Carr’s last known screen appearances was in Don’t Look in the Basement 2, which was directed by Brownrigg’s son, Anthony Brownrigg. The film was released in 2015.