Camilla Carr, the Texas-born actress whose career spanned cult horror classics, controversial television, and literary pursuits, died on Wednesday, February 4, 2026, in El Paso, Texas. She was 83. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Carr passed away from complications of Alzheimer’s disease and a dislocated hip, as confirmed by her son, Caley O’Dwyer.
Though Carr’s name may not ring out like those of Hollywood’s most famous stars, her legacy is woven tightly into the fabric of American genre cinema and television. Born on September 17, 1942, in Memphis, Texas, Carr attended Kermit High School and the University of North Texas before launching her acting career. Her early days were marked by a partnership with director S.F. Brownrigg, a maestro of low-budget horror who could conjure chills on a shoestring.
It was with Brownrigg that Carr found her first taste of cult stardom. In 1973, she delivered a chilling performance as a disturbed patient who murders a nurse in Don’t Look in the Basement, a film that would become a touchstone for drive-in horror fans. The following year, she appeared in Poor White Trash Part II—also known as Scum of the Earth—playing a cunning hillbilly daughter. The film, another Brownrigg production, proved a drive-in hit and cemented Carr’s status as a B-movie favorite.
Her most iconic role, however, may have come in 1977’s Keep My Grave Open. Here, Carr portrayed Lesley, a woman tormented by a murderous split personality she believes to be her brother. The performance was marked by tense shifts between repression and sensual aggression—qualities that made the film a cult classic and Carr’s work unforgettable for genre aficionados. As ETimes noted, Brownrigg’s ability to craft unsettling atmospheres on a modest budget gave Carr’s performances a unique edge.
Carr’s filmography extended beyond horror. She appeared in the 1970 crime drama A Bullet for Pretty Boy—where she acted alongside her first husband, Hugh Feagin—and in Michael Anderson’s 1976 sci-fi film Logan’s Run. Other credits included the 1982 drama Making Love, and a variety of television guest spots. In 1979, Carr took on the role of Rita Connelly in 34 episodes of NBC’s soap opera Another World, demonstrating her range beyond the macabre.
Yet for many, Carr’s most memorable television moment came in 1987, during the second season of CBS’s Designing Women. In the episode “Killing All the Right People,” Carr played Mrs. Imogene Salinger, a Sugarbaker client whose views on the AIDS crisis were as controversial as they were chilling. Her character, upon overhearing funeral plans for a young interior designer dying of AIDS, delivered the line, “As far as I’m concerned, this disease has one thing going for it: it’s killing all the right people.” According to The Hollywood Reporter, the episode was written by series creator Linda Bloodworth-Thomason, who drew on her personal experience—her own mother had died after contracting AIDS from a blood transfusion. Bloodworth-Thomason’s script earned an Emmy nomination, and Carr’s performance, though uncomfortable, was lauded for its authenticity. Her son, Caley O’Dwyer, reflected candidly: “It was a shitty character, but she did a great job for an important cause.”
Designing Women was renowned for tackling difficult topics, and Carr’s episode became one of its most discussed. The main cast included Dixie Carter, Annie Potts, Jean Smart, Delta Burke, Meshach Taylor, Julia Duffy, Jan Hooks, and Judith Ivey. The show ran for seven seasons from 1986 to 1993, but Carr’s guest spot remains one of its most powerful moments, especially amid the heightened tensions and stigma surrounding AIDS in the late 1980s.
Carr’s television career extended to guest roles on One Day at a Time in 1978, A Year in the Life, and three episodes of Falcon Crest in 1988, where she played housekeeper Nellie Maxwell. She also took to the stage, performing as Maxine in Tennessee Williams’ The Night of the Iguana in 1991 at the Los Angeles Theatre Center, one of several productions she did for the venue.
After a lengthy hiatus from acting—nearly three decades—Carr returned for one last performance in 2015’s Don’t Look in the Basement 2. The film, directed by Anthony Brownrigg, S.F. Brownrigg’s son, brought Carr full circle, back to the genre that had launched her career. This final role served as a fitting bookend to her journey in film.
Beyond acting, Carr was also a writer. In 1989, she authored the comic novel Topsy Turvy Dingo Dog, which followed a B-movie actress returning to her Texas hometown for a high school reunion. The book, like much of her work, blended humor with a sharp sense of place and character, drawing on her own experiences in the world of low-budget cinema.
Carr’s personal life was as eventful as her professional one. She was married to Oscar-winning screenwriter Edward Anhalt, whose credits included Panic in the Streets and Becket, from 1968 until their divorce in 1976. She also met her first husband, Hugh Feagin, while acting at Theatre Three in Dallas; both appeared in A Bullet for Pretty Boy and several other projects together.
Her death marks the end of an era for fans of cult horror and classic television. Carr’s ability to bring depth, complexity, and even discomfort to her roles made her a standout in every medium she touched. She leaves behind her son, Caley O’Dwyer, a poet and painter, and a legacy that stretches from the drive-in theaters of Texas to the living rooms of America.
In a Hollywood landscape often dominated by blockbusters and household names, Camilla Carr’s career is a reminder of the power of character actors and the enduring impact of stories told on the margins. Her performances—whether as a tormented soul in a forgotten asylum, a controversial TV guest star, or a comic novelist—continue to resonate with those who value bold choices and authentic storytelling.