Meet Cagney & Lacey star John Karlen’s only son he had with actress ex — who followed him into acting

The apple didn’t fall too far from the tree with this one! Adam, like his father John has pursued a career in acting with various appearances over the years. 

John’s only son was born in 1966, making him now around 60 years old. He’s credited as an actor and producer, with work spanning from 1988 to 2010.

Adam is best known for onscreen appearances in The New Adventures of Robin Hood (1998), Pensacola: Wings of Gold (1998) and Angels! (2000). 

He’s also shown his talents in the production booth, working as associate producer on 2010’s Lights Out which follows a couple trapped in a life with a (not so) perfect stranger.

John Karlen welcomed son Adam with his ex-wife, actress Betty Karlen. Born on 13 July 1942 in Wilmington, Delaware, Betty is best known for her appearances in Fame (1982), Chief Zabu (1988) and Trapper John, MD (1979).

She worked on multiple episodes of The Bronx Zoo which son Adam also guested on. She married John Karlen in 1963 and they divorced 35 years later in 1998.

John Karlen was born on 28 May,1933 in Brooklyn, New York. He won a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for his work on Cagney & Lacey. 

His best-known credits include Dark Shadows, House of Dark Shadows, and, of course, Cagney & Lacey in which he starred as Harvey Lacey. The actor sadly passed in January 2020.

One of John’s first credited onscreen appearance was in 1957 on Kraft Television Theatre and next worked on a impressive number episodes of From These Roots. 

In 1967, he joined Love Is A Many Splendored Thing for over 50 episodes, his next ongoing appearance was when he featured as Willie Loomis in 1970 film House of Dark Shadows and again (among several different roles) in connected series Dark Shadows between 1967 to 1971.