A Valentine for Karen Valentine

(This post is part of the 2026 Luso World Blogathon hosted by Crítica Retrô and Spellbound with Beth Ann)The title "America's Sweetheart" has been applied to a number of actresses over the years. For a brief time in the late Sixties and early Seventies, it could have easily been applied to actress Karen Valentine, who played student teacher Alice Johnson on the comedy-drama TV series Room 222. If you ask many younger male Baby Boomers (who may have seen Room 222 in its first run) or older Gen Xers (who may have seen it in reruns) about their boyhood crushes, chances are good Karen Valentine numbers among them. What separates Miss Valentine many actresses who have borne the title "America's Sweetheart" is that she was not of Northern European descent.Karen Valentine was born on May 25, 1947, in Sebastopol, California. Her father was Portuguese in descent. It was her paternal grandfather who Anglicised the Portuguese surname "Valentin" to the English surname "Valentine." Her paternal…