Karen Mc Cluskey - Behind The Scenes

Behind The Scenes

• Kathryn Joosten mentioned on the talk show The View and subsequent interviews that Marc Cherry promised her not to kill off her character. Joosten explained that Marc Cherry felt badly about all her previous characters being killed off. In a subsequent interview Kathryn said, "Marc (Cherry) did not vow to not kill Karen because she was 'loved.' He and I made that agreement when I came on the show because I'd just been killed off on a bunch of shows and I didn't want that to happen again." Karen was eventually killed off in the series finale "Finishing the Hat."

• After frequently appearing as a guest star for the first five seasons, Kathryn Joosten was promoted at the start of Season 6, listed as "also-starring", but still is only credited for the episodes that she appears in. Due to a relapse of cancer, Joosten was absent for several episodes during the first half of the sixth season. Kathryn Joosten was promoted yet again, and starting with Season 7 is credited as "starring", but still only in the episodes she appears. For the eighth and final season, Joosten has returned to her previous status as "also-starring".

• Kathryn Joosten was a two-time lung cancer survivor and was the national spokesperson for the Lung Cancer Profiles campaign on behalf of Pfizer.

• Kathryn Joosten herself died of lung cancer just 20 days after the final episode of Desperate Housewives was broadcast, when her character passed of the same disease as well.