Karl Holzheimer

4/29/1952 – 2/28/2026

Karl passed away after a long and heartbreaking struggle with dementia. He was born on April 29th, 1952 in Seattle WA to parents Peter and Beverly Holzheimer.

Karl’s early years were spent in the Shoreline, Washington area, attending Hamlin Park Elementary. He played Ringmaster in his first grade circus pageant, where his love of acting undoubtedly began. His first stage presence was in Hillbilly Weddin’, a middle school performance wherein his one iconic line: “Come on, Zeke, we got shooting ta' do” cemented that love.

Karl and family moved to Chile in 1966, and for two years he and his siblings, now famously dubbed The 4K’s, began their tight bond that lasted through his last day. The family subsequently moved to Costa Mesa, CA where he attended Costa Mesa High School, finally returning to the Seattle area in 1969, graduating from Shorecrest High School in 1970.

Acting was always Karl’s main love, but he had to pay the bills too. After attending a couple of years at Shoreline Community College, he spent about 10 years in the banking biz, auditing banks up and down the west coast. In his late 30’s however, he decided that banking wasn’t really his passion and subsequently attended the University of Washington to finish his college education. In the mid 1990’s he became a middle school teacher at Odle Middle School in Bellevue, Washington. Karl loved teaching, and his students loved him (Mr. H!). But if you asked him later in life, “What did you do for a living?”, he would talk about acting first and foremost. He was so proud to have received his SAG-AFTRA card for acting in an episode of Leverage (The Low Low Price Job, Episode #5.11 – check it out!) that first aired on November 28th, 2012, for which he still received residuals until his last day. He even had an agent, AND an IMDb page! He was cast in a few local commercials (our favorite: “Starbucks PSL Days Pumpkin Spice Latte Commercial” which can be seen on YouTube) and a few short movies. He was in many regional plays over the years, loving them all.

Karl’s ‘screen’ time wasn't entirely dedicated to acting. His additional claim to fame is appearing on Who Wants to be a Millionaire (with Regis!), netting him a "tidy sum" and allowing him to become a homeowner in 2001.

Karl is survived by his beloved sisters Kim Karmil (Larry), Karen Fernandez (Dennis, deceased), and Kristi Reed (Lloyd), his nephews and nieces Chris (Kim), Shawn (Melissa), Stacey, Joe (Ashlynn), Jake (special shout-out to Jake for being there for Karl these past couple of years, excellent shaving jobs!), Alex, Laura and Kayla. Karl had many dear and lifelong friends and touched countless lives along the way. And finally, a very special thank you to the Lake Ballinger Adult Family Home, Elsa and Ben, for taking such good care of Karl.

A memorial service for Karl will be held at Acacia Memorial Park & Funeral Home on Thursday, March 12, beginning at 1:00 pm. There will also be a reception following the service.

Acacia Memorial Park & Funeral Home

14951 Bothell Way Ne

Shoreline, WA 98155