| Betsy Palmer | |
|---|---|
 Palmer as Mrs. Pamela Voorhees |
|
| Born | November 1 1926 East Chicago, Indiana |
Betsy Palmer (born November 1 1926) is an American actress. Probably best known for playing the part of Jason Voorhees's mother Pamela in the horror film Friday the 13th (1980), she has appeared in numerous movies, TV programs and game shows. Palmer was born Patricia Betsy Hrunek in East Chicago, Indiana, the daughter of Marie (née Love), who headed the Chicago Business College, and Vincent R. Hrunek, an industrial chemist who was an immigrant from Czechoslovakia.[1][2][3] She graduated from DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois. Palmer got her first acting job in 1951 when she joined the cast of the 15 minute long, daily soap opera Miss Susan which was produced in Philadelphia. She was "discovered" for this role while enjoying a party in the apartment of Frank Sutton (Sgt. Carter of Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.). She had been in New York City less than one week. She was a long-time panelist on the panel show I've Got a Secret (from 1957 to 1967). Palmer played Lt. Ann Girard (the most prominent female character) in the movie Mister Roberts (1955) and the character of Carol Lee Phillips in the film Queen Bee (1956) starring actress legend Joan Crawford. She starred alongside Henry Fonda and Anthony Perkins in the low budget Western The Tin Star (1957), which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Writing, Story or Screenplay.
Ironically, if it hadn't been for the fact that she needed a new car, Palmer would not have taken her most famous role in Friday the 13th. She recounts, in an interview, her initial reaction to the film was "What a piece of junk! Nobody is ever going to see this piece of crap".[4] She has since embraced her role in the film, appearing in the 2006 documentary Betsy Palmer:A Scream Queen Legend. From 1989 to 1990, she appeared on the CBS prime time soap opera, Knots Landing as "Aunt Ginny Bullock," the aunt of Valene Ewing (played by series star Joan Van Ark). She acted in a Mayfield Dinner Theatre production of "On Golden Pond" in 1997 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, playing the role of Ethel Thayer. Now 80, Palmer continues to act. In 2005, she provided the voice of the title character, the ghost of a witch, in Bell Witch: The Movie. In 2006, she appeared in the independent horror film Penny Dreadful and in 2007, she appeared as the older version of the title character in Waltzing Anna.
Filmography
From 1953 to 2001 she was a guest star on 73 programs including (but not limited to and in no particular order):
- Marty (the TV Adaptation)
- Just Shoot Me!
- Murder, She Wrote
- Columbo (Death Hits the Jackpot - 1991)
- Newhart
- Charles in Charge
- The Love Boat
- Hallmark Hall of Fame
- The Mike Douglas Show
- The Joey Bishop Show
- Toast of the Town
- Password
- Kraft Television Theatre
- Philco Television Playhouse
- Lux Video Theatre
- Studio One
References
- ^ Shanley, J.P.. "REALISTIC ACTRESS; Betsy Palmer Discusses Her Work on TV", The New York Times, 1956-07-08. Retrieved on 2007-12-09.
- ^ "The name is Betsy Palmer", The Lima News, 1960-05-03. Retrieved on 2007-12-09.
- ^ http://www.filmreference.com/film/42/Betsy-Palmer.html
- ^ http://www.iconsoffright.com/iv_betsy.htm] (Other sources have claimed she said "shit" instead of "junk".
External links
- Betsy Palmer at the Internet Movie Database
- Betsy Palmer Myspace Page Email Betsy, and watch some of her videos.
- Interview with Betsy Palmer on the podcast The Future And You (recorded Sept 4, 2005) (Assorted anecdotes about her career and the story of how she got her first acting job.)
