Betsy Palmer

Infobox actor


caption = Palmer as Mrs. Pamela Voorhees in "Friday the 13th"
spouse =
birthname = Patricia Betsy Hrunek
birthdate = Birth date and age|1926|11|1|mf=y
birthplace = East Chicago, Indiana

Betsy Palmer (born Patricia Betsy Hrunek; November 1 1926) is an American actress probably best known for her role as a panelist on the original run of the game show "I've Got A Secret", and later for playing the part of madman Jason Voorhees's mother Pamela in the horror film "Friday the 13th". She has appeared in numerous movies, TV programs and game shows.

Biography

Palmer was born 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.cite news|last=Shanley|first=J.P.|coauthors=|title=REALISTIC ACTRESS; Betsy Palmer Discusses Her Work on TV|pages=|publisher=The New York Times|date=1956-07-08|url=http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F40D17FB3B5E1B7A93CAA9178CD85F428585F9|accessdate=2007-12-09] cite news|last=|first=|coauthors=|title=The name is Betsy Palmer|pages=|publisher=The Lima News|date=1960-05-03|url=|accessdate=2007-12-09] [ [http://www.filmreference.com/film/42/Betsy-Palmer.html Betsy Palmer Biography (1929-) ] ] She graduated from DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois.

Palmer got her first acting job in 1951 when she joined the cast of a 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 actor Frank Sutton (Sgt. Carter of "Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C."). She had been in New York City less than one week.

She would later become a familiar face on television as a long-running regular panelist on the quiz show "I've Got a Secret". She joined the show's original run, replacing Faye Emerson in 1958 and remaining until the show's finale 1967. She did not subsequently reprise her role in any of the various revivals of the show.

Palmer also played nurse Lt. Ann Girard (the most prominent female character) in the all-star cast of the film "Mister Roberts" (1955) starring Henry Fonda, Jack Lemmon and James Cagney, which became an Oscar nominee for Best Picture and won one for Lemmon.

She was the character Carol Lee Phillips in the film "Queen Bee" (1956) starring the legendary actress Joan Crawford. She starred alongside Fonda again as well as Anthony Perkins in the Paramount production of "The Tin Star" (1957), a Western that was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Writing, Story or Screenplay.

Palmer's need to purchase a new car was her reason for taking her most famous role in "Friday the 13th". She recounted, in an interview, that her initial reaction to the experience was: "What a piece of junk! Nobody is ever going to see this piece of crap". [http://www.iconsoffright.com/iv_betsy.htm] (Other sources have claimed she said "shit" instead of "junk".] She came to embrace her participation in the film, appearing in the 2006 documentary "Betsy Palmer: A Scream Queen Legend". Palmer was asked to reprise her role as Mrs. Voorhees in "Freddy vs. Jason" in 2003 but turned it down due to low offered salary.

From 1989 to 1990, the actress 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 in her 80s, 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 as the older version of the title character in "Waltzing Anna".

Palmer was the recipient of the 2005 Major Award from the New England Theatre Conference (www.netconline.org) for her work in the theatre.

Palmer married Dr. Vincent J. Marandino on May 8, 1954, and the couple had one daughter, Missy, in 1962. The couple divorced in 1971.

TV appearances

From 1953 to 2001, Betsy Palmer was a guest star on 73 television programs, including (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"
*"the fear 2 halloween night"

References

External links

*imdb name|id=0658133|name=Betsy Palmer
* [http://www.createspace.com/Store/ShowEStore.jsp?id=212797 Betsy Palmer a SCREAM QUEEN LEGEND DVD]
* [http://www.myspace.com/betsypalmer Betsy Palmer Myspace Page] Email Betsy, and watch some of her videos.
* [http://www.thefutureandyou.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=47863 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.)