Betsy Palmer was probably best known for playing Jason Voorhees' mother in the horror film Friday the 13th (1980), but her career as an actress began many years before. Palmer was born Patricia Betsy Hrunek in East Chicago, Indiana, to Marie (née Love), who launched the Chicago Business College, and Rudolph Vincent Hrunek, a Czech-born industrial ...
Friday the 13th, Friday the 13th Part 2, Mister Roberts, The Tin Star, Queen Bee, The Long Gray Line, The Last Angry Man, Bell Witch: The Movie, The True Story of Lynn Stuart, The Fear: Halloween Night, Waltzing Anna, Goddess of Love, Windmills of the Gods, Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the ...
[Getting the role of Pamela Voorhees in Friday the 13th (1980)] My agent called and said "How'd you like to do a movie?" Great! I had not done a movie in years, California? No, it's going to be shot in New Jersey, and it's ten days work, [I'll] make $1,000 a day. But there's a catch: It's a horror film. I said "Oh no! It's bad enough I'm known as a game show player on I've Got a Secret (1952). I said "Send me the script." He sent it to me, I read it, and I said "What a piece of shit!" No one's ever going to see this thing! It will come, it will go, that's the end of it. I called him, and said "I'll do it." And that's my part of story.
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Fact
1
Was nominated for the Joseph Jefferson Award for Best Guest Artist in William Inge's "The Dark at the Top of the Stairs" (1974).
2
Attended the 25th Anniversary "Friday the 13th" Convention on May 13 and 14, 2005 in her trademark Mrs. Voorhees sweater at the Hollywood and Highland Center in Los Angeles, California.
3
Became friends with Joan Crawford when they worked together in the drama film Queen Bee (1955), and remained so, until her death in 1977.
4
Studied drama at HB Studio in Greenwich Village, New York City.
5
Attended and graduated from DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois.
Often spends her time between her home in New York City and Sedona, Arizona.
8
Was once a chauffeur for Mady Christians, and once a professional secretary.
9
Won the 2006 Best Actress Award at the Terror Film Festival for Penny Dreadful (2005).
10
Best known for her role as Mrs. Pamela Voorhees in the horror film Friday the 13th (1980).
11
Stated that she never would have played the role of Mrs. Pamela Voorhees in Friday the 13th (1980) if it had not been for the fact that she was in desperate need of a new car.
12
Was asked to reprise her role of Mrs. Pamela Voorhees in Freddy vs. Jason (2003) but turned down because she felt the role was too small for her. The role went to Paula Shaw.
13
Had one daughter with Dr. Vincent J. Merendino: Melissa "Missy" Merendino (born 1962).
$1.7 Million
