Betsy Palmer, who played the notorious
Mrs. Pamela Voorhees in Sean Cunningham's 1980 film Friday the 13th, passed away on Friday, May 29, 2015 in
a hospice care center in Connecticut, according to her manager Brad
Lemack. She was 88 years-old. Mrs. Palmer was in show business for over 50
years, a remarkable feat for anyone.
She began acting in many television
roles in the 1950's and became a regular on the game
show I've Got a Secret. A 1979 incident that left her without a car
led her to reluctantly accept the role as Jason Voorhees's
mother in one of the most successful horror film franchises in the history of
the medium. The money she received for
appearing in Friday the 13th,
a film that she assumed would never see the light of day, allowed her to buy a
new automobile. It also permitted her to
shed the wholesome roles that she played for many years and try something
different. As luck would have it, the
film did phenomenal box office and she scored legions of fans for her role as
the mother hell bent on killing the teenagers of Camp Crystal Lake who behaved
like the teens who were preoccupied with themselves years earlier, causing her
son Jason to drown. Many years later,
she drew long lines of autograph seekers at conventions that celebrated science
fiction and horror films. Incredibly, a
lot of people never know of her career prior to this film! The film brought her much fame and
notoriety.
In 2005, Mrs. Palmer appeared in Bryan
Norton's excellent short film Penny
Dreadful as
Trudie Treadwell, a congenial psychic who attempts to help a couple who have
moved into a new home that might be haunted.
Penny Dreadful is an excellent
showcase for tip-of-the-hat moments for genre fans, and Mrs. Palmer shines in
one of her last screen roles.
Mrs. Palmer was one of the nicest and
most interesting personalities to talk with at the conventions, and she will be
truly missed. Fortunately, we have her
wonderful performances to enjoy for years to come.
