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 chemist. Palmer played a young female officer opposite
Jack Lemmon in
Mister Roberts (1955), and appeared in
another war film the same year,
The Long Gray Line (1955).
Throughout the late 1950s, Palmer was recognized as a news reporter on
Today (1952) on NBC, then became
largely involved in television. She remained in
made-for-TV films and notable guest appearances, before playing the murderous avenging mother, Mrs. Voorhees, in the horror film
Friday the 13th (1980). She also continued working in television, and appearing in low-budget films like
The Fear: Resurrection (1999). Palmer spent her later years between her home in New York City and Sedona, Arizona.
Betsy Palmer died of natural causes on a Friday, May 29, 2015, at a hospice care center in Danbury, Connecticut.
Bell Witch: The Movie(2007)as Bell Witch
Waltzing Anna(2006)as Anna Rhoades
Penny Dreadful(2005)as Trudie Tredwell
FreakyLinks(2000)as Betty
Hang Time(1995)as Sweet Old Lady
Crystal Lake Memories: The Complete History of Friday the 13th(2013)
Vedro(2013)
Voorhees (Born on a Friday)(2011)
A Friday the 13th Reunion(2009)
Friday the 13th Chronicles(2004)
I've Got a Secret(1952)
Jon Finch: The Ultimate Impresario(2011)as Self
Into the Pit: The Shocking Story of Deadpit.com(2009)as Self
Friday's Legacy: Horror Conventions(2009)as Self
Minty Comedic Arts(2015)as Self
Friday the 13th: Origin of Evil - Part 3(2023)as Mrs. Voorhees
Ed Sullivan's Comedy Legends(2022)as Self
The Movies That Made Us(2019)as Self - Actor, 'Mrs. Voorhees'
Broadway: Beyond the Golden Age(2021)as Self
