Next Friday officially starts prom season for all of the horror film lovers out there who are currently enrolled in high school. In anticipation of this overhyped, milestone of an event, why don’t you pop in your copy of the original Prom Night to see how things were done three decades ago! With this theme in mind, I took a look at one of the leads in Prom Night and profiled them in this edition of Where Are They Now?
Anne-Marie Martin (or Eddie Benton, as she was known before her big television roles) was born in Ontario, Canada in November of 1957. She booked her first role, a guest appearance in a single episode of “Wonder Woman” in 1976, at the ripe of 19 and this kickstarted her career in Hollywood. She continued to show up in television shows like “The Streets of San Francisco” and “Rafferty” in 1977 before she booked her first role, the opening kill in horror film Killer’s Delight (1978). The following year she would play lead roles in science fiction features Dr. Strange and The Shape of Things to Come.
She bounced back to television again with guest spots on “Buck Rogers in the 25th Century” and “B.J. and the Bear” before she returned to horror as the second female lead role in Prom Night. Directed by Paul Lynch and starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Leslie Nielson, Prom Night saw Anne-Marie playing the role of Wendy, one of several students who are stalked and slaughtered the day of their prom years after a tragic accident. Prom Night was in the top 50 films of 1980 and grossed over $15,000,000 in ticket sales (or $44,663,000 if adjusted for current ticket inflation).
Martin stayed with horror for another year, her roles including the lead in creature feature The Boogens and an uncredited part in John Carpenter’s Halloween II as Darcy Essmont. Her part was only a couple lines given alongside Karen Bailey. Martin took a hop back to television in 1983 with guest appearances on “The Powers of Matthew Star” and “T.J. Hooker” and that is where she stayed for the remainder of her career. Following another guest spot on “Saint Elsewhere,” she joined the soap opera “Days of Our Lives” as recurring character Gwen Davies from 1983 to 1985. Once she fulfilled her contract there, she joined the action-comedy series “Sledge Hammer” as the lead role of Dori Doreau from 1986 to 1988.
So, where is Anne-Marie Martin now?
She left Hollywood after “Sledge Hammer” to pursue another passion: professional horseback riding. Although, she wrote the screenplay for 1996’s Twister with her husband, famed author Michael Crichton. Twister was a 2x Oscar nominee and grossed $241,000,000 in the American box office alone. After the pair divorced in 2002, Anne-Marie received her “half of everything” in an eight figure deal. Pursing professional horseback riding has been lucrative and a successful venture for her. Recently, she rode for the American Team in the World Championship and is considered one of the top 80 jockeys in the world.
