Long before she was recognized as the First Mother of Horror, Betsy Palmer had achieved a very impressive resume in Hollywood. Her first role on record is a bit part in 1951’s Martinsville, U.S.A. After that she made frequent appearances on shows such as “The Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse,” “Studio One in Hollywood,” “The United States Steel Hour,” and most notably as a reporter for “Today On NBC.”
It wasn’t until 1980 that Betsy Palmer became well-known to the horror community as Jason Vorhees’ bat-shit-crazy mother in Friday The 13th. A role that made her just $10,000 ($1,000 per day on set) and a role that she has stated she would never have taken had she not needed a new car, lead her to become one of the most iconic figures in horror film history. Although she met an unfortunate end at the end of the movie, Mrs. Vorhees appeared briefly through archive footage in the second, third, and fourth Friday The 13th movies in archive footage.
So, what has she done since then? Betsy Palmer stuck with television and appeared on shows such as “The Love Boat,” “As The World Turns,” “Knots Landing,” and “Colombo.” Despite such a strong horror following, she has only appeared in a string of horror films that consist of The Fear: Resurrection in 1999, Penny Dreadful in 2005, and Bell Witch: The Movie in 2006. When asked to reprise her role as Jason’s mother in Freddy vs Jason and the 2009 Friday The 13th remake, Betsy is rumored to have turned down the role, stating that it was too small a part.
Today, Betsy Palmer is 85-years-old. But with a career that has lasted 65 years and the heart of a lion, I’m hoping we will see something of her’s again very soon.
