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Betsy Palmer
★ Acting

Betsy Palmer

1926 – 2015 · East Chicago, Indiana, USA · Active 1948–2023

Betsy Palmer, born in 1926, became a household name through her role as Mrs. Voorhees in Friday the 13th (1980). Her chilling portrayal set the tone for the slasher genre, leading her to reprise the role in Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981), Friday the 13th Part III (1982), and Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984). Palmer's transition from television game shows to horror cinema showcases her range and ability to captivate audiences, making her a significant figure in cult film history.

▶ Watch on SassyFlix 4 films available
Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter

Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter

1984 ★ 6.0
as Pamela Voorhees (archive footage)

The night after the events at Higgins Haven, police clean up the grounds and Jason Voorhees's body, believed to be dead, is taken to the morgue. At the hospital, Jason spontaneously revives and escapes from the cold storage, murdering the coroner Axel Burns with a hacksaw and gutting Nurse Robbie Morgan with a scalpel. The following day, a group of teenagers drive to Crystal Lake for the weekend. The group consists of Paul, his girlfriend Sam, virgin Sara, her boyfriend Doug, awkward Jimmy, and jokester Ted. On the way, the group comes across Pamela Voorhees's tombstone and a hitchhiker, who is soon killed by Jason. The teens arrive and meet neighbors Trish Jarvis, her twelve-year-old brother Tommy, and the family dog Gordon. While going for a walk the next day, the teens meet twin sisters Tina and Terri Moore, and go skinny dipping with them. Trish and Tommy happen upon the scene, and Trish is invited to a party taking place that night. Afterwards, when their car breaks down, Trish and Tommy are helped out by a young man named Rob Dier. They take him to their house, where he meets their mother and Tommy shows him several monster masks he made himself before Rob leaves to go camping. Later that night, the teens begin the party. A jealous Sam sees Tina flirting with Paul and leaves. She goes out to the lake where Jason impales her with a spear from under a raft. When Paul goes out to look for her, he is stabbed in the groin with a harpoon gun. Terri tries to leave the party early, but before she can get on her bike Jason stabs her with a spear. Mrs. Jarvis arrives home and discovers the power outage. While searching for her children and Gordon, she is killed offscreen. Trish and Tommy soon arrive and realize their mother is missing. Trish goes to search for her and finds Rob's campsite. It is revealed that Rob is actually the brother of Jason's victim Sandra Dier from the second installment. Rob further explains to her that Jason is still alive and he came to Crystal Lake to avenge his sister's death. Worried for Tommy's safety, Trish and Rob return to the house. After sleeping with Tina, Jimmy goes downstairs to get a bottle of wine. Jason pins his hand with a corkscrew before striking him in the face with a meat cleaver. Tina looks out a window upstairs and finds that her sister's bike is still there. Jason then bursts through the window and throws her to her death, crashing on the car. While a stoned Ted watches stag films with a film projector, he gets too close to the projector screen and is stabbed in the head with a kitchen knife from the other side. Jason then goes upstairs where Doug and Sara finish making love in the shower. After Sara leaves, Jason kills Doug by crushing his head against the shower tile. When Sara screams upon finding Doug's body, she tries to escape but gets a double-bit axe through her chest. Trish and Rob go next door to investigate and discover the teens' bodies. Gordon flees, and Rob is killed by Jason in the basement as Trish runs home, taking Rob's machete with her. She and Tommy barricade the house, but Jason breaks in and chases them into Tommy's room. Trish lures Jason out of the house and escapes, then returns home and is devastated to learn that Tommy didn't run away. She senses Jason behind her and tries to fight him off with the machete but is overpowered. Tommy, having disguised himself to look like Jason as a child, distracts him long enough for Trish to hit him with the machete, but she merely whacks off his mask. As Trish stands horrified at Jason's deformed face, Tommy takes the machete and strikes it in the side of his skull, causing him to collapse to the floor and split his head upon impact. When Tommy notices that Jason's fingers are slightly moving, he continues to hack at his body screaming, "Die! Die!" while Trish repeatedly yells out his name. At the hospital, Trish is visited by Tommy. He rushes in, embraces her, and gives a disturbed look while staring into the camera.

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Career Highlights Top 6 by popularity · TMDB

Filmography

76 credits
2000s 11 credits
2007
Movie ★ 5.5
2005
Penny Dreadful as Trudie Tredwell
Movie ★ 4.8
2004
Movie ★ 8.3
2002
Movie ★ 6.9
2000
FreakyLinks as Betty
TV ★ 6.6
1990s 7 credits
1999
Movie ★ 3.7
1997
TV ★ 6.6
1995
James Dean and Me as Self (uncredited)
Movie ★ 8.8
1994
Unveiled as Eva
Movie ★ 3.6
1992
Still Not Quite Human as Aunt Mildred
Movie ★ 4.9
1980s 13 credits
1988
Movie ★ 5.5
1988
Windmills of the Gods as Mrs. Hart Brisbane
TV ★ 6.1
1984
Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter as Pamela Voorhees (archive footage)
Movie ★ 6.1
1984
Murder, She Wrote as Lila Norris
TV ★ 7.5
1984
TV ★ 6.1
1984
TV ★ 7.5
1982
Friday the 13th Part III as Mrs. Pamela Voorhees (archive footage)
Movie ★ 5.9
1982
T. J. Hooker as Anne Armstrong
TV ★ 6.5
1982
TV ★ 7.1
1981
Movie ★ 6.2
1981
Isabel's Choice as Ellie Fineman
Movie
1981
Maggie as Virginia Sullivan
TV ★ 10.0
1980
Friday the 13th as Mrs. Voorhees
Movie ★ 6.4
1970s 4 credits
1979
Knots Landing as Virginia Bullock
TV ★ 6.9
1977
CHiPs as Self (uncredited)
TV ★ 6.9
1977
The Love Boat as Millicent Holton
TV ★ 6.3
1971
Columbo as Martha Lamarr
TV ★ 8.1
1960s 2 credits
1962
TV ★ 6.6
1950s 25 credits
1959
The Last Angry Man as Anna Thrasher
Movie ★ 6.9
1959
It Happened to Jane as Betsy Palmer
Movie ★ 6.2
1958
No Time at All as Emmy Verdon
Movie ★ 8.0
1958
The True Story of Lynn Stuart as Phyllis Carter / Lynn Stuart
Movie ★ 7.0
1957
The Tin Star as Nona Mayfield
Movie ★ 7.0
1957
TV ★ 7.5
1956
Playhouse 90 as Emmy Verdon
TV ★ 7.6
1955
Queen Bee as Carol Lee Phillips
Movie ★ 6.3
1955
The Long Gray Line as Kitty Carter
Movie ★ 7.0
1955
Mister Roberts as Lieutenant Ann Girard
Movie ★ 7.1
1955
Movie ★ 6.0
1955
Death Tide as Gloria
Movie ★ 6.7
1954
Climax! as Elizabeth
TV ★ 3.8
1954
TV ★ 8.0
1954
Climax! as Fran Coates
TV ★ 3.8
1954
Climax! as Connie Rankin Hill
TV ★ 3.8
1953
Movie ★ 7.0
1953
Sentence of Death as Ellen Morrison
Movie ★ 7.3
1953
Marty as Virginia
Movie ★ 8.0
1953
TV ★ 6.8
1952
TV ★ 7.7
1951
Hallmark Hall of Fame as Nancy Aragon
TV ★ 8.8
1951
TV ★ 6.5
1950
TV ★ 6.7
1950
What's My Line? as Self - Panelist
TV ★ 7.0
1940s 10 credits
1948
TV ★ 5.4
1948
TV ★ 6.8
1948
Studio One as Edith Olmstead
TV ★ 5.4
1948
Studio One as Ann Meade
TV ★ 5.4
1948
Studio One as Dony Waller
TV ★ 5.4
1948
Studio One as Maureen Drew
TV ★ 5.4
1948
Studio One as Mimi
TV ★ 5.4
1948
TV ★ 6.6
1948
Studio One as Ellen Morrison
TV ★ 5.4