Patricia Betsy Hrunek, better known as Betsy Palmer, embarked on a remarkable acting career that spanned many decades, with a notable role as Jason Voorhees' mother in the iconic horror film Friday the 13th (1980),but her journey began long before that.
Born in East Chicago, Indiana, Palmer was the daughter of Marie (née Love),who founded the Chicago Business College, and Rudolph Vincent Hrunek, a Czech-born industrial chemist. Her early acting credits include appearances alongside Jack Lemmon in Mister Roberts (1955) and The Long Gray Line (1955),both war films.
Throughout the late 1950s, Palmer gained recognition as a news reporter on NBC's Today (1952),before transitioning to television and becoming a staple of made-for-TV films and notable guest appearances. She continued to work in television, making appearances in low-budget films like The Fear: Resurrection (1999).
In her later years, Palmer divided her time between her home in New York City and Sedona, Arizona. Her remarkable career came to an end on a Friday, May 29, 2015, when she passed away of natural causes at a hospice care center in Danbury, Connecticut.
