Jason Voorhees’ Mother, Actress Betsy Palmer Has Died
Betsy Palmer, who played Jason Voorhees’ mother in the first “Friday the 13th” movie back in 1980, has passed away at the age of 88.
If you recall, in the first movie, she was the killer, not Jason.
Betsy had been an actress going back to the 1950s before she reluctantly agreed to take the part of the killer in “Friday the 13th”.
When the first movie was made they weren’t thinking of a sequel. The scene at the end where Jason pops up out of the water was supposed to be one last scare. But the movie made so much money that a franchise was born.
Betsy notoriously once called the movie a piece of you-know-what and that she only took the part because she needed a new car. But in the end, she embraced the role and the movie and ended up doing a bunch of horror conventions.
Betsy Parker passed away while under hospice care in Danbury, Connecticut. She is survived by one daughter, Missy.