Birthday: 1919-12-11
Deathday: 2000-12-10
Birthplace: Marysvale, Utah, USA
Gender: Female
Owned By: Unowned
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Marie Windsor (born Emily Marie Bertelsen; December 11, 1919 – December 10, 2000) was an actress known as "The Queen of the Bs" because she appeared in so many B-movies and film noirs.
After working for several years as a telephone operator, a stage and radio actress, and a bit and extra player in films, Windsor began playing feature parts on the big screen in 1947.
Her first film contract, with Warner Bros. in 1942, resulted from her writing jokes and submitting them to Jack Benny. Windsor said she submitted the gags under the name M.E. Windsor "because I was afraid he might be prejudiced against a woman gag writer." When Benny finally met Windsor, "he was stunned by her good looks" and had a producer sign her to a contract. After a tenure with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in which the studio "signed her, put her in two small roles and then promptly forgot her", she signed a seven-year contract with The Enterprise Studios in 1948.
The actress' first memorable role was in 1948 with John Garfield in Force of Evil playing seductress Edna Tucker. She had roles in numerous 1950s film noirs, notably The Sniper, The Narrow Margin, City That Never Sleeps, and Stanley Kubrick's heist movie, The Killing, in which she played Elisha Cook Jr.'s scheming wife. She also made a foray into science fiction with the 1953 release of Cat-Women of the Moon. Windsor co-starred with Randolph Scott in The Bounty Hunter (1954).
Later, Windsor moved to television. She appeared in 1954 as Belle Starr in the premiere episode of Stories of the Century. In 1962, she played Ann Jesse, a woman dying in childbirth, in the episode "The Wanted Man" of Lawman. She appeared on programs such as Maverick, Bat Masterson, Perry Mason, Bourbon Street Beat, The Incredible Hulk, Rawhide, General Hospital, Salem's Lot (TV miniseries), and Murder, She Wrote.
Windsor worked consistently through the 1960s and 1970s, and remained on screen once or so annually up to the 1990s, playing her final role at 72 in 1991.
Windsor has a star at 1549 N. Vine Street in the Motion Pictures section of the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It was dedicated January 19, 1983. She was among the 500 stars nominated for selection as one of the 50 greatest American screen legends, as part of the American Film Institute's 100 years.
In 1987, Windsor received the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for best actress for her work in The Bar Off Melrose. She also received the Ralph Morgan Award from the Screen Actors Guild for her service on the organization's board of directors.
Year | Title | Character | |
---|---|---|---|
1987-06-01 | Commando Squad | Casey | |
1985-09-11 | J.O.E. and the Colonel | Mom Roth | |
1981-06-19 | Lovely But Deadly | Aunt May | |
1981-01-01 | The Perfect Woman | Zelda | |
1976-12-17 | Freaky Friday | Mrs Murphy | |
1975-10-08 | Hearts of the West | Woman in Nevada | |
1973-10-19 | The Outfit | Madge Coyle | |
1973-07-11 | Cahill: United States Marshal | Mrs. Hetty Green | |
1971-05-26 | Support Your Local Gunfighter | Goldie | |
1971-02-19 | One More Train to Rob | Slim | |
1970-10-20 | Wild Women | Lottie Clampett | |
1969-10-10 | The Good Guys and the Bad Guys | Polly | |
1966-10-19 | Chamber of Horrors | Madame Corona | |
1964-06-10 | Bedtime Story | Mrs. Sutton | |
1964-03-10 | Mail Order Bride | Hannah | |
1963-02-24 | Critic's Choice | Sally Orr | |
1963-02-14 | The Day Mars Invaded Earth | Claire Fielding | |
1962-01-02 | Paradise Alley | Linda Belita | |
1958-05-01 | Island Women | Elizabeth | |
1958-01-29 | Day of the Badman | Cora Johnson | |
1957-11-08 | The Story of Mankind | Josephine Bonaparte | |
1957-09-24 | The Girl in Black Stockings | Julia Parry | |
1957-09-23 | The Parson and the Outlaw | Tonya | |
1957-06-24 | The Unholy Wife | Gwen | |
1956-06-06 | The Killing | Sherry Peatty | |
1956-04-01 | Swamp Women | Josie Nardo | |
1955-10-27 | No Man's Woman | Carolyn Ellenson Grant | |
1955-10-15 | Two-Gun Lady | Bess | |
1955-06-23 | Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy | Madame Rontru | |
1955-04-07 | The Silver Star | Karen Childress | |
1954-09-25 | The Bounty Hunter | Alice Williams | |
1954-06-01 | Hell's Half Acre | Rose | |
1953-12-25 | The Eddie Cantor Story | Cleo Abbott | |
1953-09-03 | Cat-Women of the Moon | Helen Salinger | |
1953-07-15 | So This Is Love | Marilyn Montgomery | |
1953-06-12 | City That Never Sleeps | Lydia Biddel | |
1953-04-04 | Trouble Along the Way | Anne Williams McCormick | |
1953-02-13 | The Tall Texan | Laura Tompson | |
1952-08-01 | The Jungle | Princess Mari | |
1952-05-09 | The Sniper | Jean Darr | |
1952-05-03 | The Narrow Margin | Mrs. Frankie Neall | |
1952-04-28 | Outlaw Women | Iron Mae McLeod | |
1952-01-29 | Japanese War Bride | Fran Sterling | |
1951-09-09 | Two Dollar Bettor | Mary Slate | |
1951-07-16 | Hurricane Island | Jane Bolton | |
1951-06-15 | Little Big Horn | Celie Donlin | |
1950-12-25 | Frenchie | Diane Gorman | |
1950-12-01 | Double Deal | Terry Miller | |
1950-08-24 | Force of Evil | Edna Tucker | |
1950-08-15 | The Showdown | Adelaide | |
1950-02-17 | Dakota Lil | Dakota Lil | |
1949-09-15 | The Fighting Kentuckian | Ann Logan | |
1949-05-29 | Hellfire | Mary Carson / Doll Brown | |
1949-05-27 | The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend | LaBelle Bergere (uncredited) | |
1949-05-02 | Outpost in Morocco | Cara | |
1948-10-20 | The Three Musketeers | Lady-in-Waiting (uncredited) | |
1948-06-11 | The Pirate | Madame Lucia (uncredited) | |
1947-08-28 | Song of the Thin Man | Helen Amboy | |
1947-07-17 | The Hucksters | Girl on Train (uncredited) | |
1947-06-10 | Living in a Big Way | Jane, Junior League Girl (uncredited) | |
1947-04-05 | I Love My Wife BUT! | Saleswoman (uncredited) | |
1946-12-07 | I Love My Husband, But! | Bridge Player (uncredited) | |
1944-06-03 | Follow the Leader | ||
1943-08-04 | Let's Face It | Chorus Girl (uncredited) | |
1943-06-24 | Pilot #5 | Mrs. Claven | |
1943-01-22 | Cinderella Swings It | Girl (uncredited) | |
1942-10-30 | George Washington Slept Here | (uncredited) | |
1942-10-16 | Eyes in the Night | Actress at Rehearsal (Uncredited) | |
1942-08-13 | The Big Street | Nightclub Patron (Uncredited) | |
1942-08-06 | Parachute Nurse | Company 'C' Girl | |
1942-05-22 | Flying with Music | Native Girl | |
1942-03-28 | The Lady or the Tiger? | The Princess | |
1942-01-23 | Four Jacks and a Jill | Girl Applying Makeup (uncredited) | |
1941-12-12 | Weekend for Three | Old Field Inn Patron | |
1941-10-31 | All-American Co-Ed | Carrot Queen (uncredited) |