Maria Palmer

Maria Palmer (born Maria Pichler;[1] 5 September 1917 – 6 September 1981) was an Austrian-born American actress.

Maria Palmer
Palmer in a 1959 episode of the anthology series One Step Beyond
Born
Maria Pichler

(1917-09-05)5 September 1917
Died6 September 1981(1981-09-06) (aged 64)
Resting placeForest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills)
Alma materVienna Conservatory
OccupationActress
Years active19231967
Spouse(s)Dr. Franz Marmorek (1933-19??; divorced)

Early life

Palmer was born and raised in Vienna, Austria-Hungary (now Vienna, Austria) on 5 September 1917. She first appeared on stage as a child actor, in various Max Reinhardt productions. She trained as a dancer, and was a member of the Bodenwieser Ensemble. She later studied drama and voice at the Vienna Conservatory.

Career

In 1938, a year before the outbreak of war, Palmer emigrated with her parents to the United States.[2] She first performed on the stage in New York City, most notably in the 1942 production of The Moon Is Down.[3]

Palmer in Days of Glory (1944)

She moved into film, helping to meet Hollywood's demand for exotic foreign women for war films and films noir. Her debut was playing Catherine de' Medici in the 1942 short Nostradamus and the Queen. Her feature film debut was in Mission to Moscow (1943). She continued in 1944 with Days of Glory, opposite Gregory Peck, and later that year, Lady on a Train.

In the 1950s, her film career declined and she went into radio, television and commercials. She even started her own production company, called Maria Palmer Enterprises. In the early 1960s, Palmer hosted her own Los Angeles show, entitled "Sincerely, Maria Palmer". She appeared as Nora Krasner in the 1963 Perry Mason episode "The Case of Lawful Lazarus" and as murderer Florence Wood in the 1962 episode "The Case of the Borrowed Baby". In her later years, Palmer wrote a number of unproduced television screenplays, often using the pseudonym Eliot Parker White. In 1962, she played "Elsa" in the episode "The Immigrants" on CBS's Rawhide and Marushka Vesterhauzy on the episode "A Bird of Warning" on NBC's Sam Benedict. Her papers, covering the years 1922–1975, are held by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.[4]

Personal life

When she was 16, Palmer married Dr. Franz Marmorek; they later divorced.[5]

Later life

Palmer died of cancer at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles on 6 September 1981,[2] the day after her 64th birthday. She was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Hollywood Hills, California.[6]

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
1923RumpelstilzchenGirl
1943Mission to MoscowTanya Litvinov
1944Days of GloryYelena
1945Lady on a TrainMargo Martin
1946Rendezvous 24Greta Holvig
1947The Other LoveHuberta
1947The WebMartha Kroner
194813 Lead SoldiersEstelle Prager, alias Estelle Gorday
1950SurrenderJanet Barton
1951Strictly DishonorableCountess Lili Szadvany
1952Dangerous Assignment (Season 1, Episode 16) The Caboose Story] Marta Steva
1953By the Light of the Silvery MoonRenee LaRue
1953Flight NurseCaptain Martha Ackerman
1956Three for Jamie DawnJulia Karek
1958Outcasts of the City
1964The Evil of FrankensteinRena's Mother(additional sequence: US), Uncredited

References

  1. Cotter, Robert Michael "Bobb" (2013). The Women of Hammer Horror: A Biographical Dictionary and Filmography. McFarland. p. 145. ISBN 9781476602011. Retrieved July 18, 2017.
  2. "Noted Actress Maria Palmer Is Dead At 56". Santa Cruz Sentinel. California, Santa Cruz. Associated Press. September 14, 1981. p. 24. Retrieved July 17, 2017 via Newspapers.com. open access
  3. "("Maria Palmer" search results)". Playbill Vault. Playbill. Archived from the original on July 18, 2017. Retrieved July 18, 2017.
  4. "Maria Palmer papers". Oscars.org. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved March 8, 2014.
  5. Carroll, Harrison (November 15, 1955). "Behind the Scenes in Hollywood". The Lethbridge Herald. Canada, Lethbridge, Alberta. p. 2. Retrieved July 17, 2017 via Newspapers.com. open access
  6. Wilson, Scott. Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3d ed.: 2 (Kindle Locations 25047-25048). McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. Kindle Edition.
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