THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, October 16, 1995 TAG: 9510140053
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MAL VINCENT, ENTERTAINMENT WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 114 lines
TO A GENERATION of TV viewers, Betsy Palmer was the vivacious, oh-so-wholesome panelist on ``I've Got a Secret.'' To a generation of movie audiences, she was the murderous mother in ``Friday the 13th.''
The public tended to forget she had worked on Broadway and was directed by John Ford in ``Mr. Roberts'' and ``The Long Grey Line.''
Still, she's regarded as more of a ``personality'' than an actress.
All that is changing.
Palmer sat in the rehearsal hall of the Virginia Stage Company in downtown Norfolk as she contemplated her next role: Madame Arcati, the eccentric, inept ``medium'' in Noel Coward's ``Blithe Spirit.'' This is the big time in classic, sophisticated comedy, a part that has been played by Margaret Rutherford, Mildred Natwick, Beatrice Lillie, Beryl Reid and Ruth Gordon.
Palmer, 66, is ready. She's been ready for years.
``At last, I'm playing a character role - and what a character,'' she said, extending a hand and flashing that irresistible smile. ``I was always difficult to cast. Always. As an ingenue, I was never the typical ingenue - too tall and with a voice that didn't fit the regular ingenues.
``Then, as I grew older, I fell into a trap. I was afraid not to be the Betsy they wanted to see. I didn't fully give what I could as an actress. I was afraid to say no. I was raised, you see, in the Midwest and I was taught to always say yes. That was my upbringing. Polite. Well-trained.''
Palmer appeared in ``Love Letters'' last season at the VSC. ``Blithe Spirit,'' opening Friday, co-stars David McCann, Corinna May and Karla Hendrick.
``I saw the movie version years ago, but I didn't see Millie or any of the other famous Madame Arcatis.'' Palmer said. ``I want to get her on my own. I talk to Noel in my room nightly.''
Born in Indiana, Palmer was trained in classical theater, beginning at the Goodman Theater in Chicago. One of her first professional appearances was directed by Geraldine Page. In 1951, she went to New York and began appearing on the classic live television dramas - ``Studio One,'' ``Goodyear Playhouse'' and ``The U.S. Steel Hour.''
``We'd rehearse all week and then, at 8 p.m. one night, we'd be LIVE on the air, performing a play before millions of people,'' she remembered. ``Once, the set caught fire while we were on the air. There was water being poured on the furniture, and we just kept on saying our lines. The audience didn't know. They thought it was a part of the show.
``Once, during a Rod Steiger production, the director crawled on the floor and, under the camera, whispered, `Cut every other line. We're running long.' Cut every other line. Can you imagine trying to do that?''
When Hollywood beckoned, she found herself in Hawaii to film ``Mr. Roberts'' opposite Henry Fonda. The legendary John Ford, the only director to win four Oscars, was known to be rough on actors.
``He liked me,'' Palmer said, proudly. ``He always called me Pat. I don't know how he knew that my real name is Patricia. (He) always did a very civilized thing on the set. He'd stop production at around 4 o'clock, and we'd all have tea. The crew, the actors, everyone would take a break for 30 or 45 minutes. Then, of course, he'd keep us later in the day.''
She starred with Fonda again in the Western ``The Tin Star.'' ``He was a very private man,'' she said. ``He didn't talk much. I learned later that he said I was a great gal and a real pro. I was delighted to hear it, because he never said that to me, personally.''
One of her closest friends was Joan Crawford, her co-star in ``Queen Bee.'' ``I called her Joanne,'' Palmer said. ``She respected me because I had done theater and live TV. She always wanted to do those. When I'm scrubbing the kitchen floor, which I actually do sometimes, I say, `Here's one for you, Joanne.' She was obsessed, you know, about cleanliness, and was always scrubbing everything.''
Palmer also became ``women's editor'' on the ``Today Show.'' ``I was referred to as `the girl.' It was that era when women were identified that way.'' That same attitude prevailed on the game shows.
``There was an art to the casting,'' Palmer said. ``I was the sweet, light one. Then they'd have contrasting personalities on the panel. The art was to make everyone feel comfortable and to give the illusion that we were totally at ease.''
Game-show stardom, though, interfered with her goal to become a serious actress. ``Frederick Knott wrote the part of the blind girl in `Wait Until Dark' for me,'' she said. ``He wanted me to do it on Broadway, but they said, `We can't have her on Broadway. She plays games on TV.' '' The stage part went to Lee Remick; Audrey Hepburn starred in the movie version.
It was only a few years later, when she was a TV ``name,'' that Broadway actively pursued her. ``I replaced Betty Bacall in `Cactus Flower' and I had one of my favorite roles in `Same Time, Next Year.' ''
The role of Jason's mother in ``Friday the 13th'' came about because she needed a new car. ``They sent me this script and I thought it was real junk,'' she said. ``I cast it aside. Then, on the opening night of `Same Time, Next Year,' my car broke down when I was driving back home to Connecticut. There I was out on the turnpike at 2 o'clock in the morning and I thought, `I've got to buy a new car. I'll take the horror movie.' I really thought no one would ever see it.''
Fame, she said, has had its down side.
``I had this TV show. It was a talk show and I think it was called `Girl Talk,' '' Palmer said. ``Anyway, I was to interview some clowns from the circus. I got in clown make-up myself. As I was looking in the mirror, I broke into tears. I was seeing the mask that I had been wearing for so many years - a clown's mask.''
As the rest of the ``Blithe Spirit'' cast began trickling in for rehearsal, Palmer said, ``The real challenge in playing Madame Arcati is not to make her a caricature. She's quite a challenge, but I'm getting her. She's beginning to show through. Rehearsals are a little like one of her seances. I'm trying to get across to the other side.''
For Betsy Palmer, the mask is off. ILLUSTRATION: Color staff photo by Richard L. Dunston\The Virginian-Pilot
Betsy Palmer, with a long career in theater, television and film, is
starring in "Blithe Spirit".
B\W photo
Palmer was a familiar game-show panelist in the 1960s.
by CNB