Marie Windsor

Marie Windsor (December 11, 1919 – December 10, 2000)^[1] Born as Emily Marie Bertelson in Marysvale, Piute County, Utah, Windsor was an actress known as "The Queen of the Bs" because she appeared in so many B-movies and film noirs.^[2]

Career

Windsor, unofficially appointed "Miss Utah of 1939" by the Chamber of Commerce of Marysvale, Utah,^[3] trained for the stage under Maria Ouspenskaya. After working for several years as a telephone operator, a stage and radio actress, and a bit and extra player in films, she began playing feature and lead parts in 1947.^[4]

The 5'9" actress's first memorable role was opposite John Garfield in Force of Evil playing seductress Edna Tucker. Windsor also co-starred with Randolph Scott in his 1954 western The Bounty Hunter. She had large roles in film noirs, including The Sniper, The Narrow Margin, City That Never Sleeps, and Stanley Kubrick's heist movie, The Killing, playing Elisha Cook Jr.'s scheming wife. She also made a foray into science fiction with the 1953 release of Cat-Women of the Moon.

Later Windsor moved to television. She appeared in 1954 as the bandit Belle Starr in the premiere episode of the syndicated western series Stories of the Century, starring and narrated by Jim Davis. She appeared on such programs as Maverick (in the episodes "The Quick and the Dead" with James Garner and "Epitaph for a Gambler" with Jack Kelly), Bat Masterson (in "The Fighter") opposite Gene Barry, four episodes of Perry Mason starring Raymond Burr, including the role of murderer Helen Reed in "The Case of the Wednesday Woman," two episodes of Bourbon Street Beat starring Andrew Duggan, The Incredible Hulk, Rawhide "Incident on the Edge of Madness" and "Incident of the Painted Lady", General Hospital, Salem's Lot, and Murder, She Wrote.

In 1962, Windsor played Ann Jesse, a woman dying in childbirth, in the episode "The Wanted Man" of the ABC/Warner Brothers western series, Lawman, starring John Russell as Marshal Dan Troop. Her wanted husband, Frank (Dick Foran), orders their son, Ben (Jan Stine) to turn him in to Marshal Dan Troop in order to collect the $5,000 reward and have the funds to rear his surviving infant brother. Meanwhile, Troop counters Joe Street (Alan Baxter), a bounty hunter seeking the same reward.^[5]

Windsor 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.

Windsor was politically conservative, a member of the Screen Actors Guild, and supportive of the Motion Picture and Television Fund.^[6]

Personal life

Windsor married twice, first briefly to bandleader Ted Steele.^[7] They divorced.

Later she married Jack Hupp, a member of the 1936 U.S. Olympic basketball team. Hupp, with whom Windsor had a son, was posthumously inducted into the University of Southern California (USC) Athletic Hall of Fame in 2007.^[8] After her acting career was over, Windsor became a painter and sculptor. She died of undisclosed causes on the day before her 81st birthday. She is interred with Hupp in Marysvale, Utah.

Filmography

Source:^[9]

Television

• The Public Defender, as Melody Scanlon in "The Ring" (1954)
• Stories of the Century, as Belle Starr in the series premiere episode (1954)
• The Californians as Dolly Dawson in "The Regulators" (1957)
• Bat Masterson, as saloon owner Polly Landers in the episode "The Fighter" (1958)
• Perry Mason, in the episode "The Case of the Daring Decoy" (1958)
• Yancy Derringer, in episode 03, "Ticket to Natchez" (1958)
• Rawhide, in the episode "Incident on the Edge of Madness" (1959) and in "Incident of the Painted Lady" (1961)
• The Alaskans, as Maria Julien in the episode "Winter Song" (1959)
• Bourbon Street Beat as Veda Troup in "The 10% Blues" and Mara in "Teresa" (both 1960)
• The Rebel, as Emma Longdon in "Glory" (1960)
• Perry Mason, in the episode "The Case of the Madcap Modiste" (1960)
• Lassie (TV Series) as Mimi in "Little Cabbage" S 7: Ep 12 11/27/60
• Cheyenne (TV Series) as Thora in "The Mutton Puncher"
• Perry Mason, in the episode "The Case of the Tarnished Trademark" (1962)
• Perry Mason, in the episode "The Case of the Wednesday Woman" (1964)
• Bonanza, in the episode "Five Sundowns to Sunup" (1965)
• Wild Women (1970) (TV)
• Gunsmoke, in the episode "Trafton" (1971)
• Alias Smith and Jones as Helen Archer in the episode "High Lonesome Country" (1971)(TV)
• Adam-12 Season 5, Episode 10 "The Chaser", as Jenny (waitress) (1972) (TV)
• Manhunter (1974) (TV)
• Salem's Lot (1979) (TV)
• Charlie's Angels, in the episode "Angels at the Altar" (1979)
• Lou Grant (2 episodes, 1979 and 1980) (TV)
• The Incredible Hulk (TV Series) as Belle Star in the episode "Sideshow" (1980)(TV)
• The Perfect Woman (1981) (TV)
• J.O.E. and the Colonel (1985) (TV)
• Tales from the Darkside (1986) (TV)
• Commando Squad (1987) (TV)
• Supercarrier (1988) (TV)
• Adam 12 (1990) (TV)
• Murder She Wrote (2 episodes, 1987 and 1991) (TV)

References

Notes

Further reading

• Oderman, Stuart, Talking to the Piano Player 2. BearManor Media, 2009. ISBN 1-59393-320-7.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Marie Windsor.

• Marie Windsor at the Internet Movie Database
• Marie Windsor at the Internet Broadway Database
• Marie Windsor at AllMovie
• Marie Windsor interview with The Perfect Vision magazine at Modern Times Classic Film Pages
• Marie Windsor at Find a Grave
• Literature on Marie Windsor