Marie Windsor

Biography

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.

Known For

Sherry Peatty

The Killing

Mrs. Hetty Green

Cahill: United States Marshal

Girl (uncredited)

Cinderella Swings It

Mrs. Frankie Neall

The Narrow Margin

Jean Darr

The Sniper

Gwen

The Unholy Wife

Madame Rontru

Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy

Edna Tucker

Force of Evil

Madge Coyle

The Outfit

Lydia Biddel

City That Never Sleeps

Josie Nardo

Swamp Women

Rose

Hell's Half Acre

Anne Williams McCormick

Trouble Along the Way

Terry Miller

Double Deal

Josephine Bonaparte

The Story of Mankind

Helen Salinger

Cat-Women of the Moon

Ann Logan

The Fighting Kentuckian

Julia Parry

The Girl in Black Stockings

Mrs Murphy

Freaky Friday

Fran Sterling

Japanese War Bride

Goldie

Support Your Local Gunfighter

Mary Slate

Two Dollar Bettor

Polly

The Good Guys and the Bad Guys

Carolyn Ellenson Grant

No Man's Woman

Mom Roth

J.O.E. and the Colonel

Actress at Rehearsal (Uncredited)

Eyes in the Night

Iron Mae McLeod

Outlaw Women

Princess Mari

The Jungle

Sally Orr

Critic's Choice

Adelaide

The Showdown

Slim

One More Train to Rob

Celie Donlin

Little Big Horn

Claire Fielding

The Day Mars Invaded Earth

Mrs. Claven

Pilot #5

Alice Williams

The Bounty Hunter

Hannah

Mail Order Bride

Cara

Outpost in Morocco

Aunt May

Lovely But Deadly

Tonya

The Parson and the Outlaw

Bess

Two-Gun Lady

Diane Gorman

Frenchie

Linda Belita

Paradise Alley

Dakota Lil

Dakota Lil

Marilyn Montgomery

So This Is Love

Girl Applying Makeup (uncredited)

Four Jacks and a Jill

Casey

Commando Squad

Jane Bolton

Hurricane Island

Laura Tompson

The Tall Texan

Cleo Abbott

The Eddie Cantor Story

Follow the Leader

Lady-in-Waiting (uncredited)

The Three Musketeers

Helen Amboy

Song of the Thin Man

Elizabeth

Island Women

Karen Childress

The Silver Star

Mrs. Sutton

Bedtime Story

Mary Carson / Doll Brown

Hellfire

Madame Corona

Chamber of Horrors

Jane, Junior League Girl (uncredited)

Living in a Big Way

LaBelle Bergere (uncredited)

The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend

Madame Lucia (uncredited)

The Pirate

Carrot Queen (uncredited)

All-American Co-Ed

The Princess

The Lady or the Tiger?

Chorus Girl (uncredited)

Let's Face It

Bridge Player (uncredited)

I Love My Husband, But!

Girl on Train (uncredited)

The Hucksters

(uncredited)

George Washington Slept Here

Zelda

The Perfect Woman

Cora Johnson

Day of the Badman

Saleswoman (uncredited)

I Love My Wife BUT!

Company 'C' Girl

Parachute Nurse

Self

Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures

Woman in Nevada

Hearts of the West

Old Field Inn Patron

Weekend for Three

Lottie Clampett

Wild Women

Nightclub Patron (Uncredited)

The Big Street

Native Girl

Flying with Music