Matinee Classics - Marie Windsor Biography & Filmography

Marie Windsor ACTOR

PHOTOS

MARIE WINDSOR BIOGRAPHY & FILMOGRAPHY:

Marie Windsor, originally named Emily Marie Bertelson, was born on December 11, 1919 in Utah. During her younger years, she was named Miss Utah and trained under the instruction of Russian stage performer Maria Ouspenskaya, for Windsor knew she wanted to become an actress. She first had jobs as a telephone operator, radio and stage actress, and in the early 1940's signed a contract with Metro Goldwyn Mayer and played an extra in numerous films like “Weekend for Three” (1941), “Chatterbox” (1943), “Follow the Leader” (1944), and “The Romance of Rosy Ridge” (1941) before finally moving up to appearing in feature films. Due to her height (she was 5’9”), Windsor found it hard to acquire roles as a main character. However, In 1947 she debuted in “Song of a Thin Man” and played extras in a few more movies before nabbing her first lead in “Force of Evil” (1948).

From the late 1940's to the late 1950's, she started playing lead roles in films such as “Hellfire” (1949), “The Jungle” (1952), “The Bounty Hunter” (1954), and “The Parson and the Outlaw” (1957), although she also had numerous supporting roles. The types of features she appeared in range from western, to sci-fi/horror, to film noir. The actress furthermore made movies for a large variety of studios. Some of Windsor’s more strange and unusual, but nevertheless memorable pictures include the adventure/horror/romance space flick “Cat-Women of the Moon” (1953), the comedy/horror/adventure “Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy” (1955), and the crime/adventure/horror “Swamp Women” (1955).

While the actress appeared in a great assortment of films, she is most remembered for her involvement in the film noir category of films. Film noir is characterized as a stylish old Hollywood crime drama that puts emphasis on sinister attitudes and sexuality. Her most distinguished pictures from this genre include, but are not limited to, “The Narrow Margin” (1952), “The Sniper” (1952), and “The City That Never Sleeps” (1953). Windsor’s most memorable role throughout her entire career, however, was most probably in “The Killing” (1956), which not surprisingly, is also in the film noir category. In the film, about a race track robbery heist, she portrayed the scheming, traitorous, manipulative wife of Elisha Cook Jr.

Into the 1950's, Windsor also put her focus into television. She began making appearances on a variety of shows. Throughout the 1960's, 1970's, and 1980's, Windsor continued to show up on the small screen in shows and movies. In fact, her very final participation in the dramatic arts was in the TV series “Murder, She Wrote”. She played a character in this show in both 1987 and 1991. During this time, the actress moreover never stopped performing on the silver screen. While television was her prominent form of acting from the early 1950's on, she made sure to make herself seen in movies like “Island Women” (1958), “Chamber of Horrors” (1966), “Freaky Friday” (1976), and “Lovely but Deadly” (1981). Her involvement in feature films began decreasing through the years, but nevertheless, Windsor continued showing up on the big screen. The actress’ concluding picture was the dramatic action flick “Commando Squad” in 1987.

After her official retirement in 1991, Windsor took up sculpting and painting. In 1984, she won a Golden Boot for her involvement in several western films. Additionally, in 1999 American Film Institute (AFI) announced that she was one of the five hundred stars put in the running to be one of the fifty greatest American screen legends as part of the American Film Institute’s 100 years…100 stars event. Even more, for the actress’ contributions to the motion picture industry, she was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.