initial reaction to the experience was: "What a piece of shit! Nobody is ever going to see this thing." Despite her distaste for the film, she reluctantly consented to a cameo appearance in Friday the 13th Part 2. She ultimately came to accept and celebrate her participation in the franchise, as it made her more famous rather than infamous; she eventually commented "I was dumb, 'Friday the 13th' is an excellent film." Palmer was asked to reprise her role as Mrs. Voorhees in Freddy vs. Jason in 2003 and agreed to return, but she ultimately turned down the role after being offered a surprisingly low salary. In 1982, Palmer created the role of Suzanne Becker on the CBS daytime soap opera As the World Turns. From 1989 to 1990, the actress appeared on Knots Landing as Virginia "Ginny" Bullock, the aunt of Valene Ewing (played by series star Joan Van Ark). Palmer acted in a Mayfield Dinner Theatre production of On Golden Pond in Edmonton, Alberta, in 1997. In 2002, Palmer provided the voice of the title character, the ghost of a witch, for the horror film Bell Witch: The Movie, released in 2007. In 2005, at around 79 years old, she appeared as Trudie Tredwell in the horror short Penny Dreadful, and in 2007, at 81, as the older version of the title character in Waltzing Anna. Palmer appeared in the 2006 documentary, Betsy Palmer: Scream Queen Legend, as part of the publicity for the 2007 release of Bell Witch: The Movie. Personal life Palmer dated James Dean; the two met while working on an episode of Studio One television series. Palmer married Vincent J. Merendino, an obstetrician-gynecologist, in 1954, whom she met in New York on a blind date. They divorced in 1971 after 17 years. She had one daughter, Melissa. Palmer died of natural causes on May 29, 2015, at a hospice care center in Danbury, Connecticut. She was 88. Filmography Television appearances From 1953 to 2001, Palmer was a guest star on 73 television programs, including (in no particular order): Marty (1953) as Virginia The Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse (1953–1956) as Janice Gans / Virginia Studio One in Hollywood (1953–1957) Janet Dean, Registered Nurse (1954) as The Jinx Nurse Lux Video Theatre (1954) as Intermission Guest The Goodyear Playhouse (1954–1957) as Paula Ferris Appointment with Adventure (1955) I've Got a Secret (1955-1967) as Herself Kraft Television Theatre