
Person
Maria Palmer
Acting · 1917–1981 · Vienna, Austria-Hungary [now Austria]
Biography
This lovely Austrian-born actress was born (in 1917) and raised in Vienna, performing as a child on stage and appearing in various productions for the renowned Max Reinhardt. Trained in dance, she was a member of the Bodenwieser Ensemble, a European troupe. Following a few high school plays and dance recitals, she went on to study drama and voice at the Vienna Conservatory. Maria arrived in the United States at the outbreak of war in 1938 and first performed on the New York stage, notably in the 1942 production of "The Moon Is Down." Spotted for films, she was one of many foreign actresses Hollywood took in at the time to fill their quota of exotic mystery ladies in war-era intrigue and film noir. She made her debut in Mission to Moscow (1943) for Warner Bros. and continued on freelancing for other studios with Days of Glory (1944), opposite Gregory Peck, Lady on a Train (1944), The Web (1947), The Other Love (1947), Strictly Dishonorable (1941), By the Light of the Silvery Moon (1953), and Outcasts of the City (1958), among others. Her film career waned in the 1950s and she turned to radio, TV and commercials. She formed her own production company, Maria Palmer Enterprises, and hosted her own local Los Angeles show "Sincerely, Maria Palmer" in the early 1960s. In later years she wrote a number of unproduced teleplays, often under the pseudonym Eliot Parker White. Dying of pulmonary failure while battling cancer in 1981, she kept extensive journals of her life and career which were later available to the public. (IMDB)
Known for

Perry Mason
Florence Wood

Four Star Playhouse
Elsa

One Step Beyond
Sylvia Ackroyd

Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse
1958

The Californians
Mme. Jouvais

By the Light of the Silvery Moon
Renee LaRue
Kings Row
1955

The Evil of Frankenstein
Rena's Mother (uncredited)

Rendezvous 24
Greta Holvig

The Web
Martha Kroner
Filmography
- 1964The Evil of FrankensteinRena's Mother (uncredited)
- 1959One Step BeyondSylvia Ackroyd
- 1958Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse
- 1958Outcasts of the City
- 1957The CaliforniansMme. Jouvais
- 1957Perry MasonFlorence Wood
- 1956Three for Jamie DawnJulia Karek
- 1955Kings Row
- 1954Crash of MoonsCotondo
- 1953Flight NurseCaptain Martha Ackerman
- 1953Nostradamus and the QueenQueen Catherine de Medici
- 1953By the Light of the Silvery MoonRenee LaRue
- 1952Four Star PlayhouseElsa
- 1951Joe Santa ClausMaria Peters
- 1951Strictly DishonorableCountess Lili Szadvany
- 1950SurrenderJanet Barton
- 194813 Lead SoldiersEstelle Prager, alias Estelle Gorday
- 1947The WebMartha Kroner
- 1947The Other LoveHuberta
- 1946Rendezvous 24Greta Holvig
- 1945Lady on a TrainMargo Martin, Circus Club Singer
- 1944Days of GloryYelena
- 1943Mission to MoscowTanya Litvinov
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