Career
Windsor, unofficially appointed "Miss Utah of 1939" by the Chamber of Commerce of Marysvale, Utah,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.
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.
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.."
More Info...
- IMDB
- Obituary @ The Guardian
- Marie Windsor's bio @ Piute (dot) org
- SCREEN GODDESSES: Marie Windsor