R.I.P.: Paula Shaw of Freddy vs. Jason, Savage Streets, and more has passed away
In Freddy vs. Jason, Freddy Krueger uses the image of Jason Voorhees’ mother to trick his fellow horror icon into helping him out – and when casting the film, the makers of Freddy vs. Jason first turned to the actress who played Jason’s mother in the original Friday the 13th, Betsy Palmer. Unhappy with the size of the role and the paycheck being offered, Palmer turned down the chance to appear in the film, passing the role over to another veteran actress: Paula Shaw, whose screen acting career stretched back to 1969. Shaw did a memorable job playing “Freddy as Jason’s Mother.” Sadly, The Hollywood Reporter has now learned that Shaw has passed away at the age of 84. Following a lengthy illness, Shaw died in her sleep last Wednesday in Vancouver.
Shaw was born in The Bronx on July 17, 1941 and got into acting as a teenager, landing lead roles onstage at NYU’s Bronx campus while she was still in high school. She worked on stage in New York for years before relocating to Los Angeles, where she became a Lifetime Member and Moderator of The Actors Studio, and an acting teacher at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute. Eventually, she also founded the self-expression acting workshop THE MAX, which she led for over 30 years at the Esalen Institute in California, as well as in Vancouver, Canada; England, Germany, and The Netherlands.
She made her screen acting debut in the X-rated 1969 comedy To Hex with Sex, and over the decades would go on to rack up 90 more credits, including Freddy vs. Jason. Among her other credits are Ironside, the Shaft TV series, The Bob Newhart Show, Starsky and Hutch, Little House on the Prairie, Barney Miller, B.J. and the Bear, Three’s Company, General Hospital, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Witchfire, Cagney & Lacey, Wiseguy, Communion, 21 Jump Street, The Young and the Restless, M.A.N.T.I.S., The X-Files, The Outer Limits, The New Addams Family, The Commish, Terminal City, Reindeer Games, Insomnia, The Twilight Zone, Night Creep, Chupacabra Terror, R.L. Stine’s The Haunting Hour, Supernatural, iZombie, Mr. Young, Cedar Cove, Van Helsing, and the Day of the Dead TV series. In recent years, she starred in a string of heartwarming Hallmark Channel holiday movies with titles like Coming Home for Christmas, Picture a Perfect Christmas, Five Star Christmas, A Mrs. Miracle Christmas, and Hanukkah on Rye. Her last role was in the 2023 Hanukkah time loop TV movie Round and Round.
One of the most popular films she worked on was the 1984 thriller Savage Streets, which was directed by Friday the 13th: A New Beginning‘s Danny Steinmann and starred Linda Blair and Linnea Quigley.
Shaw is survived by her sister, Greta; brother-in-law Gary; nephew Nicholas, his wife, Raphaela, and their daughter, Elowy; and godchildren Marissa and David. Our sincere condolences go out to her family, friends, and fans.
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