Pamela Springsteen was someone who totally stood out when I saw the 'Sleepaway Camp' sequels and I was thinking to myself before discovering who she was or even who Felissa Rose (The original Angela) was I was just thinking to myself nope thats not the original killer from the first film and found she did a much better job too.
Now it gets to the nitty gritty as I wondered if she was Bruce Springsteen's daughter but I was browsing in a bookstore and saw a Blockbuster Movie Guide which was a 1994 edition and read a review on SC 2 and it said cast features rocker Bruce Springsteen's sister Pam and it blew my mind she was related to a big time star and she was doing an obscure low budgeter like this one and wondered if she did other gigs and started renting movies she was in but they weren't lead roles like the 'Sleepaway' sequels were and non horror films (Mainly teen comedies and a few drama's) but I found she's be good acting in them and does the job well.
Pam is certainly not a scream queen in any way but horror fans of low budgeters will always remember her performance as Angela doing away the nasty teens in a Freddy Krueger comedic type of way in the sequels by Double Helix Films and admittedly said she hates horror films but by this time the film market wasn't doing too well for her and it was a chance to play a lead role in a film so it was a challenge for her for sure.

Lets get to her history:
Pam Springsteen was born on 8 February 1962 in Freehold, New Jersey as part of a big family. Her brother, Bruce Springsteen, became a nationwide rock star in the early 70s and Pam sometimes went on tour with him.
During the early 80s, she decided to take up acting like her brother's second ex-wife, Julianne Phillips, did during the mid-80s and she had a small role in her first film playing a young cheerleader named "Dina Phillips" in the cult teen comedy classic 'Fast Times at Ridgemont High', and got some brief exposure, as it launched many other future celebrities in the film like Forest Whitaker, Nicolas Cage and James Russo.
She then won a supporting role halfway through a film by playing the role of another cheerleader named "Karen Sybern" in the teen drama 'Reckless', which also starred Aidan Quinn and Daryl Hannah.
Then she had a couple of small roles in teen films like 'Modern Girls' and 'Scenes from the Goldmine' as well as her TV guest roles in "Hardcastle and McCormick", "Cagney & Lacey" and "Family Ties"; She then was getting bigger roles in low budget films by having the main supporting role as Judy in the 1988 flick 'Dixie Lanes'. Although it had some known celebrities it was not well publicised.
Then shortly afterwards accepted the lead role in two slasher flick sequels known as 'Sleepaway Camp 2: Unhappy Campers' and 'Sleepaway Camp 3: Teenage Wasteland' playing a psychotic killer named "Angela Baker" in which viewers remember her the most for being in as well as having a cult following.

She had a couple other supporting film roles afterwards in more obscure b-flicks, such as 'Fast Food' and 'The Gumshoe Kid' as she was on her way towards working steadily in low budget films, but she decided that this was not for her and walked away from acting for good to pursue a different career in still photography at first working for her brother and then she has been very successful at for artists like Courtney Thorne-Smith, Olivia Newton-John, Larry David, Jonathan Silverman, Bill Maher and for album covers for many groups (Lots of country musicians) apart from her brother like Brooks & Dunn, Roseanne Cash, Tears for Fears, Terri Clark and Ice Cube.
She even was a photo consultant for the horror made for TV movie 'The Devil's Child'
Pam is represented by Carolyn Weiss of Weiss Artists, Inc. and you can check out her site at
www.pamelaspringsteen.com

Fast Times at Ridgemont High. 1982 When I found out Pam had roles in other movies I rented this one and said to myself "I can't find her in this one" BUT I saw a scene in a gymnasium with two young cheerleader girls standing there encouraging everyone on the bleachers that their football team is going to destroy Lincoln High but no one is taking them seriously and thought to myself is one of them Pam? There was a blonde and dark haired one. I do remember her on the closing credits rolling up after it shows the one's who had the big roles in the film like Sean Penn, Jennifer Jason Leigh etc and saw she played a part named Dina Phillips.
I found it selling in a music and video store a half year later and bought it. This time I paid more attention and spotted Pam in the opening in a mall when Judge Reinhold walks past her and she talks to her blonde friend after he does so which is played by cult actress Keli Maroney as she too was just starting out and acted in a couple of horror films.
Then we have a long scene with just actors like Phoebe Cates, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Judge Reinhold, Amanda Wyss, Brian Backer, Robert Romanus, Ray Walston and of course Sean Penn stealing the plotlines and no Pam. However, after Penn's character Spicoli is waken up from a wonderful dream about surfing by his younger brother to get to school we spot that gymnasium scene so I was right it was Pam who just had one line while Maroney's character as Cindy was doing most of the talking but Pam is about to talk again and do a cheerleading route when the camera and audio is mostly pointed at Reinhold and Wyss having a discussion when Wyss tells him that they should see other people and remain friends so Pam is just heard silently in the background with Maroney.
Next up, Pam is seen walking in a hallway with her back turned wearing a lincoln kills type of sweat shirt wrapped around her waist while walking in the hallway with Donna Summer's song Highway Runner playing as well as her and Maroney putting up a paper sign about the football game with a student opening a door and ripping it.
Then we see her performing in the football field alongside with Maroney while a debut supporting role by Forest Whittaker runs over the teens at Lincoln High thinking that they totalled his car in which he tells people never to touch at his school.
Much later on Romanus' character Damone tries to scalp her tickets to a Cheap Trick concert outside on some bleachers near a track field with the side of her head nearly turned hardly seeing her face when she refuses thinking it's kids stuff and then Leigh's character Stacy Hamilton tells him that she's pregnant after their intercourse together a couple days before in a change room when they were about to go swimming in her pool.
Pam is seen dancing with the rest of the cast and extras when a band is playing at the graduation dance but that's about it folks.
It was a small role and her first film but received exposure for it since this was a blockbusting mainstream film and was credited in a couple of movie guides too probably cause she was the younger sis of the boss. It also started the career of many other people that are todays stars like mentioned above. Pam was also briefly engaged to Sean Penn while doing this film but it's nothing she wants to talk about apparently.
There's a terrific soundtrack score by many 80's pop bands and very much flows with the movie. This one is my favourite with her in it and one of my favourite films to top it all off and a movie of the 80's to watch in the summertime remembering the years of oldschool arcade games in the mall etc. Later on a brief TV series followed and a couple cast members like Ray Walston returned to play their parts but Pam wasn't one of them.

Reckless. 1984 Another mainstream film and Pam had a bigger role in this one playing another cheerleader named Karen Sybern playing a friend to the lead actress Daryl Hannah as the role of another cheerleader named Tracey Prescott and Pam's scene's were mainly hanging out with her and some of the other supporting cast which includes Adam Baldwin who played Hannah's boyfriend Randy Daniels.
There will be a scene that I will remember fondly with Pam when she almost trips out in a car with them and Baldwin's character is driving too fast and Pam gets scared by this.
Also she has a few lines at a diner with all of them along with going to school and doing some cheerleading sessions.
However, Pam isn't in all the scene's of the film which mostly focuses on Darryl Hannah and lead actor Aidan Quinn who plays an outsider in the film riding his motorbike as she has an affair with him doing many lustful scene's together along with plenty of nudity too since he fell in love with her but was totally opposite from her since she came from a comfortable well off family, his is poor and broken but Randy has been a jerk towards poor little rich girl Tracey and is lost in her head.

The film was kind of a 'Rebel Without a Cause' for the 80's along with the exploitation and audult situations in it.
Pam comes along afterwards sitting in a gymnasium with Hannah and the other cast playing her friends watching a ceremony but doesn't have any lines in it and is with the whole cast towards the end of the film in a hallway when Quinn's character drives his bike in the hallway trying to convince Hannah to come with him.
The film was a romantic drama and like 'Fast Times' had a good rockin soundtrack by artists like INXS, Peggy Lee and a memorable track by Bob Seger during the ending credits titled "Roll mE Away" as the only opening credits in the film was the title of the movie and then it showed who played the main roles, along with this after it showed Hannah, Quinn and Baldwin's credits it did show five names in a row and I believe Pam's name was the fourth one down saying featuring or somewhere along those lines. Then the rolling credits came up saying who these actors played with the rest of the credits too so Pam did get a good credit for this film and got to work with other name actors in the film too including Cliff DeYoung as one of the school teachers named Phil Barton. The film went to theatre's nationwide.

My Mother's Secret Life. 1984 This was a made for TV Movie which centers around a 16 year old girl Tobi (Played by Amanda Wyss) spending time with her father at a family picnic outing who dies and then she goes on a search for her mother Ellen Blake (Played by Loni Anderson) whom she hasn't seen since she was 3 as she travels to San Francisco and wanting to be like her only to find out that she's a prostitute as there's alot of emotional moments happening when her mother tells her about the choices she had to do as to either be in debt or die.
Ellen goes through struggling wondering as to how to become a parent along with Tobi becoming a runaway herself confused about what to do with her life.
Also in the TV movie Ellen tells her on a secret of her father which is a shock to find out whom her biological Dad really was as this messes up her life.
Pam was hard to be noticed in this one but she has a bit part in it in a scene where she plays her friend and have a party and spills a drink asking to get a cloth to clean it up. This wasn't an effective role at all and was surprised she took this one but again she was starting out in the industry and had to take what she could get.
The story was good and solid on a relationship as well as the struggles on the two of them connecting together and trying to show the responsibilities on trying to change a lifestyle and learning to be a good parent which isn't easy to do which was well focused while watching this story unravel.

My Science Project. 1985 Ok I've seen this movie a few times and couldn't spot Pam in it at all but I think after the third watch I found where she was in the movie but I will describe this flick as a total 80's craze type in which it's a comedy/sci fi that offered good special effects for it's time and good performances too.
It's about a couple of students going into a junkyard looking for something to create their science project
and discover a strange glowing orb which absorbs electricity.
They find out that it's some sort of a time machine that brings the past, present and future to life in which there's some nice adventures when these kids try to find a way to stop this from happening in which this electricity lands in their highschool and spots cavemen, vietnam soldiers and even a hulking dinosaur which was the most memorable situation used in the story.
Pam's role was credited as Hall Monitor/Ellie's Friend as the character Ellie is portrayed by a lead actress in which she portrays a nerdy type of girl and while the closing credits start to roll there's scene's happening at the school which is new footage along with stills from what happened in the story and I believe I spotted Pam sitting in a cafeteria and was unimpressed with her other friends when one of the kids asking what's for lunch.
It was close to being a featured extra so her role was a hit and miss. A shame she didn't have a bigger role.
This was a campy fun flick to watch during it's time with top actors like Dennis Hopper and John Stockwell playing the main roles.

Modern Girls. 1986 Pam's role was a bit bigger this time in this somewhat dark comedy and played a different type of a character than she usually does in shows but let me tell you the story first.
Three young women who are roomates named Cece (Played by Cynthia Gibb), Kelly (Played by Virginia Madsen) and Margo (Played by Daphne Zuniga) go on an adventure of their lives on a Friday night when Kelly's geeky boyfriend Clifford (Played by Clayton Rohner) is stood up planning to take Kelly out that night. Instead, Kelly goes to see her ex-boyfriend at a rough part of Los Angeles who is DJ'ing that night at a nightclub and uses Margo's car to get there as well as getting into all sorts of mischief.
Both Margo and Cece both convince Clifford to take them to the nightclub and find Kelly
and then on an all-night tour of the L.A. night scene in search of CeCe's new love, rock star Bruno X but they all end up in trouble or dangerous situations.
Pam comes in during the nightclub scene as a rebellious drug using groupie of the DJ named Tanya but however I don't recall her name being spoken. She is hanging out smoking a cigarette and helping put the records on to play the music and then they go to a place to hang out where there's a ball pool and to get stoned which involves Madsen as she trips out getting stoned and messing around on one of the pool tables which was quite funny and Springsteen acts spaced out while she gets intoxicated. This is her whole scene's in the film as she's in it for about less than 7 minutes.
Many critics have bombed this one and said it was barely released but I liked it since it was a totally 80's type of a comedy and looks like a theatrical type of a flick but probably didn't play for very long along with a big 80's soundtrack.

Scenes from the Goldmine. 1987 I thought this would be a promising role for Pam since it's the lifestyles of the music industry and her name is on the opening credits. However, she is only in it for a couple minutes and probably her name was on the opening credits cause everyone knows who her brother is. Yet her part is the reason on what's going to happen to the lead actress played by Catherine Mary Stewart whom is the newcomer of the band named Debi DeAngelo and what happens to her in the end causing tension with her so it's kind of like a key role to the movie. Pam plays a erole of an obnoxious ex-bandmember named Stephanie as well as the ex-girlfriend to the lead band member Niles Dresden (Played by Cameron Dye). Her appearance starts after the movie has started and Debi is starting her first rehearsal with the band and Pam's role as Stephanie was going to intrude but is stopped by the band manager and brother of Niles named Harry Spiros (Played by Steve Railsback) in which she goes into a fuse with him and mocking Niles' new player saying it's a Donny & Marie act and at the end cusses Harry out and then storms away.
Their dialogue together is almost drowned out by the music playing during the rehearsal and Pam is tough to see as her appearance is in a dark area.
I was disappointed she didn't appear in other scene's but oh well.
The story is about a struggle of a band and the drugs along with ego's that go along with it toughing their way playing in gigs as well as doing a music video.
Debi gets into a rage with Niles after she starts to have a relationship with him due to his greed with having more credits on the songs they wrote together etc. It's almost a real look at the industry and how screwed up it can be.
There's many great songtracks performed by both Stewart and Dye and a terrific solo song by Stewart before the end of the movie as the songs are about the only thing worth watching as the storyline is stale at times.
We also have appearances by other known musicians like Timothy B. Schmidt, John Ford Coley and Lee Ving. Apparently the film got a small theatrical release but again it's not for sure certain but the quality of this film is theatrical material.

Dixie Lanes. 1988 Pam was moving on up to bigger roles but the film's she started getting roles in were made on a low budget and more obscure and this was one of them. She had the lead supporting role (In other words a co-star) as a local in a small American town taking place in 1945 after World War II and the soldiers are coming home including someone named Clerance Laidlaw (Played by Christopher Rydell) whom is was involved with the blackmarket and now an ex-moonshiner who served overseas in lieu of serving time in prison.
He found out that his family has been split apart and the locals have alienated the small town causing him bitterness as well as causing him chaos and confusion in which there's war in his family home caused by his Aunt Zelma Putnam (Played by film veteran Karen Black) as she gives him a gun for his birthday and is disapproved by his father Clarence (Played by the legendary Hoyt Axton) and Clarence must attempt to reunite his family and punish the conspirator who brought him before the law.
Pamela Springsteen breezes through just about every scene as she plays the role of Judy and has eyes for Clarence. Her first scene was shortly after the beginning of the movie being employed at a bakery store owned by her father who disapproves of the Laidlaw family and starts to eye Clarence when he enters the store to buy something.
There's some other scene's with her at the bowling lounge trying to ask if Clarence will show up as well as giving Axton's character a hug then they all go bowling.
Also she tries to find some way on impressing Clarence to show she's not the little girl he knew by looking hot and sassy with her hair made up and make up in which you see doing a musical show while working again at the bakery after she gets aggressive with him when he goes to her house and being frusterated with him. However she gets enraged for him not paying attention to her and throws a whole cake trying to aim at him but accidentally hits her father.
Then we spot a nice scene when he comes to pick her up to go fishing looking like a beautiful lady next door type in a white gown with her hair down and then later on trying to get away from a police car.
They have a terrific scene together acting romantic with one another and then for the first time we spot Pam briefly bare breasted while going into a lagoon.
Then we have the great showdown with Pam's character Judy and the rest of the cast as the Laidlaw family trying to chase after Black's character for taking the family money during a windstorm and during this storm Judy is knocked unconcious as Clarence looks sad wondering if she's dead but awakens and acts happy towards him.
Their ending moment is at the bowling lounge as Clarence puts in a song for Judy and they dance.
Yes folks, Pam is in it all they way through so you will all be pleased. The film is a dark comedy and not all that great but found this to be her best performance as she brought on a great charm to her role. It also features other known cast members like Art Hindle, Ruth Buzzi, Moses Gunn, Nina Foch, Tina Louise and a cameo by John Vernon who appears towards the end of the film arresting Karen Black's character on a bus. The film had good actors but it was easily forgettable and apparently never made it to theatre's but it did go to the Cannes Film Festival in France and was rented at video stores but not well remembered at video rentals. Pam's name was on the opening credits with Christopher Rydell's together saying introducing although they have done some shows before this it seemed necessary since the other cast members were better known but both of them blended in well with the rest. Also, Pam's name was credited on the video box too since she had a very important part to this film.

Sleepaway Camp 2: Unhappy Campers. 1988 Ahhh yes!!! Pam's first lead role in a film which is extremely different than anything she ever portrayed. A bloodthirsty killing transsexual camp counsellor named Angela Baker as Felissa Rose had to pass reprising this role from the first film due to her enrolling in university. When I first saw this film before discovering these two actresses I immediately knew it wasn't the same actress at all but however, Angela was an adult in this film and in the first one a child who barely said a word to anyone. Well Angela loses her shyness totally in this one along with having a sex change since everyone in the end of the first one discovered that Angela was a boy along with tons of therapy during those years and just got out of the nutthouse and changing her last name to Johnson at a nearby camp titled Camp Rolling Hills since the nearby camp known as Camp Arawak never reopened since those terrible murders.
The kids were aware of the murders that took place but had no idea that their camp counsellor was responsible for all of it and if anyone misbehaves Angela does them in and tells the rest that they've been sent home but suddenly the camp is having less and less people.
I loved Pam's part in this film as she outdoes Felissa by a longshot and loved how she did her first killing in this sequel by whacking a camper in the head with a large piece of wood in the dark forest for not obeying her.
She brought her comedic speech very well before doing in someone in a Freddy Krueger like fashion since the writer Fritz Gordon tried to make Angela that kind of a killer since dark comedy was very common for horror films during this time period.
We spot great blocking by Pam when Georgia local Kendall Bean played a camper named Demi talking to her while fixing her hair in the bathroom of the cabin saying she called the kids parents that were reportedly sent home and told her they were still at the camp when Pam's character was trying to find any device to put her away as well.
She also really came across as crazy when she holds two campers as hostage all tied up in a boarded up cabin where she stored all the dead bodies when one of them discovers who she is which is played by Georgia local Tony Higgins as Sean Whitmore (The son of a cop who arrested Angela at Camp Awarak after the shocking ending of Angela's true identity) telling him what she went through after that time and saying she's completely cured. Then is about to behead him with a machette and looked brutal while she was going to do just that.
Yes, this film was shot in Georgia where work for locals is scarce and made on a small budget so they couldn't afford many Hollywood actors apart from Springsteen but brought on Renee Estevez as the shy but outgoing camper Molly, Brian Patrick Clarke as the boys counsellor T.C., the late Walter Gotell as the camp owner Uncle John and soap actress Susan Marie Snyder as the camp clown Mare.
The film had a terrific heavy metal balls to the wall feel to it with an opening by Candian band Anvil - "Straight Between the Eyes" along with some other bands that weren't as big as most bands but still were good. A great ending song by Obsession with "Desperate to Survive" while the credits were rolling.
The film went direct-to-video and poked fun at many horror films and since 'Fast Times' was her first film they used actors first names for the characters as kind of a joke to that like Sean and Phoebe. Also the fact Renee was in it too there were two little kids at the camp with their character names Charlie and Emilio. To top it all off Pam sings the Happy Camper Song in the canteen with a guitar since she is the sis of the boss. All in all Pam really knew how to act violent as she'd make a perfect Mansonite with her role.

Fast Food. 1989 The makers of the 'Sleepaway Camp' sequels made this PG-13 teenage sex comedy and brought a handful of some of the actors to participate in it including Pam herself but she just had a 10 minute supporting role in it as a businessowman named Mary Beth Benson.
The story is about two party animals named Auggie (Played by Clark Brandon) and Drew (Played by Randal Patrick) whom were allowed to graduate from college so the headmasters can get rid of them and want to make a big success in life but always fails. However, their friend Samantha (Played by Tracy Griffith) runs an old gas station who has been dating Drew on and off due to disputes and a greedy businessman named Wrangler Bob (Played by Jim Varney) wants to buy out her gas station to own a burger joint which gives them a great idea and beats him to it but they are losing in the competition until Drew steals a fluid from a science lab that is actually a sex drug and uses it in their secret sauce for their burgers as more people come to their joint than ever and Wrangler Bob wants to find out what's in their sauce that makes people want to come which can get them into trouble as he sends one of his people named Dixie Love (Played by Traci Lords) to go and find out what's behind the mess using her lustful attitude.
Pam's first scene in the film is going to the burger joint and has a dialogue between Randal Patrick inviting them to a special party and bringing their burgers there since their place has been popular with customers.
Then Pam is at the party and tries a burger there and then gets sexually aroused and comes onto the stage at a party where a band is playing acting wild when someone announces her name and what she does for a profession including teacher kindergarten.
She then gets it on with one of the main supporting actors named Lanny Horn as the scientist that invented the drug named Calvin as she drags him into a freezer and makes out with him.
Even if her supporting role was brief she stood out well with what she had to do as one of the drawing characters who experienced those secret burgers and her name was in the opening credits with two other people on the opening bill since her role wasn't one of the leads.
This was a fun movie to watch and it seems the makers put more money into it too since they hired a couple bigger names from outside their country too and it was rumored this one got a limited theatrical release.

Sleepaway Camp 3: Teenage Wasteland. 1989 Pam reprises her role and wears a wig in the film. The reason why??? Well she kills a teenager from a rough part of New York with a garbage truck with the same hairstyle to disguise herself as that person so she can return to camp after her last years slayings. The camp is now reowned by a married couple named Lily (Played by Georgia local Sandra Dorsey) and Herman (Played by Michael J. Pollard) under a new name now titled Camp New Horizons which they try to breing the rich and the poor from other parts of the countries in the U.S. for a moment of sharing and are divided into three pairs as they camp out in the woods and their third counsellor is Barney Whitmare (Played by Georgia local/stuntman Cliff Brand) who was the one that arrested Angela from Camp Arawak.
Angela finds the teens and some of the counsellors immoral and kills them off one by one and tells the next counsellor the other one told her to switch with another camper.
Pam still has her motive and does well with her killings even if she wasn't as brutal like she was in the previous one but that's due to the writing. She does well with a lawnmower scene over a counsellors head as well as using a gun to shoot a counsellor.
My favourite performance of her is when she ties three campers up and tells her one of the campers named Marcia Holland (Played by Tracy Griffith) is in one of the cabins and has 2 minutes to find her else she will kill them.
There's another great performance with her and Griffith during a cat fight scene too.
Pam gives the ending a perfect touch when she's injured in an ambulance by stabbing a paramedic and an officer before the rolling credits.
Pam's acting career was almost coming to an end during this film but chugged a couple more films which were comedies as I will introduce to you.
We have more heavy metal music along with a great ending song by an artist that never made it big named John Altyn with "Sleepaway" and found that to be the best song out of all of them.
Now Fritz Gordon whites the characters first names like the Brady Bunch kids which I found to be quite corny and unoriginal. However, I enjoyed this movie for what it was and it reminded me of a 'Friday the 13th' sequel too.

The Gumshoe Kid. 1990 A cheesy and trashy comedy spoof on those detective flicks with Jay Underwood playing a teenage kid wanting to take over the ruined detective agency of his father and his uncle. There are two major difficulties to manage: His uncle and his new job.
It's a spoof on those detective types of movies like the Hardy Boys or Sherlock Holmes which tries so hard to be funny but it misses by a longshot. I believe this one went direct-to-video.
Pamela Springsteen had a good supporting role in this film as she breezes through a number of scene's with this one playing a hot secretary named Mona Krause as her first scene is when she enters a detective's office through the first bit of this film announcing "Mail Call!" while listening to her walkman and giving her boss some mail.
Other scene's she is very ditzy working on a typewriter not bothering to answer the phone when it was ringing as I had to admit she was mildly funny by behaving this way but nothing to brag about either.
Her next scene Jay Underwood's character as Jeff Sherman delivers lunch for her and an assistant as Pam's character as Mona kisses him. Her character pretty much has the hots for him and appears in and out of the detectve's office.
Underwood has many scene's with TV and b-film actress Tracy Scoggins as Rita Benson trying to find missing clues in which most of the story focuses on them when they're on a chase from police officers and so fourth plus they have a brief romance with one another too. None of this was inspirational whatsoever.
Pam pops in an out of certain scene's one of them when she runs into him and he asks her if she can lend them her car to help get away from the police and track down some criminals.
Both Underwood and Springsteen appear in the end of the film having a romance with one another as Springsteen dresses up for him to act charming and trying to woo him.
This was her worst film to date and then threw in the towel from acting to pursue a full time photographer as my guess she was offered more roles in bad films that didn't pay much.