Deborah Walley

Deborah Walley
Walley in the late 1960s
Born	August 12, 1941 Bridgeport, Connecticut, U.S.
Died	May 10, 2001 (aged 59) Sedona, Arizona, U.S.
Cause of death	Esophageal cancer
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1960 – 1999
Spouse(s)	John Reynolds (divorced); 1 child John Ashley (1962-1966; divorced); 1 child Chet McCracken (1968-1975; divorced)

Deborah Walley (August 12, 1941 – May 10, 2001) was an American actress noted for playing the title role in Gidget Goes Hawaiian (1961) and in several Beach Party films.

Life and career

She was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut to Ice Capades skating stars and choreographers, Nathan and Edith Walley. She attended Central High School in Bridgeport. At fourteen, she was playing summer-stock theatre. During her sophomore year, she attended Rosarian Academy in West Palm Beach, Florida, where she was cast as Cinderella in the Academy's annual musical production at the Royal Poinciana Playhouse in Palm Beach, Florida. She studied acting at New York City's American Academy of Dramatic Arts. She began working on stage in the city.

She was discovered by agent Joyce Selznick in a performance in a production of Anton Chekov's Three Sisters. This led her to make her Hollywood film debut as Gidget^[1] in 1961's Gidget Goes Hawaiian. From then until 1974 she appeared in fifteen feature-length films, including several of the "Beach Party" films produced by American International Pictures.^[2] She also co-starred in the Elvis Presley film Spinout where she and Elvis bonded over a shared interest in spiritual matters.^[3]

In 1967, with her movie career starting to decline, Walley portrayed Suzie Hubbard Buell in the comedy series The Mothers-in-Law, comedian Eve Arden playing her mother and singer-comedian Kaye Ballard playing her mother-in-law. Actress Kay Cole had played Suzie in the original pilot but was replaced by Walley, who played her through the series' two seasons on the air.^[4]

After moving to Sedona, Arizona to bring up her children, Walley co-founded two children's theater companies, Pied Piper Productions and the Sedona Children's Theatre.

Personal life

From 1962-66, Walley was married to actor John Ashley, a costar of ABC's Straightaway series about auto racing from 1961–1962. The couple had a son, Anthony Brooks Ashley. John Ashley preceded his former wife in death by four years. On his gravestone, the inscription says that he was a "loving husband and father".

Death

Walley died of esophageal cancer on May 10, 2001, in Sedona, aged 59.^[5] She was survived by her two sons: Anthony Brooks Ashley, a director, editor, and producer in Hollywood; and Justin Ashley Reynolds, an internet entrepreneur in Phoenix, Arizona.

Filmography

Film and Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1960	Naked City	Heather Weston	Episode: "To Walk in Silence"
1960	Route 66	Helen Page	Episode: "Ten Drops of Water"
1961	Gidget Goes Hawaiian	Gidget (Frances Lawrence)
1962	Bon Voyage!	Amy Willard
1963	Summer Magic	Julia Carey
1964	Burke's Law	Gwenny Trent	Episode: "Who Killed Andy Zygmunt?"
1964	Greatest Show on Earth, TheThe Greatest Show on Earth	Anne	Episode: "This Train Don't Stop Till It Gets There"
1964	The Young Lovers	Debbie
1964	Wagon Train	Nancy Styles	Episode: "The Nancy Styles Story"
1965	Beach Blanket Bingo	Bonnie Graham
1965	Ski Party	Linda Hughes
1965	Sergeant Deadhead	Airman Lucy Turner
1965	Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine	Craig's Cafeteria Date
1966	Ghost in the Invisible Bikini, TheThe Ghost in the Invisible Bikini	Lili Morton
1966	Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.	Tina Tracy	Episode: "Lies, Lies, Lies"
1966	Spinout	Les
1966	Bubble, TheThe Bubble	Katherine
1967	It's a Bikini World	Delilah Dawes
1967-1969	Mothers-in-Law, TheThe Mothers-in-Law	Suzie Hubbard Buell	56 episodes
1970	Virginian, TheThe Virginian	Corey Ann Skeet	Episode: "With Love, Bullets and Valentines"
1971	Drag Racer	Chris
1972	Love, American Style	Nina	Episode: "Love and the Anxious Mama"
1973	Severed Arm, TheThe Severed Arm	Teddy Rogers
1974	Benji	Linda
1978	Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries, TheThe Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries	Gina Bartelli	Episode: "Mystery on the Avalanch Express"
1986	Simon & Simon	Gigi Dolores	Episode: "The Last Big Break"
1989	Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers	Lahwhinie (voice)	Episode: "Gadget Goes Hawaiian"
1990	Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers	Buffy Ratskiwatski / Foxglove (voice)	Episode: "Out of Scale" Episode: "Good Times, Bat Times"
1999	Baywatch	Ethel	Episode: "Baywatch Grand Prix"

Awards

Walley was named Photoplay magazine's 'Most Popular Actress of 1961'.^[2]

References

1. Lisanti, Tom (2000). Fantasy Femmes of Sixties Cinema: Interviews with 20 Actresses from Biker, Beach, and Elvis Movies. McFarland. p. 294.
2. Deborah Walley at Central High School, Bridgeport CT
3. Eleanor Quin. "Spinout (1966)". Turner Classic Movies.
4. Deborah Walley at the Internet Movie Database
5. "Deborah Walley; Actress, 57" (obituary), New York Times, May 15, 2001.

External links

• Deborah Walley at the Internet Movie Database
• Deborah Walley at Brian's Drive-in Theatre