Deborah Walley
Walley, late 1960s
Born(1941-08-12)August 12, 1941
Bridgeport, Connecticut, U.S.
DiedMay 10, 2001(2001-05-10) (aged 59)
Sedona, Arizona, U.S.
OccupationActress
Years active1960–1999
Known forGidget Goes Hawaiian
Spinout
Beach Blanket Bingo
Spouses
  • John Reynolds (m. 19??; div. 19??)
​
​
(m. 1962; div. 1966)​
    Chet McCracken
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1968; div. 1975)​
    Children2

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

    Early years

    Walley was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, to Ice Capades skating stars and choreographers Nathan and Edith Walley.[1] When she was three years old, she made her first public appearance at Madison Square Garden.[2]

    Walley attended Central High School in Bridgeport. In her teens, she decided to pursue a career in acting.[2] At 14, she debuted on stage in a summer stock production of Charley's Aunt.[3]

    During her sophomore year, Walley attended Rosarian Academy in West Palm Beach, Florida, where she was cast as Cinderella in a musical production at the Royal Poinciana Playhouse. She studied acting at New York City's American Academy of Dramatic Arts.[2]

    Career

    Walley appeared on television in episodes of Naked City ("To Walk in Silence ") and Route 66 ("Ten Drops of Water").

    Early film career

    Walley was discovered by agent Joyce Selznick while performing in a production of Anton Chekhov's Three Sisters, and she soon made her Hollywood film debut as Gidget in 1961's Gidget Goes Hawaiian.[4] The film was popular and established Walley as a name among teenage fans[5] and she won the Photoplay award for Favorite Female Newcomer.[4] She was named Photoplay magazine's most popular actress of 1961.[5]

    Disney hired Walley to play an ingenue in two comedies, Bon Voyage! (1962) and Summer Magic (1963), and she sang in the latter.[6]

    She appeared in The Young Lovers (1964) for MGM.

    Walley signed a contract with American International Pictures, which cast her as a female lead in several comedies, all with Frankie Avalon and her husband John Ashley: Beach Blanket Bingo (1965), Ski Party (1965) and Sergeant Dead Head (1965). She sang in some of these films.

    Walley had a cameo role in Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine (1966) and was the female lead in the last AIP beach-party film, Ghost in the Invisible Bikini (1966), opposite Tommy Kirk. She reunited with Kirk for a beach-party film directed by Stephanie Rothman titled It's a Bikini World (filmed in 1965, released in 1967).

    She next appeared in the Elvis Presley film Spinout,[7] followed by the lead role in the science-fiction film The Bubble (1966).

    Television

    Walley guest-starred on Burke's Law ("Who Killed Andy Zygmunt?"), The Greatest Show on Earth ("This Train Don't Stop Till It Gets There"), Wagon Train ("The Nancy Styles Story") and Gomer Pyle: USMC ("Lies, Lies, Lies"), The Men from Shiloh ("With Love, Bullets and Valentines"), Off to See the Wizard ("Rhino") and Love, American Style.

    In 1967, with her film career in decline, Walley portrayed Suzie Hubbard Buell in the comedy series The Mothers-in-Law.[8] Actress Kay Cole had played Suzie in the original pilot, but Walley replaced her for the series' two seasons on the air.

    Walley worked as an art director on The Courtship of Eddie's Father and an episode of The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. ("The Double-O-Nothing Affair").

    Later career

    Walley's later film appearances included Drag Racer (1971), The Severed Arm (1973) and Benji (1974).

    She continued to guest-star on shows such as The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries ("Mystery on the Avalanche Express") and Simon & Simon ("The Last Big Break"). She wrote and produced the short film The Legend of Seeks-To-Hunt-Great (1989), which won several awards including the National Cine Golden Eagle, the American Indian Film Festival's best short-subject award, the Oklahoma Tribal Council Award for best fiction film and the 1991 Algrave International Video Festival's best-of-festival award.[9]

    Walley moved to Sedona, Arizona in 1991 to focus on raising her family while writing and producing. She cofounded Pied Piper Productions, a nonprofit theater company for children, and was a cofounder of the Sedona Children's Theater.[10]

    She published her first book, Grandfather's Good Medicine, in 1993, which was based on the plot of The Legend of Seeks-To-Hunt-Great. She also wrote scripts and taught acting and production techniques to American Indians through her Swiftwind Productions company, and she continued to produce and appear in plays.[11][3]

    Walley returned to Hollywood in 1999, where she pursued acting as a "hobby." She appeared on Baywatch and the daytime soap opera Passions. She continued to work with children through her Imagination Playshops, acting workshops for children in the U.S. and Australia. She also worked with the Educational Theater Company, a multiethnic organization based in Los Angeles.[12]

    Personal life and death

    Walley's first marriage was to John Reynolds, with whom she had a son named Justin. From 1962 to 1966,[note 1][2] Walley was married to actor John Ashley and had another son, Anthony.[note 2][2] Two years after divorcing Ashley, she married Chet McCracken, with whom she remained until divorcing him in 1975.

    In May 2001, Walley died of esophageal cancer at her home in Sedona, Arizona, at age 59.[13][14]

    Filmography

    Film

    Year Title Role Notes
    1961 Gidget Goes Hawaiian Gidget
    1962 Bon Voyage! Amy Willard
    1963 Summer Magic Julia Carey
    1964 The Young Lovers Debbie
    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 The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini Lili Morton
    1966 Spinout Les
    1966 The Bubble Catherine
    1967 It's a Bikini World Delilah Dawes
    1971 Drag Racer Chris
    1973 The Severed Arm Teddy Rogers
    1974 Benji Linda Sue

    Television

    Year Title Role Notes
    1960 Naked City Heather Weston "To Walk in Silence"
    1960 Route 66 Helen Paige "Ten Drops of Water"
    1964 Burke's Law Gwenny Trent "Who Killed Andy Zygmunt?"
    1964 The Greatest Show on Earth Anne "This Train Don't Stop Till It Gets There"
    1964 Wagon Train Nancy Styles "The Nancy Styles Story"
    1966 Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. Tina Tracy "Lies, Lies, Lies"
    1967 Off to See the Wizard Elizabeth "Rhino"
    1967–1969 The Mothers-in-Law Suzie Hubbard Buell 56 episodes
    1970 The Virginian Corey Ann Skeet "With Love, Bullets and Valentines"
    1971 Love, American Style Helen "Love and the Guilty Conscience"
    1972 Love, American Style Nina "Love and the Anxious Mama"
    1978 The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries Gina Bartelli "Mystery on the Avalanche Express"
    1986 Simon & Simon Gigi Dolores "The Last Big Break"
    1989–1990 Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers Foxglove / Lahwhinie / Buffy Ratskiwatski voice, 3 episodes
    1999 Baywatch Ethel "Baywatch Grand Prix"

    Notes

    1. ↑ Walley's obituary in The Telegraph says, "She married John Ashley in 1961."
    2. ↑ Walley's obituary in The Telegraph says, "They had three sons."

    References

    1. ↑ "Diminutive Actress to Make Debut in Hawaiian Movie". The Salt Lake Tribune. Utah, Salt Lake City. May 9, 1961. p. 7. Retrieved May 15, 2016 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
    2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Deborah Walley". The Telegraph. May 17, 2001. Archived from the original on July 8, 2017. Retrieved July 8, 2017.
    3. 1 2 "Deborah Walley, 57". Chicago Tribune. Los Angeles Times. May 15, 2001. Archived from the original on July 8, 2017.
    4. 1 2 Lisanti, Tom (2010). Fantasy Femmes of Sixties Cinema: Interviews with 20 Actresses from Biker, Beach, and Elvis Movies. McFarland. p. 294. ISBN 9781476601168. Retrieved July 8, 2017.
    5. 1 2 "Deborah Walley at Central High School, Bridgeport CT". Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved June 26, 2008.
    6. ↑ Scheuer, Philip K. (August 10, 1961). "'Gidgets' Deborah Signed by Disney: Oboler Adding Two to Five; 'World by Night' Fascinating". Los Angeles Times. p. B13.
    7. ↑ Eleanor Quin. "Spinout (1966)". Turner Classic Movies.
    8. ↑ Terrace, Vincent (2011). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010 (2nd ed.). Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. p. 718. ISBN 978-0-7864-6477-7.
    9. ↑ "Deborah Walley, 57". Chicago Tribune. May 15, 2001.
    10. ↑ "Deborah walley; actress, 57". New York Times. May 15, 2001. ProQuest 431755157.
    11. ↑ Oliver, M. (May 14, 2001). "Obituaries; deborah walley; actress starred in 'gidget,' beach films". Los Angeles Times. ProQuest 421801648.
    12. ↑ "Obituary: Deborah walley". Variety. No. 383. May 2001. p. 64. ProQuest 236347152.
    13. ↑ Lentz, Harris M. III (2002). Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2001: Film, Television, Radio, Theatre, Dance, Music, Cartoons and Pop Culture. McFarland. p. 307. ISBN 9780786452064. Retrieved July 8, 2017.
    14. ↑ "Deborah Walley; Actress, 59 (obituary)". New York Times. May 15, 2001.
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