Deborah Walley
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (May 2010) |
Deborah Walley | |
|---|---|
| Born | |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1960-1999 |
| Spouse(s) | John Reynolds (?-?) (divorced) 1 child John Ashley (1964-1966) (divorced) 1 child Chet McCracken (1968-1975) (divorced) |
Deborah Walley (12 August 1941) was an American actress.
Career
Deborah Walley 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. She studied acting at New York City's American Academy of Dramatic Arts. She began working on stage in the city and made her Hollywood film debut in 1961's Gidget Goes Hawaiian, a role for which she is most remembered. From then until 1974 she appeared in fifteen feature length films, including several of the "Beach Party" films produced by American International Pictures.[1]
From 1964–1966, Walley was married to actor John Ashley, a costar of ABC's Straightaway series about auto racing from 1961–1962. He preceded her in death by two years.
On television, she portrayed Suzie Hubbard Buell in the short-lived comedy series The Mothers-in-Law; Eve Arden played her mother, while Kaye Ballard played her in-law.
Legacy
On 10 May 2001, Walley suffered from esophageal cancer in Sedona, Arizona at the age of 57. But she was survived by her two sons who include Anthony Brooks Ashley, a noted director, editor, and producer in Hollywood. And Justin Ashley Reynolds, an internet entrepreneur in Phoenix AZ.
Moving to Arizona to bring up her children in the 1970s, Walley co-founded two children's theater companies, Pied Piper Productions and the Sedona Children's Theatre in Sedona.
Voice roles
- Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers (1989) - Foxglove, Lahwhinie, Buffy Ratskiwatski
- Germbusters 3: The Infection (2010) - Lottie Johnstone
- Story Time with Gibbon and Luke (2010) - Hannah Banana
- Ikki: The Big Wish Movie (2014) - Ikki Tenryou/Wish Ikki
Filmography
- Gidget Goes Hawaiian (1961) - Gidget
- Bon Voyage! (1962) - Amy Willard
- Summer Magic (1963) - Julia Carey
- The Young Lovers (1964) - Debbie
- Beach Blanket Bingo (1965) - Bonnie
- Ski Party (1965) - Linda Hughes
- Sergeant Dead Head (1965) - Airman Lucy Turner
- Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine (1965) - Craig's Cafeteria Date
- The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini (1966) - Lili Morton
- Spinout (1966) - Les
- The Bubble (1966) - Catherine
- It's a Bikini World (1967) - Delilah Dawes
- Drag Racer (1971) - Chris
- The Severed Arm (1973) - Additional Voices
- Benji (1974) - Linda
Awards
Walley was named Photoplay magazine's 'Most Popular Actress of 1961'.[1]