Deborah Walley

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BIRTHDAY

August 12, 1943

Bridgeport, CT

DIED

May 10, 2001

RECENT CREDITS

Benji (FILM) Oct. 17, 1974

It's a Bikini World (FILM) Apr. 14, 1967

Sergeant Deadhead (FILM) Aug. 18, 1965

Beach Blanket Bingo (FILM) Jan. 1, 1965

Gidget Goes Hawaiian (FILM) Jun. 1, 1961

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BIOGRAPHY

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Deborah Walley's parents were professional figure skaters with the Ice-Capades; as a result, she spent much of her childhood in dressing rooms surrounded by people in bear suits. After studying at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Walley racked up an impressive list of Broadway and off-Broadway credits. Her first film appearance was in the title role Gidget Goes Hawaiian (1961), a "break" that nearly stopped her career cold before it began. She avoided being forever typecast as Gidget thanks to a brace of interesting appearances in two Disney flicks, Bon Voyage (1962) and Summer Magic (1963). Then came a long association with American-International's Beach Party series, ending with the benighted Ghost in the Invisible Bikini (1966). Her favorite film role was as the hoydenish "gal pal" to Elvis Presley in Spinout (1966). From 1967 through 1969, Walley appeared as Susie Hubbard on the weekly sitcom The Mothers-in-Law, reportedly spending much of her free time fending off the advances of producer Desi Arnaz. She left show business in the 1970s to raise her family and to write books. In 1986, Deborah Walley made a welcome return before the cameras in an episode of TV's Simon and Simon.

~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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