Debralee Scott, 52, Associated Press
Kent
http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/11349423.htm
Posted on Fri, Apr. 08, 2005
Debralee Scott of 'Mary Hartman' and 'Police Academy,' dies at 52
Associated Press
AMELIA ISLAND, Fla. - Actress Debralee Scott, who starred in television
sitcoms such as "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman," the "Police Academy" film
series and who was a frequent face on the late 1970s game show circuit, has
died, her family said. She was 52.
Scott died April 5 at her home in Amelia Island of natural causes, said her
sister, Jeri Scott, a talent manager in Beverly Hills.
Scott, who celebrated her birthday on April 2, came from a family of show
business insiders. Her eldest sister, Scott Bushnell, produced many of
director Robert Altman's films. Middle sister Jeri Scott is an agent turned
manager.
The two older Scotts came out to San Francisco from their home town of
Elizabeth, N.J., as young adults. A few years later, their father said their
younger sister Debralee was "getting restless" and he asked if she could
join them, Jeri Scott recalled Friday.
"She was 16. She was supposed to finish high school, but I doubt she showed
up," Scott said. "It was the 70s in San Francisco. It was wear a flower in
your hair."
Scott eventually met an agent in Los Angeles, and got her first major role
on "Mary Hartman" at age 22. She later played the role of Hotsy Totsy on the
show "Welcome Back Carter."
She had been engaged to John Dennis Levi, a police officer with the Port
Authority of New York and New Jersey who was killed in the terrorist attack
on the World Trade Center.
Scott had just moved to north Florida to be with her older sister.
Funeral plans were pending.
Joe Pucillo
> She later played the role of Hotsy Totsy on the
> show "Welcome Back Carter."
Don't they mean "Kotter Country?"
JP
D a v i d T a n n y
lol!
It's Welcome Back, Kotter. The obit didn't mention
her two-season run as Marie Falco on "Angie"
>
>
>
>JP
Debralee Scott Dies (Updated 9:00pm April 8, 2005)
Sad news for us boomers.
Confirmed from the AP wire: actress Debralee Scott, who appeared in the
sitcom "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman" and some of the "Police Academy"
movies, has died, her family said. She was 52.
Scott died April 5 at her home in Amelia Island of natural causes, said her
sister, Jeri Scott, a talent manager in Beverly Hills.
Scott came from a family of show-business insiders. Her eldest sister, Scott
Bushnell, produced many of director Robert Altman's films.
Corrections and additions are from the imdb.com website:
Scott was born on April 2, 1953 in Elizabeth, New Jersey. She got her start
in an uncredited role in the Clint Eastwood movie "Dirty Harry" in 1971.
In 1973, she was Bob Falfa's girl in the George Lucas low-budget film
classic "American Graffiti". She also appearred in several theatrical and
TV movies according to the Imdb.com database.
In 1975, she got her first recurring role, playing Rosalie "Hotsy" Totsy
on "Welcome Back, Kotter and appearred four more times until 1978.
But in January 1976, Scott got her first major role at age 22, playing
Cathy Shumway, Mary Hartman's nymphomaniac little sister, on the syndicated
soap opera parody "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman," and continued
the role on "Forever Fernwood."
Also in daytime, Scott appearred as an occasional game show panelist
on CBS's "Match Game '73-'79" series starring Gene Rayburn, as well
as the nighttime version "Match Game PM". Among her other game
show credits: The $20,000 Pyramid (battling with other game show celebrity
guests Soupy Sales and Peter Lawford, among others), Chain Reaction and Password Plus.
In 1979, she got her first major prime time job as Marie Falco in the
two-season run of "Angie" starring Donna Pescow and Grossmont College
dropout Robert Hays. The show also starred Doris Roberts, who
later starred in the nine-season run of "Everybody Loves Raymond".
In the movies, she played Mrs. Fackler in 1984's "Police Academy" and
Cadet Fackler in 1986's "Police Academy 3: Back in Training." Her last known movie
role was in "Misplaced" in 1989.
In recent years, Scott became a personal manager based in both New York and Los Angeles.
Long-time close friend Shelley Herman says that Debralee once dated former
Beatle Ringo Starr in the 1970s.
She had been engaged to John Dennis Levi, a police officer with the
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey who was killed in the
September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.
Scott had just moved to north Florida to be with her older sister.
Funeral plans were pending.
The website TV Game Shows Net http://www.tvgameshows.net/ has more on Debralee.
Shirley
D a v i d T a n n y wrote:
>
> Scott died April 5 at her home in Amelia Island of natural causes, said her
> sister, Jeri Scott, a talent manager in Beverly Hills.
I am curious as to how one can die of "natural causes" after being in a
coma for 3 days? What caused the coma?
Kent
> coma for 3 days? What caused the coma?
Here's a note from a friend of hers passed on to me by one of my visitors.
- - - - - - -
Debralee was a friend of mine. She died in Florida shortly after moving
there to help her ailing sister (and only a few days after her 52nd
birthday). She had lived in New York the last four years where her fiance
had been killed in the 9/11 tragedy. Anyway, shortly after arriving in
Florida, she collapsed and was in a coma for several days. She awoke in the
hospital, seemed to be fine and was released two days later (on her
birthday). No explanation was given for the coma, but she seemed fine and in
good spirits for the next two days. Then she went to take a nap and never
woke up. They still do not know the cause of death. After an autopsy, she
will be cremated, and *possibly* interred at Hollywood Forever. At least
that is what a few of us are trying to accomplish for her. ... She was a
very warm and funny person. I will miss her.
- - - - - - -
Kent
Dead or Alive?
http://www.deadoraliveinfo.com
neils...@yahoo.com
Kent wrote:
> > I am curious as to how one can die of "natural causes" after being
in a
> > coma for 3 days? What caused the coma?
>
> Here's a note from a friend of hers passed on to me by one of my
visitors.
Tell your friend that the IMDb fu**ed up the description of her role on
Mary Hartman Mary Hartman. Cathy Shumway was not a nymphomaniac.
King Daevid MacKenzie
> Also in daytime, Scott appearred as an occasional game show panelist
> on CBS's "Match Game '73-'79" series starring Gene Rayburn, as well
> as the nighttime version "Match Game PM"
...seems to me that Goodson-Todman (or was it just Mark Goodson Productions
by that point?) started using Debralee more frequently as the "comic
redhead" after Patti Deutsch pulled back on her appearances, I assume to
look after hubby Donald Ross and son Max a bit more. The episode guide at
http://matchgame.org indicates that Deutsch and Scott only appeared together
on the show the week of Independence Day, 1977...
--
King Daevid MacKenzie, WLSU-FM 88.9 La Crosse, Wisconsin, USA
http://laxradio.blogspot.com http://wpr.org/music/
http://ultimajock.blogspot.com
"Why do people take drugs anymore, when reality has become a hallucination?"
LEWIS BLACK
Kent
<neils...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1113158394.3...@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
>
> Kent wrote:
> > > I am curious as to how one can die of "natural causes" after being
> in a
> > > coma for 3 days? What caused the coma?
> >
> > Here's a note from a friend of hers passed on to me by one of my
> visitors.
>
> Tell your friend that the IMDb fu**ed up the description of her role on
> Mary Hartman Mary Hartman. Cathy Shumway was not a nymphomaniac.
>
I guess that was apropos of nothing. It's not my friend and I'm sure he has
nothing to do with the IMDb. Other than that, your comment makes perfect
sense.
Kent