Debralee Scott (April 2, 1953 – April 5, 2005) was an American comedic actress best known for her roles on the

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ...

s ''

Welcome Back, Kotter ''Welcome Back, Kotter'' is an American sitcom starring Gabe Kaplan as a high-school teacher in charge of a racially and ethnically diverse remedial education class called the "Sweathogs." Recorded in front of a live studio audience, the seri ...

''; '' Angie''; ''

Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman ''Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman'' is an American satirical soap opera that aired in daily weeknight syndication from January 1976 to July 1977. The series follows the titular Mary Hartman, an Ohio housewife attempting to cope with various bizarre ...

''; and '' Forever Fernwood''. Scott was born and raised in Elizabeth, New Jersey, and later lived in

Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania Stroudsburg is a borough in Monroe County, Pennsylvania. It lies within the Poconos region, approximately five miles (8 km) from the Delaware Water Gap at the confluence of the Brodhead, McMichaels and Pocono Creeks in Northeastern Penns ...

, where she was a cheerleader.

Career

At age 22, she found fame on ''Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman'' playing Mary's sister Cathy Shumway. She appeared on the first season of the

''Welcome Back, Kotter'' as Rosalie "Hotsy" Totsy, guest-starred in an episode of '' Gibbsville'' in 1976 and played Angie's younger sister Marie Falco in the Donna Pescow situation comedy '' Angie''. Among her feature-film credits were the 1973 feature film ''

American Graffiti ''American Graffiti'' is a 1973 American coming-of-age comedy-drama film directed by George Lucas, produced by Francis Ford Coppola, written by Willard Huyck, Gloria Katz and Lucas, and starring Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard (billed as Ronny ...

,'' the 1974 film ''

Earthquake An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, fr ...

,'' and the 1984 film ''

Police Academy A police academy, also known as a law enforcement training center, police college, or police university, is a training school for police cadets, designed to prepare them for the law enforcement agency they will be joining upon graduation, or othe ...

''. Scott was a fixture on the game-show circuit in the late 1970s and early 1980s, frequently serving as a celebrity guest on shows including ''

Match Game ''Match Game'' is an American television panel game show that premiered on NBC in 1962 and has been revived several times over the course of the last six decades. The game features contestants trying to match answers given by celebrity panelis ...

'', ''

The $20,000 Pyramid ''Pyramid'' is the collective name of a series of American television game shows that has aired several versions domestically and internationally. The original series, ''The $10,000 Pyramid'', debuted on March 26, 1973, and spawned seven subsequ ...

'', ''Riddlers'', and ''

Password Plus ''Password Plus'' and ''Super Password'' are American TV game shows that aired separately between 1979 and 1989. Both shows were revivals of ''Password'', which originally ran from 1961 to 1975 in various incarnations. With only subtle differen ...

''. Scott also appeared on '' Celebrity Family Feud'' on November 4, 1979 with the cast of ''Angie''. The cast of ''Angie'' took on the cast of ''The Ropers.'' In the Fast Money round, she got 176 points out of the 200 needed to win. Partner

Robert Hays Robert Hays (born July 24, 1947) is an American actor, known for a variety of television and film roles since the 1970s. He came to prominence around 1980, co-starring in the two-season domestic sitcom '' Angie'', and playing the central role of ...

only needed 24 points as they won $10,000 for their charity. In the final Fast Money round of the special event, she scored 234 points all by herself, getting 4 of the 5 most popular answers and winning before Hays ever got a chance to play. Host

Richard Dawson Richard Dawson (born Colin Lionel Emm; 20 November 1932 – 2 June 2012) was a British-born American actor, comedian, game-show host and panelist in the United States. Dawson was well known for playing Corporal Peter Newkirk in ''Hogan's Heroe ...

noted that she was the first celebrity player and the fourth player in the show's history to win a Fast Money round single-handedly. For a while, Scott continued to work in front of the camera, appearing in two ''Police Academy'' movies, but she later retired and chose a career behind the camera, becoming an agent for a company in New York City called Empowered Artists. In 2000, Scott appeared on a panel with her former ''Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman'' castmates at the Museum of Television and Radio in

Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. ...

Death

Scott's fiancé John Dennis Levi, a police officer with the

Port Authority of New York and New Jersey The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, PANYNJ; stylized, in logo since 2020, as Port Authority NY NJ, is a joint venture between the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, established in 1921 through an interstate compact authorize ...

, died in the September 11, 2001 attacks. In 2005, Scott moved to Florida to live with her sister. Shortly after her arrival, Scott fell into a coma. She soon recovered and was released from the hospital on her birthday. On April 5, 2005, three days after her 52nd birthday and being released from the hospital, she took a nap and apparently died in her sleep. Scott's body was cremated. Her fiancé's mother stated that Scott had a drinking problem that led to her developing

cirrhosis Cirrhosis, also known as liver cirrhosis or hepatic cirrhosis, and end-stage liver disease, is the impaired liver function caused by the formation of scar tissue known as fibrosis due to damage caused by liver disease. Damage causes tissue rep ...

, which led to her death. Her sister Jerri said, "She never did get over Dennis' death."

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, Debralee 1953 births 2005 deaths American film actresses American television actresses Actresses from New Jersey Actresses from New York City People from Brooklyn Actors from Elizabeth, New Jersey 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American women