| Debralee Scott | |
|---|---|
| Born | April 2, 1953 Elizabeth, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Died | April 5, 2005 (aged 52) Amelia Island, Florida, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1971–2000 |
Debralee Scott (April 2, 1953 – April 5, 2005) was an American actress best known for her role on the sitcom Welcome Back, Kotter as the sweathog Rosalie "Hotsie" Totsie. Scott was born and raised in Elizabeth, New Jersey, and later lived in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, where she was a cheerleader.[1]
Contents |
Scott's first role was filmed shortly after her 18th birthday; she portrayed a nude corpse in 1971's Dirty Harry. 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 sitcom Welcome Back, Kotter as Rosalie "Hotsie" Totsie, and in the Donna Pescow sitcom Angie, playing Angie's younger sister, Marie Falco.
Among her other credits were the 1973 feature film American Graffiti and the 1974 film Earthquake (her scenes, which were set on an airplane, were filmed specifically for an extended-length network TV premiere showing in 1976).
Scott also auditioned for the role of Marty in Grease. It was narrowed down to her and Dinah Manoff. Although Scott was better known at the time, Manoff got the part.
Scott also appeared on the daytime TV show Match Game between 1976 and 1982. During an appearance in 1977, she and Richard Dawson revolted when their answer – "finishing school" – didn't match the contestant's answer of "school," according to the off-stage judge. It prompted the "Match Game 1977 School Riot." Scott also appeared with her Angie co-stars on an "All Star" edition of Family Feud where she helped win money for charity.
Scott continued to act, appearing in two Police Academy movies, including the first, but she later retired from acting and became an agent for a company in New York City called Empowered Artists. In 2000, Scott appeared on a panel with her former cast members of Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman at the Museum of Television and Radio in Beverly Hills. Scott greeted fans and posed for photos after the Q&A.
In 2001, her fiancé, Port Authority police officer John Dennis Levi, died during the 9/11 attacks. In March 2005, Scott moved from Brooklyn, New York to Amelia Island, Florida, to care for her ailing elder sister Carol Anne, a producer who worked on many Robert Altman films and who went by the name Scott "Scotty" Bushnell. Her other sister, Jerilynn Scott, is a talent manager in Los Angeles.
Soon after her arrival in Florida, she collapsed and lingered in a coma for several days. She woke up and when asked if she knew where she was, replied, "obviously in the hospital." Since doctors could not ascertain what caused the coma, she was released two days later (on April 2, her birthday), and her spirits remained high. Three days later, on April 5, 2005, she went to take a nap and never woke up. Despite an autopsy, the cause of death remained uncertain. Scott was cremated.[2] Her sister, Carol Anne, died of heart failure on July 13, 2006.