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Sincerely, Deborah Deborah Walley spoke to
Deborah: Well, I didn't ever see her movie. I wasn't really a movie fan. I lived in New York City; I was an actress on the stage and did some television out of New York. But I was so wrapped up in theater, and this was my dream - I was going to be a Broadway star - that I didn't pay too much attention to film. I was actually quite disappointed when I got the part to begin with. Shaz: Really? Good heavens! Deborah: ...laughs... Yes - a staring role in a major motion picture, and I'm riding on a 6th Avenue bus, up and down Manhattan from one end to the other, trying to figure out how to get out of it. Shaz: Was this because you felt it didn't fit with what you wanted to be? Shaz: So when did you change your mind? When did you start thinking 'Hey, this is fun' or 'I like this.'
Shaz: And Deborah, what about the comic elements? I mean, Gidget Goes Hawaiian had many more comic elements in it than the original Gidget movie. Was it difficult for you to make that transition from drama to comedy? Deborah: Well, no, not really. I had done some comedy in New York on the stage [but] mostly I had done drama. I found I really had a knack for it. Shaz: And rumour has it that you did all your own stunts in Gidget Goes Hawaiian. Is that true? Deborah: I did! Shaz: What about the water skiing? Deborah: Yeah. Shaz: My gosh, and you'd only been surfing for two weeks before you started making the movie? Deborah: Yeah, but I was surfing within, I'd say, a half hour. Shaz: And was that due, do you think, to your ice-skating background? Deborah: Well, you know, I was a dancer. I grew up back East so I had skied some, and skating - you have to have incredible balance. I just took to it, and I love the water. I'm not afraid of the water, and I'm a really good swimmer. Shaz: Yeah, I guess that makes a big difference. You played opposite some incredibly attractive teen idols, not only James Darren, but also Michael Callan who you've already mentioned, Frankie Avalon, Peter Fonda, Dwayne Hickman and Elvis, of course. Now this is probably a very unfair question, but who were your favorites? Shaz: And he also has a dancing background, too, doesn’t he, like you?
Shaz: And you're now writing a book about what you describe as the 'special relationship' you developed [with Elvis] during the making of Spinout. When can we expect to be reading that? Deborah: It's right up on my computer now. I was working on it and I looked up and said 'ah, Shaz will be calling any minute so I’d better save this'. I'm about halfway through it, and I expect I'll be done in a month or two. My agent has a couple of publishers sort of waiting with bated breath, so I imagine we'll get it out rather quickly. Shaz: Well, I suspect there'll be a lot of people who'll be really looking forward to reading it.
Deborah: Yes. It's kind of the story of my spiritual awakening, through Elvis. Shaz: And that has lasted through the present day in terms of your beliefs, hasn't it? Deborah: Yes. Deborah: Yes, I was completely burned out. And back to my initial thoughts on that bus ride in New York, I felt like I had been whisked off on a path I had never intended going on. I was burned out and a lot of my spirit was taken away by it, and I basically really wanted out. Shaz: And you semi retired for a while? Shaz: And is that when you got into writing? This morning I got an email from Chris Strodder, author of Swingin' Chicks, who I believe you've just spent some time with. I had mentioned to him that I would be talking to you today and he says here: 'She’s so talented, in so many areas, and she’s a great writer!' Deborah: ... laughs ... Shaz: Is this the time you got into writing? I mean, obviously it's a major part of your life nowadays. Deborah: Yes, it is, and I got into it because I started making up stories for my children to tell them at bedtime. And then I wrote a couple down because I thought 'That’s a really good story' ... laughs ... And then a friend of mine happened to be working at Disney, and he took one of the stories in and the next thing I knew I was doing development things at Disney and other places. And I had a whole new career, but a career which allowed me to stay home. I love writing! Shaz: More than acting? Deborah: Oh yeah. You get to play all the parts. You create them, you know. I focus mainly on children. Actually, this Elvis book is the first thing I've written for an adult audience. Deborah: That’s a children's book. But it's a children’s book in the sense that Jonathan Livingston Seagull was a children's book. It's quite esoteric. Shaz: When you write for children, does that include, do you think, some of those Eastern philosophies? And also Native American culture as well? Shaz: I know you won four major film awards for your short film The Vision of Seeks-To-Hunt-Great. What sparked your interest in in Native American culture, Deborah? Deborah: Well, it was an experience - it's in the book - that I had as a child when I met an old Native American man in the woods. And he told me stories and, you know, he became my friend. He really opened my eyes at a very young age - I was like six year's old - he opened my eyes to a lot of things that I later forgot. Of course, my grandmother who I was staying with at the time, was totally convinced that this person was a figment of my imagination. I do have a really ... laughs ... roaring imagination. So, you know, through the years a lot of it kind of got buried, and then it resurfaced through several things that happened in my life. My stepfather was part Native American, and books would just come to me, and I suddenly became very interested in the whole philosophy. I found that it went along with what I really believed and felt in my own heart, and then of course all these memories of things that were said when I was six year's old started flooding back. Then I was married to a Cherokee who is the father of my second son. So it is just something that kind of wove itself into my life. Shaz: This vivid imagination that you mention, this has brought you to be involved in organizing Imagination Playshops for kids. You're [also] writing/directing for the Educational Theater Company in LA. Obviously, kids are very important in your life, not just your own, but other people's children as well. Deborah: I love kids! Shaz: And sparking their imagination, through acting, is that right? Deborah: Yes. Through acting, through acting techniques, through writing, through just building the imagination, by developing their creative processes. Shaz: And is that what brought you to Australia several years ago? Deborah: Yes, and I hope it's going to bring me back! Shaz: When? Soon? Deborah: Tomorrow! ... laughs ... I'll be there. I love Australia. It's my favorite place on the planet. I told everyone - I was there for a month - I said, gosh, if I was younger I would be begging the immigration office to let me in - please! Shaz: Well, we'd all petition in your favor ... laughs ... Deborah, what parts of Australia were you in when you were here? Deborah: I was just in Melbourne and in Sydney, and then Gold Coast area - you know, along there - and I went up to Brisbane. But I didn't get to Cairns. I'd love to do that. I'd love to go all over the place - I love it there. I just love the people! Shaz: That’s wonderful, because I get lots of emails from Australians who ask about you. Deborah, just two more quick questions. There are many teenagers and young adults who seem absolutely entranced by the '60s - the music, the movies, the celebrities, the culture. I actually received an email the other day - I have had them before, but this one came very recently - from a 17-year-old who said the Gidget films were her favorite movies, and that she loves the '60s, and she's so thrilled to be able to talk about it all on The Lively Set, and so forth. What are your thoughts on why these kids seem to love that era so much? Deborah: I am totally baffled. Totally baffled. Because I, too, get emails through my website, and I get things from 14-year-olds, and 15-year-olds, 16, 17, you know saying 'Gidget Goes Hawaiian is my favorite movie' and 'I loved you in this and that.' And they know everything I've done, or at least everything that's available on video, or has been played on television. And it's so different from what's going on today. Maybe that's the appeal. It is so diametrically different. It's so clean and fresh and fun-filled, as opposed to the movies they make for teenagers today. Horror films are probably number one; and they're so full of sex. It's amazing to me that these kids from today would find appeal in the films of that era, but of course it's delightful to me - I’m getting all these new fans that could be my children ... laughs ... They’re younger than my children! Shaz: Finally, Deborah, The Lively Set gets visitors from all over the world. Is there anything you'd like to say to them that hasn't already been said during our conversation, particularly at this time of year? Deborah: Well, happy holidays, of course! Just [tell them] that I appreciate everybody, I really do. As I travel around the world, and I meet fans ... I am always so touched by the things they say to me - that I touched their lives in a special way. I've had people come up to me with letters that I wrote - I answered my fan mail in those days - that they've saved through all these years, and then finally met me for the first time. But they have these letters that I wrote to them, and I'm just so touched by that. And it makes me look back on my career [and instead of thinking] 'Oh, my dream, it's gone, it's smashed', I go 'You know there was a good reason, and what I did was a good thing.' It made people happy, and it's still going on today, and so I am pleased and proud, and so grateful to all the fans that communicate with me, those that think about me. My heart is full of gratitude. Copyright Sharyn Peacocke, December 2000. All rights reserved. Photographs from Swingin' Chicks of the '60s book and calendar appear with the kind permission of Chris Strodder.
Deborah Walley in CloseUp page 1 Deborah Walley in CloseUp page 2 or use the links below to visit other Lively Set categories. |
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