Scott was born and raised in Elizabeth, New Jersey, and later lived in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, where she was a cheerleader.[1] 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 "Hotsy" Totsy; guest-starred in an episode of Gibbsville in 1976; and played Angie's younger sister Marie Falco in the Donna Pescow sitcom Angie.
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, The $20,000 Pyramid, Riddlers, and Password Plus.
Scott also appeared with the cast of Angie on Celebrity Family Feud in November 1979. After the cast of Angie defeated the cast of The Ropers in the first match, Scott scored 176 points in the Fast Money round, leaving partner Robert Hays only needing 24 points as they successfully won a guaranteed minimum $5,000 for their charity.[2] After defeating the cast of The Dukes of Hazzard in the Finals match, she then scored 234 points all by herself in the Fast Money round, getting 4 of the 5 most popular answers and winning before Hays ever got a chance to play, bringing their total to $15,000 for their charity.[3] Host Richard Dawson noted that she was the first celebrity player and only the fourth player in the show's then-four-year-history to win a Fast Money round single-handedly.[3]
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.[citation needed]
In 2005, shortly after moving to Florida to live with her sister, Scott fell into a coma and was hospitalized. She recovered and was released from the hospital on her birthday. However, she died in her sleep three days later, on April 5, 2005. Her body was cremated.[6]
Her fiancé's mother later stated that Scott had a drinking problem, which led to her developing cirrhosis and eventually caused her death. Her sister Jerri added that "she never did get over Dennis' death".[7]
^ abDawson, Richard (Host); Scott, Debralee (contestant) (November 4, 1979). Dukes of Hazzard vs Angie part 2 (YouTube). Mark Goodson–Bill Todman Productions. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
^"DEBRALEE SCOTT, 52". The Boston Globe. NY Times Co. Associated Press. April 10, 2005. Archived from the original on June 30, 2012. Retrieved December 28, 2007. Scott died April 5 at her home in Amelia Island of natural causes, said her sister, Jeri Scott, a talent manager in Beverly Hills.
