Susan Buckner, an American actor greatest identified for her position as Patty Simcox within the 1978 musical “Grease,” died May 2. She was 72. Her demise was confirmed by her publicist.
At the age of 25, Buckner was solid within the position of the Rydell High cheerleader, becoming a member of a solid that included John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John. As Simcox, Buckner performed a solider of faculty spirit, with an iconic cheer cemented into followers’ minds: “Do the splits, give a yell! Show a little spirit for old Rydell! Way to go, red and white! Go Rydell, fight, fight, fight!”
Buckner continued working as an actor with visitor credit throughout a number of tv reveals, together with “The Love Boat,” “B.J and the Bear” and “The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries.” She co-starred within the ABC collection “When the Whistle Blows.” Among different notable function credit, Buckner appeared in Wes Craven’s 1981 horror movie “Deadly Blessing” reverse Sharon Stone, in addition to the 1989 comedy sequel “Police Academy 6: City Under Siege.”
Buckner spent the latter a part of her life instructing, directing a number of kids’s theater productions at Pinecrest Elementary School and main dance courses at Body and Soul Gym in Coral Gables, Fla.
Born on Jan. 28, 1952 in Seattle, Wash., Buckner was a embellished magnificence queen, topped Miss Washington in 1971 and represented the state within the Miss America pageant the next yr. She later turned a part of Dean Martin’s Golddiggers and would go on to hitch the all-girl group Fantasy and based her personal music duo, Buckner and Pratt. Buckner additionally appeared as a dancer on reveals like “The Mac Davis Show,” “Sonny and Cher” and the “Telly Savalas Live Touring Show,” in addition to performing as a synchronized swimmer on “The Brady Bunch Variety Hour.”
Buckner is survived by her two kids, son Adam Josephs and daughter Samantha Mansfield; her 4 grandchildren; her sister, Linda; her daughter-in-law and son-in-law; and her longtime accomplice, Al.