# Deborah Van Valkenburgh

Deborah Van Valkenburgh (born August 29, 1952) is an American actress best known for her screen debut as Mercy in the 1979 cult film The Warriors, and her role as Jackie Rush for five seasons (1980–1985) on the television situation comedy Too Close for Comfort. In 2012, she won the Best Supporting Actress in a Fantasy Film award at the PollyGrind Underground Film Festival for the film Road to Hell.

## Education

Van Valkenburgh graduated from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York, with a BFA in painting and drawing.

## Career

She started her acting career on Broadway performing in "Hair". Van Valkenburgh also appeared in Off-Broadway plays, including Honeybee, The Tempest, Six Characters in Search of an Author, Hay Fever, When Did You last See Your Mother?, Iolanthe, It Ain't Aardvark, and Minutemen. Besides acting in many New York plays, she has acted in regional and touring company productions of Mooney's Kid Don't Cry, The Children's Hour, and A View From the Bridge. Van Valkenburgh has studied acting with William Esper and John Shea, ballet with Ballet Arts Carnegie Hall and modern dance with James Cunningham. She also studied puppet production with Jim Henson, voice with Kirk Nurock and Richard Green, and improvisation with Dan Richter.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1979 | The Warriors | Mercy | |
| 1981 | King of the Mountain | Tina | |
| 1984 | Streets of Fire | Reva Cody | |
| 1987 | Rampage | Kate Fraser | |
| 1988 | Phantom of the Ritz | Nancy Drawing | |
| 1989 | One Man Out | Liliana | |
| 1993 | Brainsmasher... A Love Story | Cammy Crain | Direct-to-video |
| 1997 | Mean Guns | Cam | |
| 1998 | Sorcerers | Mother | |
| 1999 | Free Enterprise | Marlena | |
| 2003 | Venus Conspiracy | Zoe | Short film |
| 2004 | Criminal | Woman In Elevator | |
| 2005 | The Devil's Rejects | Casey | |
| 2008 | Road to Hell | Reva Cody | |
| 2009 | Broken Hart | Gypsy Woman | Short film |
| 2013 | Love's Routine | Cynthia | Short film |
| 2013 | The Trials of Cate McCall | Justice Wender | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1980–1985 | Too Close for Comfort | Jackie Rush | 107 episodes |
| 1984 | Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour | Herself | With Cast of Too Close for Comfort |
| 1985 | A Bunny's Tale | Pearl | Television film |
| 1985 | Going for the Gold: The Bill Johnson Story | Kimberly | Television film |
| 1985 | Hotel | Camila Palandrini | Episode: "Resolutions" |
| 1985 | Glitter | Billie | Episode: "Rock 'n Roll Heaven" |
| 1986 | New Love, American Style | Unknown | Episode: "Love and the Pot Luck Dinner" |
| 1987 | Houston Knights | Louise Smoke | Episode: "Lady Smoke" |
| 1987 | Crime Story | Luca's Attorney | Episode: "Shockwaves" |
| 1988 | Cagney & Lacey | Valerie Bailey | Episode: "Button, Button" |
| 1988 | C.A.T. Squad: Python Wolf | Nikki Pappas | Television film |
| 1989 | HeartBeat | Lorraine | Episode: "Prison" |
| 1990 | MacGyver | Sandra Masters | Episode: "Rush to Judgement" |
| 1990 | Monsters | Deborah Levitt | Episode: "Household Gods" |
| 1992 | Bodies of Evidence | Donna Flint | Episode: "Echoes in the Dark" |
| 1992 | Picket Fences | Myra Marino | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 1993 | Quantum Leap | Diana St. Cloud | Episode: "Liberation - October 16, 1968" |
| 1995 | Star Trek: Deep Space Nine | Detective Preston | Episode: "Past Tense: Part II" |
| 1995 | The Marshal | Unknown | Episode: "Grab the Money and Run" |
| 1998 | Chicago Hope | Robin Kleiman | Episode: "Sarindipity" |
| 2001 | The Huntress | 911 Operator #4 | Episode: "Black Widow" |
| 2001 | Chasing Destiny | Suzy Aquado | Television film |
| 2002 | Firestarter: Rekindled | Mary Conant | Television miniseries |
| 2002 | Once and Again | Ms. Gonzalez | Episode: "The Gay-Straight Alliance" |
| 2004 | ER | Louise Garvin | Episode: "White Guy, Dark Hair" |
| 2005 | Mystery Woman: Mystery Weekend | Beth | Television film |
| 2005 | The Shield | Gail | Episode: "Bang" |
| 2005 | Cold Case | Geraldine | Episode: "Start-Up" |
| 2006 | Our House | Ms. Thomas | Television film |
| 2006 | Standoff | Goldstein | Episode: "Life Support" |
| 2006 | Criminal Minds | Betty | Episode: "The Last Word" |
| 2008 | Backwoods | Mother Ruth | Television film |
| 2008 | The Governor's Wife | Vera | Television film |
| 2009 | The Unit | Madam | Episode: "Unknown Soldier" |
| 2009 | Without a Trace | Margot | Episode: "True" |
| 2009 | The Ex List | Arlene Dubinski | Episode: "Momma's Boy" |
| 2010 | Ghost Whisperer | Madame Greta Hanson | Episode: "Old Sins Cast Long Shadows" |
| 2010 | Healing Hands | Leah Gardner | Television film |
| 2010 | Days of Our Lives | Rae | 2 episodes |
| 2010 | Law & Order: LA | Liz Knight | Episode: "Harbor City" |
| 2010–2011 | The Event | Candice Larson | 3 episodes |
| 2011 | Castle | Ruth Spurloch | Episode: "Cuffed" |
| 2012 | Touch | Dee Dee | Episode: "Music of the Spheres" |
| 2014 | Chop Shop | Mrs. Grabowsky | Episode: #1.3 |
| 2014 | Stalker | Eleanor | Episode: "Skin" |
| 2015 | The Messengers | Gladys Cowan | Episode: "Why We Fight" |
| 2019 | Hidden in Plain Sight | Evelyn | Television film |
| 2020 | Helstrom | Esther Smith | Recurring |

## Broadway

* 1977 Broadway revival of Hair, original cast

## Video games

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2005 | The Warriors | Mercy | |

## Awards and nominations

Awards :
| Year | Award | Category | Production | Result |
| 2012 | PollyGrind Film Festival Award | Supporting Actress in a Fantasy Film | Road to Hell | Won |