Deborah Raffin obit

Deborah Raffin dies at 59; actress was also a force in audio books

 She was not on the list.

Raffin was born in Los Angeles, California, to actress Trudy Marshall and Phillip Jordan Raffin, a restaurateur and business executive. Her father was Jewish, and her mother was from a Christian background; Raffin identified with Judaism.

Like her mother, Raffin appeared as a model on numerous magazine covers including 'Teen, Seventeen and Good Housekeeping in the 1970s and 1980s and acted in several 1970s Hollywood films. She co-starred with Joseph Bottoms in the Gregory Peck-produced film The Dove (1974). Her 1976 television movie, Nightmare in Badham County, became a theatrical hit in mainland China, making Raffin a star there and leading to her later becoming the first Western actress ever to undertake a movie promotion tour in that country. She was nominated for both a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress and a Razzie Award for Worst Actress for her performance in Touched by Love in 1981. That same year, she starred in the TV series adaptation of the hit 1978 film Foul Play, in which she and Barry Bostwick took over the roles played by Goldie Hawn and Chevy Chase.

In 1988, she starred in James Clavell's Noble House with Pierce Brosnan. In 1991, she appeared as Julie Vale, a telepath, in the cult film Scanners II: The New Order alongside actor David Hewlett. She later appeared as Julie Camden Hastings on the television show 7th Heaven and as Dr. Hightower in the ABC Family teenager series The Secret Life of the American Teenager.

Raffin married film producer Michael Viner in 1974. The couple later became audiobook publishers. They had one child, daughter Taylor, and divorced in 2005.

Raffin was diagnosed with blood cancer in 2011. On November 21, 2012, she died from leukemia at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, California. She was 59 years old. She was buried at the Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery in Culver City, California.

 

Actress

Shailene Woodley and Daren Kagasoff in The Secret Life of the American Teenager (2008)

The Secret Life of the American Teenager

Dr. Hightower

TV Series

2008–2010

3 episodes

 

George Clooney, Anthony Edwards, Julianna Margulies, Ming-Na Wen, Noah Wyle, Laura Innes, Alex Kingston, Eriq La Salle, Kellie Martin, Paul McCrane, Michael Michele, Erik Palladino, Maura Tierney, and Goran Visnjic in ER (1994)

ER

Nicole

TV Series

2008

1 episode

 

Mariska Hargitay in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999)

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

Maia Graves

TV Series

2006

1 episode

 

Jessica Biel, Beverley Mitchell, Barry Watson, David Gallagher, Catherine Hicks, Mackenzie Rosman, and Happy in 7th Heaven (1996)

7th Heaven

Julie Camden HastingsJulie CamdenJulie Hastings

TV Series

1996–2005

18 episodes

 

Wil Wheaton in Book of Days (2003)

Book of Days

Amelia Hartland

TV Movie

2003

 

Home Song (1996)

Home Song

Monica

TV Movie

1996

 

A Perry Mason Mystery: The Case of the Grimacing Governor (1994)

A Perry Mason Mystery: The Case of the Grimacing Governor

Emily Allison

TV Movie

1994

 

Christopher Reeve and Deborah Raffin in Morning Glory (1993)

Morning Glory

Elly Dinsmore

1993

 

The Sands of Time (1992)

The Sands of Time

Sister Megan

TV Movie

1992

 

Scanners II: The New Order (1991)

Scanners II: The New Order

Julie Vale

1991

 

Night of the Fox (1990)

Night of the Fox

Sara Drayton

TV Movie

1990

 

Burt Reynolds in B.L. Stryker (1989)

B.L. Stryker

Carolann

TV Series

1989

1 episode

 

The Twilight Zone (1985)

The Twilight Zone

Sharon Miles

TV Series

1989

1 episode

 

Noble House (1988)

Noble House

Casey Tcholok

TV Mini Series

1988

4 episodes

 

Deborah Raffin in Claudia (1985)

Claudia

Claudia

1985

 

Charles Bronson in Death Wish 3 (1985)

Death Wish 3

Kathryn Davis

1985

 

Lace II (1985)

Lace II

Judy 'Jude' Hale

TV Movie

1985

 

Threesome (1984)

Threesome

Barbara Jones

TV Movie

1984

 

Dirk Benedict, Jan Francis, and Peter Graves in Fox Mystery Theater (1984)

Fox Mystery Theater

Selena Frankham

TV Series

1984

1 episode

 

Grizzly II: Revenge (1983)

Grizzly II: Revenge

Samantha Owens

1983

 

Sparkling Cyanide (1983)

Sparkling Cyanide

Iris Murdoch

TV Movie

1983

 

Dance of the Dwarfs (1983)

Dance of the Dwarfs

Dr. Evelyn Howard

1983

 

Running Out (1983)

Running Out

Elizabeth St. Claire

TV Movie

1983

 

For Lovers Only (1982)

For Lovers Only

Lilah Ward

TV Movie

1982

 

Barry Bostwick and Deborah Raffin in Foul Play (1981)

Foul Play

Gloria Munday

TV Series

1981

10 episodes

 

Killing at Hell's Gate (1981)

Killing at Hell's Gate

Anna Medley

TV Movie

1981

 

Touched by Love (1980)

Touched by Love

Lena Canada

1980

 

Jeff Conaway, Henry Gibson, Tom Bosley, and Deborah Raffin in For the Love of It (1980)

For the Love of It

Barbara

TV Movie

1980

 

Haywire (1980)

Haywire

Brooke Hayward

TV Movie

1980

 

Mind Over Murder (1979)

Mind Over Murder

Suzy

TV Movie

1979

 

Bruce Boxleitner, Edward Albert, Sharon Gless, Perry King, and Deborah Raffin in The Last Convertible (1979)

The Last Convertible

Chris Farris

TV Mini Series

1979

3 episodes

 

Willa (1979)

Willa

Willa Barnes

TV Movie

1979

 

How to Pick Up Girls! (1978)

How to Pick Up Girls!

Cynthia Miller

TV Movie

1978

 

Hanging on a Star (1978)

Hanging on a Star

Katie Ross

1978

 

Ski Lift to Death (1978)

Ski Lift to Death

Lee Larson

TV Movie

1978

 

Assault in Paradise (1977)

Assault in Paradise

Cindy Simmons

1977

 

The Sentinel (1977)

The Sentinel

Jennifer

1977

 

Nightmare in Badham County (1976)

Nightmare in Badham County

Cathy Phillips

TV Movie

1976

 

Andy Kaufman, Sam Levene, Richard Lynch, Deborah Raffin, and Sylvia Sidney in God Told Me To (1976)

God Told Me To

Casey Forster

1976

 

Once Is Not Enough (1975)

Once Is Not Enough

January

1975

 

The Dove (1974)

The Dove

Patti Ratteree

1974

 

40 Carats (1973)

40 Carats

Trina Stanley

1973

 

Of Men and Women (1973)

Of Men and Women

(segment "Margie Passes")

TV Movie

1973

 

Producer

Lynda Carter and Steven Eckholdt in Family Blessings (1998)

Family Blessings

producer

TV Movie

1998

 

Futuresport (1998)

Futuresport

executive producer

TV Movie

1998

 

Fifty Poems of Emily Dickinson (1997)

Fifty Poems of Emily Dickinson

executive producerproducer

Video

1997

 

Unwed Father (1997)

Unwed Father

producer

TV Movie

1997

 

Stephen Fry in Wilde (1997)

Wilde

executive producer

1997

 

Home Song (1996)

Home Song

producer

TV Movie

1996

 

Aesop's Fables (1995)

Aesop's Fables

producer

Video

1995

 

Windmills of the Gods (1988)

Windmills of the Gods

co-producer

TV Mini Series

1988

2 episodes

 

Director

Jessica Biel, Beverley Mitchell, Barry Watson, David Gallagher, Catherine Hicks, Mackenzie Rosman, and Happy in 7th Heaven (1996)

7th Heaven

Director

TV Series

2003–2004

2 episodes

 

Lynda Carter and Steven Eckholdt in Family Blessings (1998)

Family Blessings

Director

TV Movie

1998