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Deborah Brace Winters, (born on November 27, 1953) is an American Actress, Business Woman and Real Estate Agent. She starred in 17 movies and numerous television productions including the popular, The Winds of War (TV miniseries). Her best-known films were Kotch with Walter Matthau, Class of '44 with Gary Grimes, The People Next Door with Eli Wallach' and America: A Call to Greatness with Charlton Heston. She appeared theatrically with lead roles in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, The Country Girl, Close Ties and The Devil Passes. She frequently moved from a film and television career to that of a stay-at-home mom and then back again. Each time she returned it would be to a leading or starring acting role. Winters won awards for her work including Best Actress for Cat and the feature film and mini-series, Behind the Mask (1992).

Throughout her life, she engaged in various business fields both in and out of the film industry, eventually entering the real estate profession in 2000. As a realtor, Winters received numerous honors and awards including the coveted 2011, 5 Star Professional Award.

Early Life

Deborah Brace Winters was born in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of Ralph Winters, head of television casting for Universal Studios for 28 years and Penny Edwards, a popular actress during the 1950s and ‘60s. Her parents divorced in 1958 and she moved with her mother to New York City where she began her acting career at age five, securing national commercials with Kwik-Kamp Trailers, Kodak, Wink, and Mountain Dew. She attended the Professional Children's School in New York and later began professional training under Stella Adler and Pearl Pearson at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting, New York.

Winters returned to Los Angeles in 1968, where she studied acting under Lee Strasberg at the Lee Strasberg Institute. She continued working, appearing in commercials for Kinney Shoes, Gulf Oil, Lincoln-Mercury, Quaker Oats and others. In 1966, she received her first screen role in the Fred Coe comedy-drama, Me, Natalie.

Film and television career

Deborah Winters was cast in a co-starring role in the 1968 motion picture Me, Natalie, opposite Patty Duke, James Farentino and Martin Balsam. Al Pacino also debuted in the same film.) She followed shortly afterwards with a second co-starring role opposite Michael Douglas in his first film, the 1969 Hail, Hero!, directed by David Miller. The production also starred Teresa Wright and also marked Peter Strauss' first film. Winters was next offered the lead role of Sandy in the Frank Perry 1969 coming-of-age feature, Last Summer but declined the role because of required nudity. The role eventually went to Barbara Hershey. In a later movie, The People Next Door (1970), a body double would be substituted for Winters in a brief nude scene. When asked in a 1986 Houston Post interview whether that upset her, she replied, "It did but you know, they used a double that wasn't even shaped like me. My family laughed so I was okay."

Winters' career breakthrough occurred when she was cast as Maxie Mason, the lead role in the prestigious CBS Playhouse's Emmy Award winning television production of The People Next Door. The Playhouse episode directed by David Greene also starred Lloyd Bridges, Robert Duvall and Kim Hunter. The production received considerable fan mail and favorable reviews, which led to a feature film remake the same year. Winters reprised her role and David Greene once again directed. However, Eli Wallach was cast in the Bridges role and Julie Harris, Hal Holbrook and Cloris Leachman were added to the cast.

Both the television production and feature film versions of The People Next Door received positive reviews. Movie/Review's James M. Tate wrote, "It is Deborah Winters alone, who, with a brooding reserve as intense as the drug-induced tirades, provides an underlying 'vibe' throughout: where anything can happen... at any time." Roger Ebert said in his Chicago Sun-Times review, "The People Next Door is a wholly different kind of movie, using good old narrative techniques to tell a story and incidentally to provide a lot of information about drugs along the way. It is the best movie so far about parents, kids and drugs, and probably the best we're likely to get." About Winters, Ebert stated, "Deborah Winters, is disturbing at first because you think she's too mannered. Gradually the mannerisms become indispensable to the characterization."

Other film and television roles followed Winter's earlier successes and in 1971, she was cast in the lead female role opposite Walter Matthau in the Academy Award, Golden Globe and Writers Guild of America Award winning film, Kotch. The film was directed by Jack Lemmon but despite excellent press, would be the only film he would ever direct. Favorable reviews accompanied the movie's award nominations. Rob Blackwelder, writing for Spliced Wire wrote, "The film is sentimental without being schmaltzy (although the tender-moments opening credits threaten otherwise), and often sharply funny as old man's waddling whimsy and the young girl's off-kilter way of looking at the world form a curious synchronicity." Vincent Canby writing for the New York Times stated, "Matthau, who is a fine, un-tricky actor, plays old Kotch with as few affectations as can be allowed by a film that pretends to an innocence it never has. I also liked Deborah Winters as the pregnant teenager he befriends." Glenn Erickson writing a recent review for DVD Talk simply stated, "Deborah Winters comes off the best."

Class of '44, directed by Paul Bogart for Warner Bros. in 1973, provided Winters with another substantial acting role. The film also featured Gary Grimes, Jerry Houser and Sam Bottoms. Actor John Candy made his motion picture debut in a very brief appearance at the film's beginning. As had been the case with Kotch, Winters found herself on the cover of the book on which the film was based, thereby increasing her media exposure.

After the Class of '44 release, Winters left the business for several years to care for her newborn daughter. She returned in 1976, to act in an Emmy winning production. Winters starred with Andy Griffin and James Keach in Stacy Keach's PBS Television production of the Luigi Pirandello play, Six Characters in Search of an Author. The production received good reviews and won several other awards including the NAACP Image Award. The following year Winters was cast in a leading role along side Claude Akins and Charles Frank in Stuart Hagmann's Tarantulas: The Deadly Cargo (1977). The picture won two Emmy Awards, one for sound editing and the other for sound mixing. The film also introduced Matthew Laborteaux in his first starring role.

Deborah Winters was next cast as a lead in [[Jeff Lieberman's 1978 horror picture Blue Sunshine (film) also starring Zalman King. The film became a cult item among horror fans, remembered primarily for its edgy actors, creatively weird atmosphere, and unconventional plot. Film critic Lawrence P. Raffel wrote, "Blue Sunshine is a miraculously brilliant low budget feature that revels in its inability to be classified."

After several more stints in film and episodic television including Medical Center (TV series), Gemini Man and the Insight (TV series), Winters temporarily left acting again to spend more time with a growing family. She returned to the screen in 1983, starring as Robert Mitchum's Daughter in Law in the World War II Emmy Award winning classic, The Winds of War (TV miniseries). At the time, the broadcast became the second most watched TV miniseries in history. As of 2011, it remains in the top five of the most watched miniseries of all time.

Winters continued acting with starring roles in episodic television including the Lottery (TV series), Days of Our Lives and Matt Houston. At the same time, she worked in numerous theatrical productions, winning the Pacific Palisades Community Theatre Award as best actress for her role as Maggie in Tennessee Williams’ play, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. In 1986, she was cast as the female lead in The Lamp (film) followed by The Outing (film) in which she played three separate roles. The Outing (film) initially opened to weak reviews but has since achieved a substantial cult following as had her Blue Sunshine.

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The 1990s remained productive for Deborah Winters who was cast as a lead in Sandpiper Pictures' Behind the Mask (1992). directed by Warren Chaney. The picture was first released by Intercontinental Releasing Corporation and re-released in 1994 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Robert Stroud of Screen Times Magazine wrote, "Actors for the production are top-notch. Deborah Winters portrays FBI agent, Annie Strayton. I was struck that she plays her character in a tough no-nonsense way that is so popular today. Impressive given that she was doing this role in the early 90s."

Shortly after production of Behind the Mask (1992), Winters was cast in a starring role with Charlton Heston, Mickey Rooney, Peter Graves and Rita Moreno in the 1994 docudrama, America: A Call to Greatness. The film's theatrical runs extended beyond the normal cinematic distribution with continued screenings in independent venues for over 15 years. It was finally released to home video in May of 2011. Reviews were favorable and the continuing exposure kept Winters in the public mind.

In 1994, Winters appeared in Little Girl Lost with Tess Harper. She had delivered her last child two years earlier and so following Little Girl Lost, she returned once more to raising a family.

Winters was given the female lead opposite actors Hugh O'Brian, Dick Van Patten, Richard Roundtree, and Richard Anderson] in the 1999 documentary television series, Y2K – World in Crisis. By year's end, she was also cast in the follow-up series, The Road Ahead.

After competing work in the two documentary television series, Winters decided to leave the film industry once more, permitting her to remain close at home. Always torn between acting and raising a family, she chose family. In a 2011 broadcast interview with James M. Tate of CultFilm she confided, "I was in acting since age 5 and I thought this was enough. I had one young son left at home and I wanted to be there when he came home from school." However, when her son reached high school age, Deborah decided to return to work. Only this time, it was not to be in film or television. It was real estate.

Real Estate and Business Life

Throughout her life, Deborah Winters remained involved in the business world in one form or the other. She was one of the co-owners of the popular Alice's Restaurant in Malibu, California and frequently worked behind the cameras and in business departments for many film and television productions. She and her husband, Dr. Warren Chaney had jointly participated in various realty ventures, therefore her entry into real estate was a natural transition.

Winters studied for the Texas State Realtor's exam in 1999 and received her license the following year. She joined Keller Williams Realty, Clear Lake/Nasa in September of 2000 winning annual awards for her service and productivity while maintaining high realtor-representative scores.In 2011, Winters was nominated for and received the national Five Star Professional Award. The honor is restricted to 7% of all Realtors in each state.

Personal life

Deborah Winters grew up in New York and Los Angeles, the daughter of a film and television family. She later relocated to Houston, Texas where she continued her film and television career while starting a new one in real estate. Throughout her career, Winters frequently alternated between her careers and that of raising a family.

Winters maintains membership in numerous professional associations including the Screen Actors Guild, National Association of Realtors, Texas Association of Realtors, Houston Association of Realtors and Kiwanis International.

Deborah Winters seldom granted interviews beyond the professional promotional requirements for her film and television work. She remains involved in Christian church activities and is married to film director and research scientist, Dr. Warren Chaney. They have five children (three daughters and two boys).

Filmography

• Me, Natalie (1966)
• Hail, Hero! (1969)
• The People Next Door (film) (1970)
• Cilali Ibo Teksas fatihi (1971)
• Kotch (1971)
• Class of '44 (1973)
• Six Characters in Search of an Author (1976)
• Tarantulas: The Deadly Cargo (1977)
• Blue Sunshine (film) (1978)
• Crisis in Sun Valley (1978)
• The Winds of War (TV miniseries) (1983)
• The Lamp (film) (1986)
• The Outing (film) (1987)
• Fatal Mission (1990)
• Behind the Mask (1992)
• Little Girl Lost (1994)
• America: A Call to Greatness (1994)

Television

See Also

• Me, Natalie (1966)
• Hail, Hero! (1969)
• Intercontinental Releasing Corporation
• The People Next Door (film) (1970)
• Kotch (1971)
• Class of '44 (1973)
• Six Characters in Search of an Author (1976)
• Tarantulas: The Deadly Cargo (1977)
• Blue Sunshine (film) (1978)
• The Winds of War (TV miniseries) (1983)
• The Lamp (film) (1986)
• The Outing (film) (1987)
• Y2K – World in Crisis
• Behind the Mask (1992)
• Little Girl Lost (1994)
• America: A Call to Greatness (1994)

External links

• Deborah Winters Home Page
• 5 Star Professional Award Winner
• Deborah Winters at Keller Williams Realty
• Deborah Winters at Internet Movie Database
• Deborah Winters at Turner Classic Movie Database
• Deborah Winters Biography
• Deborah Winters at Linkedin
• Deborah Winters Movies at Blockbusters
• Deborah Winters Movies at Amazon.com
• Deborah Winters at Yahoo.com

• 1953 births
• Living people
• American film actors
• Actors from Los Angeles, California
• Actors from Houston, Texas
• Actors from Texas
• American television actors
• American stage actors
• American voice actors
• 20th-century actors
• 21st-century actors
• American Christians