American actress Susan Bucknerknown by viewers as the bubbly cheerleader Patty Simcox of the film «Grease» (1978), died «peacefully surrounded by her loved ones» in Miami, Florida, on May 2 at the age of 72. The announcement of her passing was made today by her family. At the age of 25 Buckner landed the role of Rydell High cheerleaderfriend of Sandy (Olivia Newton-John, died in August 2022), in love with Danny Zucco (John Travolta).
In the role of the perky cheerleader, Buckner embodied it at her best the school spirit of «Grease». “Do the splits, scream!”, she urged next to Newton-John. “Show some spirit for old Rydell! Keep going, reds and whites! Come on Rydell, fight, fight, fight! Born on January 28, 1952 in Seattle, Susan Buckner came crowned Miss Washington in 1971 and represented Washington State in Miss America pageant the next year.
Soon after, she became one of the Golddiggers dancers on the «Dean Martin Show» and this led her to join the girl group Fantasy and the musical duo Buckner and Pratt. She also participated in variety shows such as «The Mac Davis Show», «Sonny and Cher» and, as a dancer and synchronized swimmer, «The Brady Bunch Variety Hour». After the success of «Grease», the actress participated in several TV seriesincluding «Love Boat», «Starsky & Hutch» and «Truck Driver» and was a co-star of the series «5pm – When the siren rings».
He starred in horror movie by Wes Craven «Deadly Blessing» (1981), alongside Sharon Stone, and in «Police Academy 6: the city under siege» (1989). She later moved away from the world of entertainment to dedicate herself to her family. Buckner, as «Variety» specifies, is survived by her son Adam Josephs, her daughter Samantha Mansfield, her grandchildren Oliver, Riley, Abigail and Ruby, her sister Linda, her daughter-in-law Noel Josephs, her son-in-law Adam Mansfield and her long-time partner Al In lieu of flowers at the funeral, the family requests that they be given donations to the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden of Miami in honor of Susan.
