WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO: Kristine DeBell

I may not have known Kristine DeBell by name while she was acting, but she starred in two of my favorite films of the 70's / early 80’s. She was one of the counselors in MEATBALLS (part of the camp power couple that had broken up) as well as Linda Hamilton’s best friend in TAG: THE ASSASINATION GAME.

Some of her line readings in TAG I just loved. The way she said “Fuh-ny” or “He’s ok”. It is probably my favorite of her performances.

However, I was not aware of how she began her career, and how she soon disappeared. I just remember those films.

When I did read in the Psychotronic film guide in the mid 90’s about her, I have to admit being very surprised.

Kristine’s first role in 1976 was actually her biggest. She starred as the lead in a box office hit. And it was a musical. The film in question? The Adult version of ALICE IN WONDERLAND. In this film (directed by Henry Jaglom's father in law), she played Alice, a shy librarian living in a small town. She goes through the looking glass and meets all the characters from the original story (including Humpty Dumpty who has a problem now solved by Bob Dole approved medicine, and other characters who do things I can't write about on this PG-13 rated site).

Released in both an R and X rated version (although there was so little difference between the two that, when recently issued on DVD, the company dropped plans to include the R rated version) this was one of the biggest hits as far as the genre goes. The music in it is actually good, well orchestrated (by the composer of the music for the Carol Burnett show). Kristine appeared on the cover of Playboy to promote it.

Reviews for it were good as well. In his 2 ½ star Chicago Sun Times review of the X rated version, Roger Ebert wrote the following about Kristine:

“its most pleasant surprise is its star, Kristine De Bell, who projects such a freshness and naivete that she charms us even in scenes where some rather alarming things are going on. I think she has a future in the movies, and not just X movies, either; there's an openness to her expression, a directness to her acting, that's genuinely appealing.”

There are stories that 20th Century Fox distributed the film, but as far as I can tell, they only distributed it in Australia (I saw an Australian movie poster of the film on Ebay with a Fox logo). There are other reports saying that Fox released it in a package deal with STAR WARS. If a theatre wanted one film, they had to take the other. I find this hard to believe. But who knows, it was the 70’s.

While this should have led to bigger things right away, because of the genre, it didn’t. Kristine would appear in small roles in many bigger films for the next few years.

In the Robert Zemeckis film I WANNA HOLD YOUR HAND, she played a hooker who was more interested in watching the Beatles on TV than being with her mustard loving client.


In BLOODBROTHERS, she was pursued by star Richard Gere, only to leave him for Robert Englund. Yes, she chose Freddy Kruger over Gere.

There was a lot of TV work as well in the late 70’s. There were episodes of OPERATION PETTICOAT, POLICE WOMAN, BJ AND THE BEAR, EIGHT IS ENOUGH, BARNABY JONES and CHIPS.

In the Barbra Streisand / Ryan O’Neal 1979 boxing film THE MAIN EVENT, she played a driving school client of O’Neal’s who is involved in a chase scene with Streisand.

Then came MEATBALLS. One of the more popular films of hers, that still is in regular rotation today.


1979’s CHEERLEADER’S WILD WEEKEND was a rather depressing film. Made by the same producer of ALICE (and according to some sources made right after) this teams her up with the star of the producer's other popular film FLESH GORDON. While she is prominently billed in the film, she must have known she was going on to better things as she has a small role, and manages to be one of the few in the cast to remain clothed.

As the 80’s began, she started getting better roles. There was Paul Mazursky’s WILLIE AND PHIL in a small role.

Also in 1980, she played the female lead in THE BIG BRAWL (aka BATTLE CREEK BRAWL). This was an attempt to introduce Jackie Chan to the American public. Kristine played his girlfriend. It was an odd film, set in the 1930’s, about gangsters, and even included a roller derby sequence. Even though it was from the director of ENTER THE DRAGON, it didn’t exactly do much for Jackie or Kristine’s career.


In 1981 she starred in a low budget sci-fi film called LIFEPOD. She along with RIPTIDE’s Joe Penney and ALIAS star Carl Lumbly played space travelers on a starship that has its computer taking control. I don’t know where the film actually played (it appears to be a TV movie) but it was released to video in the early 80’s.


T.A.G. THE ASSASSINATION GAME was next, still my favorite of her films. (And you can read more about it here). But, if anyone saw this film, it was on cable as it didn’t have much of a theatrical release.

In 1982 she got her biggest break. She began playing Pam Warren on THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS. I’ve been unable to find out just how long she had this role.


By this time, the early 80’s, video started to take off. I’ve also been unable to verify the date of the event that happened during this period, that was quite significant.

After her success on THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS, it seemed her first film, ALICE IN WONDERLAND, resurfaced on video. Only this time, it wasn’t in the well reviewed R or even the X rated version. This time, it was a XXX rated version. In this version, while some doubles were used for some shots, there were other scenes were it was clearly Kristine involved in activities on camera that a soap opera or mainstream movie star probably shouldn’t have been doing.

While some like Ain’t It Cool News’ Harry Knowles called this one of their favorites of the 1970’s, it does hurt the film (not to mention Kristine’s image). Going from a lighthearted comedy to these overly graphic scenes changed the film overall. In all of the reviews of the new DVD (that includes this version and is even available on Amazon), most critics point to the fact that the less graphic version is the one to watch. (You can watch the first 8 minutes of this version on Youtube, with the added disclaimer. The clip is G rated and includes two songs).

Rumor is that she was fired from THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS when this was found out, but I have been unable to confirm that.

This could have happened a couple years later, as in 1983 she appeared in an episode of OH MADELINE, the Madeline Kahn sitcom. I don’t know if she would have been cast if there was a scandal.

Also in 1983, ROOSTER: SPURS OF DEATH was released. This film, about cockfighting of all things, was actually made in 1977. Since it was a rather nothing film, it might have been released to cash in on her notoriety. She has a small role in this film (Forgotten Film review here) as a pot smoking hooker with a heart of gold.


In 1984, she played Harry’s girlfriend on the “Harry and the Rock Star” episode of NIGHT COURT (available on the season 1 DVD). It was one of her most mainstream roles, in a popular network show, but it would also be one of her last.

She is listed second in the end credits of the 1986 film CLUB LIFE (reviewed here). However, she seems to have been left on the cutting room floor. She can be seen standing behind Tony Curtis in one scene, and in a crowd scene later, but doesn’t even have a line of dialogue. I don’t know what happened to her in this film.

There is a listing that she appeared in a 1989 direct to video satire of TV news called AMERICA CONFIDENTIAL, but that was it for her career.



So, what ever happened to her?

Virtually nothing is known about Kristine since she stopped acting. There are rumors of her getting married, but nothing else. Some people posted on message boards saying she has been appearing in regional theatre, but no dates or places so I don’t know. The IMDB has a photo of her, that appears to be since she stopped acting, but it isn't dated.

While that release of ALICE may have hurt her career in the 80’s, you have to think that 20 years later, it might have even helped it. Look at what happened with Pamela Anderson and Paris Hilton. Would they be popular without the release of their tapes?

The public seems to be more open today. Chloe Sevigny starred in THE BROWN BUNNY and remained a cast member on the hit HBO series BIG LOVE. Diablo Cody (who writes about some rather freaky stuff that happened in her previous career in CANDY GIRL) even won an Oscar.

Not to say I wasn’t a bit shocked by the news. I can understand the reaction back then.

Still, Kristine was one of the more memorable actresses of the era. She still has a following today. Where she is, what she is doing, I don’t know. Could she ever make a comeback? It has been 18 years since she last worked, almost 25 years since NIGHT COURT, who knows if she even wants to.

EDIT 11-18-09: The upcoming DVD release of CHEERLEADERS WILD WEEKEND, releasing 11-24-09 and available for pre-order on Amazon, will feature an audio commentary, as well as an on camera interview with Kristine! In the interview, she talks about her career.

As far as I know, this is her first official sighting in years. While the film is terrible, it might be worth a look for her fans.

KRISTINE DEBELL ON DVD