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Not to be confused with the teacher Debbie.

Debbie Grund[1] was an exceptionally attractive employee of Strickland Propane and one of Buck Strickland's many mistresses. She was a silent character, never having an on-screen speaking role until the episode "Hanky Panky", when she was voiced by actress Reese Witherspoon.

Appearance[]

Debbie is a young adult woman with short blonde hair, described as attractive by many. Throughout the series, she is seen wearing a Strickland Propane uniform consisting of a light blue dress shirt, blue jeans, and brown shoes.

History[]

Before Season 4[]

Debbie was a silent employee who mainly sat around Buck Strickland's business. She acted as Buck's secretary on occasion. Debbie resided with Gale at Casa Linda, Building 25, Apartment 318D in Arlen, Texas. Because of Debbie's particular residence, Buck specifically built Sugarfoot's nearby so that he would have access to both good food and to his mistress.

Season 4[]

Camera

Last time Debbie Grund was seen alive.

Debbie was a central character in "Hanky Panky". After discovering her husband's affair, Miz Liz kicked Buck out and seized ownership of Strickland Propane. Mrs. Strickland made Hank the ipso facto boss of Strickland, as he was the most knowledgeable of propane now that Buck was gone. When Hank told Mrs. Strickland that tank wipe was the least favorite job of the Strickland employees, a vengeful Mrs. Strickland put Debbie on that job to make her the bottom woman on the totem pole. She was also the butt of jokes, as her coworkers compared Hank's new attention to Mrs. Strickland to the way Buck viewed her.

Feeling rejected, she attempted to seduce Hank by hiding in his truck dressed in only her undergarments, only to be rejected by him as well. After this, she coerced Hank to make a plan for having intercourse under the threat of falsely telling his wife they did have sexual relations, and Hank barely avoided Debbie's plan. She finally snapped when the Stricklands reconciled, and intended to shoot Buck and Liz (and maybe Hank and Peggy) with a shotgun. However, while waiting, she got hungry and left briefly.

After leaving the nearby Get In Get Out with a warm meal, Debbie walked to Sugarfoot's to hide in the dumpster and waited for Buck and Liz to exit, though she was unaware they already left in Liz's car. She juggled the gun and a snack as she tried to hide out in the dumpster. In the process, she accidentally set the gun off, resulting in an accidental suicide. As soon as she heard the gunshot, Peggy Hill discovered Debbie's corpse in a dumpster, prompting a tense murder investigation headed by Sheriff Mumford, but the case was ultimately solved by Texas Ranger Lester Payton as accidental suicide instead of murder.

Donna is one of Debbie's successors as Mr. Strickland's mistress. Peggy mentioned her in the episode "Ho Yeah!"

Trivia[]

  • In her debut episode "Junkie Business", her surname was originally shown to be "Swartz", thought this was later changed to "Grund" in Season 4.
  • Debbie's first words were in the episode "Peggy's Pageant Fever" when Mr. Strickland calls her over the intercom to tell her to write a check for $2000. She responds "Right away Buck!" in a high nasal voice.[2] It is unknown who voiced her in this instance.
  • Her first on-screen words were spoken in the episode "Hanky Panky". They were "Mmm-humm, thank you!" after Miz Liz's divorce lawyer complimented her on her beauty.
  • She was a pitcher for the company softball team—the Strickland Bobtails.[3]
  • Debbie mentioned that she has kids but none were seen.
    • It is unknown what became of them after her death.
  • Hank was the first man to ever reject her, as she said nobody ever did so.
  • The following year in Season 5, Reese Witherspoon's husband at the time, Ryan Phillipe, appeared in the episode "'Twas the Nut Before Christmas" as Wally.

Episode appearances[]

Season 2[]

Season 3[]

Season 4[]

Gallery[]

References[]

  1. Her surname was initially "Swartz" as seen in "Junkie Business".
  2. "Peggy's Pageant Fever"
  3. "Take Me out of the Ball Game"
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