Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in ‘Grease,’ has died

Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical “Grease,” has died. She was 72.

Buckner “died peacefully” on May 2 and was “surrounded by loved ones,” according to a statement sent to media on Tuesday from her family’s publicist Melissa Berthier. A cause of death was not provided.

In the early 1970s, she went on to appear on episodes of “The Dean Martin Show,” “Police Woman” and “Switch.” Buckner later put her musical talents on display while appearing as a dancer and synchronized swimmer on “The Brady Bunch Variety Hour” in 1976.

Throughout the late 1970s and into the 1980s, Buckner appeared in several TV series including “Starsky and Hutch,” “The Love Boat,” and “The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries,” and co-starred in the ABC series “When the Whistle Blows” alongside Dolph Sweet.

She also appeared on the big screen in the 1981 Wes Craven-directed horror film “Deadly Blessing” opposite Sharon Stone. Her final credit, according to her IMDb page, is playing a news reporter in the 1989 film “Police Academy 6: City Under Seige.”

She stepped away from Hollywood to focus on being a mom to her two children, Adam Josephs and Samantha Mansfield. Buckner also became a theatre instructor for young children and taught dance in Coral Gables for nearly a decade.