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Local actors, Debbie Bartelt, (top) and Glen B. Delander, (below) talk about their work in national commercials and the acting business in Arizona.

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Local actors star in commercials
by Kathleen Stinson

NORTH VALLEY – Ever wondered where companies get the people who do those television commercials?

Well, wonder no more. Some of these actors live in the North Valley.

In the past few years, the number of acting jobs in Arizona has increased due to the Governor’s proactive position on attracting the industry with tax incentives, actors say.

Have you seen the commercial with the woman knitting and talking about how, thanks to Aleve, she can knit to her heart’s content? This woman is North Scottsdale resident and actor Debbie Bartelt.

Although Bartelt is a member of the Screen Actors Guild, in this national commercial she means what she says about the product.

“I do knit, and I do take Aleve for my arthritis,” she said.

She got the job by answering an e‑mail survey inquiring about her product use. The e‑mail was one of several she routinely receives from her local talent agency. Aleve numbered among the products Bartelt uses.

“The next thing I knew I got a call from California. Talk about truth in advertising,” she said.

Bartelt, a longtime Valley resident, was one of the original cheerleaders for the Phoenix Suns. In 1969, she pitched the idea to have entertainment on the court to Suns Chairman Jerry Colangelo. At that time, cheer entertainment was unusual except for the Lakers Girls.

She recently finished a film “Jolene” with director Dan Ireland, in which she played the lead’s mother. Other credits include the “Legends” television series shot in Tucson starring Richard Dean Anderson. She has also done Whiskas and Tostitos national commercials, to name a few.

Another local actor, Glen B. Delander, who lives in Arrowhead, plays a psychiatrist in a “trophy guy” commercial promoting the NBA Championships. The actor has also appeared in a Qwest national commercial spot during the football season playing a “young grandpa.”

He played the lead in a movie “The Choice” recently shown at the Harkins Theatre in Phoenix.

“I play a guy bitter toward life due to the early death of a childhood friend,” Delander said. “I want to do more meaningful films that have intent and purpose.”

A Valley resident for the past 20 years, he started his career with a theater scholarship from Grand Canyon University in West Phoenix.

Delander makes his living from a combination of professional acting jobs and owning an apartment locating business.

He said acting is his passion.

Also a standup comedian, he tells the joke, “How do you get an elephant out of the theater? You can’t if it’s in his blood.”

While both actors admit it is hard sometimes to make a living as an actor in Phoenix, it can be done.

“Arizona has great terrain and can look like a lot of places. It’s a right‑to‑work state, so employers don’t have to pay union wages,” he said.

Acting is a good profession, the actors relate, because no matter how old, how tall, or whatever you are, there’s always some part available “some place, somewhere.”

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