Diana Hyland
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| Diana Hyland | |
|---|---|
 in The Boy in the Plastic Bubble (1976). |
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| Born | Diana Gentner January 25, 1936 Cleveland Heights, Ohio, U.S. |
| Died | March 27, 1977 (aged 41) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
Diana Hyland (January 25, 1936 – March 27, 1977) was an Emmy Award-winning American actress best known for her TV appearances and occasional films.
Born Diana Gentner in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, Hyland made her acting debut in 1955 in an episode of Robert Montgomery Presents. Over the next decade she played numerous guest and supporting roles in various television series, including The Twilight Zone, before being cast in a featured role in The Chase (1966) with Marlon Brando, Jane Fonda, and Robert Redford. In 1959 she originated the role of Heavenly Finley in Tennessee Williams' Sweet Bird of Youth on Broadway, with Geraldine Page and Paul Newman. She also played a continuing role in the soap opera Peyton Place from 1968 until 1969.
In 1976 she began a relationship with the actor John Travolta, 18 years her junior and beginning to find success as an actor in the television series Welcome Back, Kotter. The two appeared together in a television movie, The Boy in the Plastic Bubble (1976), and Hyland was then signed to play the wife of Dick Van Patten's character in the series Eight is Enough.
Hyland was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a mastectomy. Despite this, her health deteriorated and after filming four episodes she left the series, but did not tell the cast her true predicament. She pretended she had suffered damage from a skiing accident, and when cast members would visit she would have her leg in traction to keep up the ruse.
However, Hyland's illness overwhelmed her quickly and less than a year later she died, reportedly in Travolta's arms, at the age of 41. When Eight is Enough resumed for its second season, it was explained in the story that her character had died.
Travolta accepted an Emmy Award on her behalf when she won posthumously for her role in The Boy in the Plastic Bubble.
Hyland was survived by a four year-old son, Zachary, from a previous marriage to Joseph Goodson, and the boy was placed in Goodson's custody after her death.
