Diana Dill

Diana Love Dill (born January 22, 1923) is a Bermudian actress, active in the United States, who has also appeared professionally under the names Diana Douglas and Diana Douglas Darrid.

Personal life

Dill was born in Bermuda. Her mother was Ruth Rapalje (née Neilson), with roots in New Jersey, and her father, Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Melville Dill (also the name of her great-grandfather, a mariner), was a former Attorney General of Bermuda, and former Commanding Officer of the Bermuda Militia Artillery.^[1] Her father was from a prominent Bermudian family, present on the island since the very early 17th century. Her ancestry includes English, Scottish, and Dutch.^[2] Her brother Bayard was a prominent lawyer and politician. Her sister Ruth was married to John Seward Johnson I, heir to the Johnson & Johnson fortune. Dill was brought up in the Church of England.^[3]

Marriage

Dill was married to Kirk Douglas, with whom she had studied acting before World War II.^[4] During the war, Douglas was serving in the U.S. Navy when he saw the May 3, 1943, issue of Life magazine, which featured a photograph of Dill on the cover. He showed the cover to his shipmates and said that he would marry her.^[5] The two were married on November 2, 1943. They had two sons, Michael and Joel, before divorcing in 1951.^[6]

Dill married actor Bill Darrid, and the couple lived with her sons on the U.S. East Coast until his death in 1992. In 2002, Dill married Donald Webster in the old Devonshire Parish Church in Bermuda.^[7][8][9]

Family tree

Career

Dill continued to appear in films with Kirk Douglas, most recently in 2003, when he played her husband in It Runs in the Family, in which son Michael and grandson Cameron also acted. Joel Douglas was an associate producer of the film.^[4]

As Diana Douglas Darrid, she published her memoirs, In the Wings: A Memoir (1999) (ISBN 1-56980-151-7), with a preface by her son, Michael. The book received a favorable nod from Publishers Weekly.

Filmography

• 1942 Keeper of the Flame
• 1947 The Late George Apley
• 1948 Let's Live Again
• 1948 The Sign of the Ram
• 1949 House of Strangers'
• 1949 Photocrime' (TV Series)
• 1950 Masterpiece Playhouse - The Rivals
• 1950 The Web - Key Witness (TV Episode)
• 1951 The Whistle at Eaton Falls
• aka Richer Than the Earth (UK)
• 1952 Armstrong Circle Theatre - Mr. Bemiss Takes a Trip (TV Episode)
• 1951 Storm Over Tibet (Elaine March Simms)
• aka Mask of the Himalayas (USA: alternative title)
• aka Sturm über Tibet (West Germany)
• 1953 Monsoon
• 1953 Studio One - Greed
• aka Studio One Summer Theatre (summer title)
• aka Studio One in Hollywood (new title)
• aka Summer Theatre (summer title)
• aka Westinghouse Studio One
• aka Westinghouse Summer Theatre (summer title) (TV Episode)
• 1953 Medallion Theatre - The Decision at Arrowsmith (TV Episode)
• 1953 Three Steps to Heaven Mary Claire 'Pogo' Thurmond Morgan #2
• 1953 Willys Theatre Presenting Ben Hecht's Tales of the City
• - Episode 1.6 (TV Episode)
• 1955 General Electric Theater - The Seeds of Hate
• aka G.E. Theater (USA: informal short title) (TV Episode) Nora
• 1955 The Indian Fighter Actor [Starring] Susan Rogers
• 1956 Medic
• - Reach of the Giant: Part 2 (TV Episode) Edith Martin
• - Reach of the Giant: Part 1 (TV Episode) Edith Martin
• 1956 Science Fiction Theatre
• - Brain Unlimited (TV Episode) Elaine Conover
• - End of Tomorrow (TV Episode)Jane Brandon
• 1956 West Point
• aka The West Point Story
• - Officer's Wife (TV Episode)
• 1953 Robert Montgomery Presents
• - Element of Risk (TV Episode)
• aka Lucky Strike Theater
• aka Montgomery's Summer Stock
• aka The Robert Montgomery Summer Theater
• 1956 Robert Montgomery Presents
• - Goodbye, Grey Flannel (TV Episode)
• 1959 Naked City
• - The Scorpion Sting (TV Episode) Meg
• - Even Crows Sing Good (TV Episode) Hilda
• 1964 Flipper
• - The Second Time Around (TV Episode) Mrs. Granville
• 1965 For the People
• - The Influence of Fear (TV Episode)
• 1965 Ben Casey
• - War of Nerves (TV Episode) Martha English
• 1967 N.Y.P.D.
• - The Boy Witness (TV Episode) Mrs. Whitaker
• 1970 Loving
• 1967 Love Is a Many Splendored Thing (TV)
• 1971 Hawkins (TV)
  • Episode A Life for a Life (Clara Guilfoyle)
  • Episode Die Die, Darling (Clara Guilfoyle)
• 1973 Kung Fu (TV)
  • Episode The Tong (Sister Richardson)
• 1974 The Streets of San Francisco [TV]
  • Episode Chapel of the Damned
• 1974 The Cowboys (TV Series) (Mrs. Annie Andersen)
• 1975 Dead Man on the Run [TV]
• 1977 Un Autre Homme Une Autre Chance (aka Another Man, Another Chance; aka Another Man, Another Woman
• 1977 Billy: Portrait of a Street Kid [TV]
• 1978 A Fire in the Sky [TV]
• 1979 Roots: The Next Generations
• 1981 Jaws of Satan (aka King Cobra)
• 1982 Sister, Sister [TV]
• 1983 The Star Chamber
• 1987 Planes, Trains and Automobiles
• 1987 Beauty and the Beast [TV]
  • Episode 8: Song of Orpheus
• 1992 A Town Torn Apart [TV] (aka Doc: The Dennis Littky Story)
• 1992 Cold Heaven
• 2003 It Runs in the Family

References

External links

• Diana Dill at the Internet Movie Database
• All Movie Biography and Filmography
• Cover, Life, 3 May 1943.
• Barnes & Noble Excerpt from Diana Dill's autobiography, "In The Wings"
• Review of Diana Dill's autobiography, "In The Wings"
• Bernews Profile: Diana Dill
• Essay on Bermuda Militia Artillery, by Jennifer Hind, which makes frequent mention of father, TM Dill
• Roots Web: Portrait of father, T.M. Dill
• Hello Magazine: Michael Douglas' Mum Weds at 79