Diana Douglas

Diana Douglas, born Diana Love Dill on January 22, 1923, in Devonshire, Bermuda, was a Bermudian-American actress whose career spanned more than six decades. She died on July 3, 2015, at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, of cancer, at the age of 92. Professionally known as Diana Douglas, she appeared in more than 50 films and held notable roles across stage and television as well.

Douglas was born into a prominent Bermudian family with roots on the island dating to the early 17th century. Her father, Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Melville Dill, served as Attorney General of Bermuda, a Member of the Colonial Parliament representing the Parish of Devonshire, and Commanding Officer of the Bermuda Militia Artillery. Her mother, Ruth Rapalje, had New Jersey ancestry that included descent from American Revolutionary War figure Colonel John Neilson. Her brother Bayard was a lawyer and politician, and her sister Ruth married John Seward Johnson I, heir to the Johnson & Johnson fortune. Douglas was raised in the Church of England and had ancestry spanning English, Irish, Welsh, Dutch, Scottish, Belgian, and French origins.

Her acting career began in 1942 with an uncredited role in Keeper of the Flame. Among her film work, she was recognized for playing Susan Rogers in The Indian Fighter, which co-starred Kirk Douglas, and Peg in Planes, Trains and Automobiles. In 2003, she appeared in It Runs in the Family alongside her former husband Kirk Douglas, her son Michael Douglas, and her grandson Cameron Douglas. Her final screen credit came in 2008, with an appearance in the Season 15 ER episode "Heal Thyself," the same year she retired from acting.

On television, Douglas held a recurring role as Martha Evans on Days of Our Lives from 1977 to 1979 and again in 1982, and was known for her role as Lily Chernak Donnelly on Love Is a Many Splendored Thing. She also played Poco on Three Steps to Heaven and Annie Andersen in The Cowboys, and appeared in Roots: The Next Generations and The Waltons, as well as programs including General Electric Theater and Naked City.

Douglas's Broadway career ran from 1959 to 1967. She starred in The Highest Tree and also appeared in Cactus Flower and Everything in the Garden. In 1999, she published her autobiography, In the Wings: A Memoir.

Her personal life included a marriage to actor Kirk Douglas, whom she first met as a fellow acting student before he served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. The two married in November 1943 and had two sons, Michael and Joel Douglas, before divorcing in 1951. She subsequently married actor Bill Darrid, with whom she lived on the East Coast until his death in 1992. In 2002, she married Donald Webster in the Devonshire Parish Church in Bermuda.