Dianna Lynn Batts (born November 30, 1944) is an American former

model A model is an informative representation of an object, person or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin ''modulus'', a measure. Models c ...

and

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

. From 1975 to 1993, Parkinson served as a model on ''

The Price Is Right ''The Price Is Right'' is a television game show franchise created by Bob Stewart, originally produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman; currently it is produced and owned by Fremantle. The franchise centers on television game shows, but also inc ...

''.

Career history

In 1965, while living in

Falls Church, Virginia Falls Church is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,658. Falls Church is included in the Washington metropolitan area. Taking its name from The Falls Church, an 18th-century Ch ...

, Parkinson won the

Miss District of Columbia USA The Miss District of Columbia USA competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the District of Columbia in the Miss USA pageant. Four District of Columbia representatives have won the Miss USA title. Of those two, Deshauna Ba ...

title and competed as Diana Batts in the

Miss USA 1965 Miss USA 1965 was the 14th Miss USA pageant, held in Miami Beach, Florida on June 4, 1965. This was the first Miss USA pageant to be televised live (on the CBS network), and the first to be a self-contained production, held several weeks before ...

pageant, where she placed fourth runner-up. Parkinson won the 1965 Miss USA World contest. She went on to represent the United States in the international

Miss World 1965 Miss World 1965, the 15th edition of the Miss World pageant, was held on 19 November 1965 at the Lyceum Ballroom in London, UK. The winner was Lesley Langley of the United Kingdom. She was crowned by Miss World 1964, Ann Sidney of United Kingd ...

contest, and was first runner-up to

Lesley Langley Lesley Doreen Langley (born 26 March 1944 in Weymouth, Dorset, with the name Lesley Hill, which she changed to Leslie Langley to make it more artistic) is a British model, beauty queen and actress who was Miss United Kingdom and Miss World in 1 ...

of the United Kingdom. Parkinson traveled during 1965 with the

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in more than 70 short and feature films, with ...

USO Show, including performances in

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making ...

during late December 1965, and also served as Queen of the 1965

Bob Hope Desert Classic The Desert Classic (currently known as The American Express for sponsorship reasons; previously known as the CareerBuilder Challenge, Palm Springs Golf Classic, the Bob Hope Desert Classic, the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, and the Humana Challen ...

golf tournament. In 1975, Parkinson was a guest star on ''

The Mary Tyler Moore Show ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' (also known simply as ''Mary Tyler Moore'') is an American television sitcom created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns and starring actress Mary Tyler Moore. The show originally aired on CBS from 1970 to 1977. Moo ...

'' ("Ted's Moment of Glory"). In 1978, Parkinson appeared in the pilot of the TV series '' Vega$''. From 1975 to 1993, Parkinson was a

on the US television game show ''

''. Her 18-year tenure on the show was among the longest of any of the models, second only to Janice Pennington, who was with the show for more than 28 years.

Departure from ''The Price Is Right''

Parkinson left the show in 1993, supposedly to "pursue other interests", as host

Bob Barker Robert William Barker (born December 12, 1923) is an American retired television game show host. He is known for hosting CBS's '' The Price Is Right'' from 1972 to 2007, making it the longest-running daytime game show in North American tele ...

announced during her final taping, which aired on June 18, 1993. In 1994, Parkinson filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court (case no. BC106366) against Barker for

sexual harassment Sexual harassment is a type of harassment involving the use of explicit or implicit sexual overtones, including the unwelcome and inappropriate promises of rewards in exchange for sexual favors. Sexual harassment includes a range of actions fr ...

, claiming a three-year sexual relationship was extorted by threats of firing from ''The Price Is Right''. Barker denied the sexual harassment allegations. The suit was withdrawn in April 1995, with Parkinson claiming it was too costly and had taken a toll on her health.

''Playboy''

Parkinson was the cover girl of ''

Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's Lifestyle magazine, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from H ...

'' in December 1991 and again in May 1993. In 1993, Parkinson was featured exclusively in a ''Playboy'' "Newsstand Edition" photo magazine entitled ''Playboy Presents, Dian Parkinson''. Also in 1993, the video ''Playboy Celebrity Centerfold: Dian Parkinson'' was released.

''EZ Krunch''

In 1993, Parkinson was the official spokesperson for the home exercise equipment machine ''EZ Krunch''.

''Space Ghost: Coast to Coast''

In 1994, Parkinson appeared as a guest on the animated talk show '' Space Ghost: Coast to Coast'' ("Punch").Dian Parkinson on Space Ghost: Coast to Coast
/ref>

Personal life

In November 2019, Parkinson listed a residence in

Westlake Village, California Westlake Village is a city in Los Angeles County on its western border with Ventura County. The City of Westlake Village incorporated in 1981 becoming the 82nd municipality of Los Angeles County.Baker, Pam (2002). ''Thousand Oaks Westlake Vil ...

References

External links

*
Court TV article with information on Dian Parkison's suit
{{DEFAULTSORT:Parkinson, Dian 1944 births Living people 1990s Playboy Playmates Miss World 1965 delegates Miss USA 1960s delegates Game show models People from Jacksonville, North Carolina 20th-century American people United Service Organizations entertainers