Diana Love Webster (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Dill; formerly Douglas and Darrid; January 22, 1923 – July 3, 2015) was an American actress who was known for her marriage to actor

Kirk Douglas Kirk Douglas (born Issur Danielovitch; December 9, 1916 – February 5, 2020) was an American actor and filmmaker. After an impoverished childhood, he made his film debut in '' The Strange Love of Martha Ivers'' (1946) with Barbara Stanwyck. D ...

from 1943 until their divorce in 1951. She was the mother of

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian and ...

and Joel Douglas. In 1942, Douglas began her career as an actress and appeared in more than 50 films. Some of her well-known roles were as Susan Rogers in ''

The Indian Fighter ''The Indian Fighter'' is a 1955 American CinemaScope and Technicolor Western (genre), Western film directed by Andre de Toth and based upon an original story by Robert L. Richards. The film was the first of star Kirk Douglas's Bryna Production ...

'' (co-starring Kirk Douglas) and as Peg in ''

Planes, Trains and Automobiles ''Planes, Trains and Automobiles'' is a 1987 American comedy film written, produced and directed by John Hughes and starring Steve Martin and John Candy with supporting roles by Laila Robins and Michael McKean. It tells the story of a high-stru ...

''. She was also known for her recurring role as Martha Evans in ''

Days of Our Lives ''Days of Our Lives'' (also stylized as ''Days of our Lives''; simply referred to as ''Days'' or ''DOOL'') is an American television soap opera that streams on the streaming service Peacock. The soap, which aired on the American television net ...

'' (1977–1979, 1982). In 2003, she appeared in '' It Runs in the Family'' with her ex-husband Kirk, her son Michael and her grandson

Cameron Cameron may refer to: People * Clan Cameron, a Scottish clan * Cameron (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) * Cameron (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) ;Mononym * Cam'ron (born 1 ...

. She retired from acting in 2008.

Early life

She was born in

Devonshire Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, ...

, Bermuda, on January 22, 1923. Her father, Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Melville Dill (also the name of her great-grandfather, a

mariner A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. The profession of the ...

), was a former Member of the Colonial Parliament (MCP) (representing the Parish of Devonshire in the

Parliament of Bermuda The Parliament of Bermuda is the bicameral legislature in the British Overseas Territory of Bermuda. The two houses are: * The House of Assembly which has 36 members, elected for a five-year term in single seat constituencies. * The Senate which ...

), Attorney General of Bermuda, and former Commanding Officer of the

Bermuda Militia Artillery The Bermuda Militia Artillery was a unit of part-time soldiers organised in 1895 as a reserve for the Royal Garrison Artillery detachment of the Regular Army garrison in Bermuda. Militia Artillery units of the United Kingdom and Colonies were int ...

. Her mother Ruth Rapalje (

Neilson) had roots in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...

, including being a descendant of

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

hero Col. John Neilson. Douglas' brother

Bayard Bayard may refer to: People *Bayard (given name) * Bayard (surname) *Pierre Terrail, seigneur de Bayard (1473–1524) French knight Places * Bayard, Delaware, an unincorporated community * Bayard (Jacksonville), Florida, a neighborhood * Bayard ...

was a prominent lawyer and politician. Her sister Ruth was married to

John Seward Johnson I John Seward Johnson I (July 14, 1895 – May 23, 1983) was one of the sons of Robert Wood Johnson I (co-founder of Johnson & Johnson). He was also known as J. Seward Johnson Sr. and Seward Johnson. He was a longtime executive and director of Jo ...

, heir to the

Johnson & Johnson Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is an American multinational corporation founded in 1886 that develops medical devices, pharmaceuticals, and consumer packaged goods. Its common stock is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the company i ...

fortune. Douglas' father was from a prominent Bermudian family, present on the island since the early 17th century. Her ancestry included English, Irish, Welsh, Dutch, Scottish, Belgian and French. Douglas was brought up in the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Brit ...

Career

In 1942, she began her career in a minor, uncredited role in '' Keeper of the Flame''. She went on to appear in many films during the 1950s and 1960s, one of her most notable roles arguably being Susan Rogers in ''

''. During the 1960s and 1970s, she appeared in a variety of television programs (such as the ''

General Electric Theater ''General Electric Theater'' was an American anthology series hosted by Ronald Reagan that was broadcast on CBS radio and television. The series was sponsored by General Electric's Department of Public Relations. Radio After an audition show ...

'' and '' Naked City''), her best known television role being Lily Chernak Donnelly on '' Love Is a Many Splendored Thing''. She played Poco on '' Three Steps to Heaven'' and Martha Evans in ''

''. Following the cancellation of ''Love Is a Many Splendored Thing'', she played Annie Andersen in ''

The Cowboys ''The Cowboys'' is a 1972 American Western film starring John Wayne, Roscoe Lee Browne, and Bruce Dern, and featuring Colleen Dewhurst and Slim Pickens. It was the feature film debut of Robert Carradine. Based on the 1971 novel of the same name ...

''. She appeared in '' Roots: The Next Generations'' and ''

The Waltons ''The Waltons'' is an American historical drama television series about a family in rural Virginia during the Great Depression and World War II. It was created by Earl Hamner Jr., based on his 1961 book '' Spencer's Mountain'' and the 1963 fil ...

''. In '' It Runs in the Family'', Douglas appeared with her former husband,

, son

and grandson

, and later appeared on an episode of CBS's ''

Cold Case A cold case is a crime, or a suspected crime, that has not yet been fully resolved and is not the subject of a current criminal investigation, but for which new information could emerge from new witness testimony, re-examined archives, new or r ...

'' and in the Season 15 '' ER'' episode "Heal Thyself" (2008), the year that she retired from acting. In 1999, her autobiography, '' In the Wings: A Memoir'', was published.

Personal life

Dill was married to

. They met as acting students before the Second World War. During the war, Douglas was serving in the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

when he saw the May 3, 1943, issue of ''

Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energy ...

'' magazine, with a photograph of Dill on the cover. He showed the cover to his shipmates and told them that he would marry her. They married on November 2, 1943, and had two sons,

and

Joel Joel or Yoel is a name meaning "Yahweh Is God" and may refer to: * Joel (given name), origin of the name including a list of people with the first name. * Joel (surname), a surname * Joel (footballer, born 1904), Joel de Oliveira Monteiro, Brazili ...

, before divorcing in 1951. She married actor Bill Darrid, and they lived with her sons on the East Coast of the US until his death in 1992. In 2002, she married Donald Webster in the old Devonshire Parish Church in Bermuda.

Death

On July 3, 2015, Douglas, a breast cancer survivor, died at the

Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital In physics, motion is the phenomenon in which an object changes its position with respect to time. Motion is mathematically described in terms of displacement, distance, velocity, acceleration, speed and frame of reference to an observer and me ...

Woodland Hills, Los Angeles Woodland Hills is a neighborhood bordering the Santa Monica Mountains in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Geography Woodland Hills is in the southwestern region of the San Fernando Valley, which is located east of Ca ...

, of an undisclosed form of cancer at the age of 92.

Filmography

Film

Television

Books

* * *

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Douglas, Diana 1923 births 2015 deaths American Academy of Dramatic Arts alumni Bermudian actresses Bermudian Anglicans Bermudian emigrants to the United States Deaths from cancer in California Douglas family People from Devonshire Parish People with acquired American citizenship Dill family