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Dina Merrill

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Dina Merrill
Publicity photo of Merrill in 1968 by John Engstead
Born
Nedenia Marjorie Hutton

(1923-12-29)December 29, 1923
New York City, U.S.
DiedMay 22, 2017(2017-05-22) (aged 93)
East Hampton, New York, U.S.
EducationGeorge Washington University
American Academy of Dramatic Arts
HB Studio
Occupation(s)Actress, businesswoman, socialite
Years active1945–2009
Spouses
​
​
(m. 1946; div. 1966)​
​
​
(m. 1966; div. 1986)​
​
​
(m. 1989)​
Children4
Parents
RelativesEleanor Post Close (half-sister)
C. W. Post (grandfather)
Barbara Hutton (first cousin)
Lance Reventlow (first cousin once removed)

Dina Merrill (born Nedenia Marjorie Hutton; December 29, 1923 – May 22, 2017) was an American actress.[1][2] She had more than a hundred film and television credits from the late 1950s until 2000s. Throughout her life, she married three times.

Early life

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Merrill was born in New York City on December 29, 1923, but for many years, her date of birth was given as December 9, 1925.[3][4] She was the only child of Post Cereals heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post and her second husband, Wall Street stockbroker Edward Francis Hutton, founder of E. F. Hutton & Co.[5] Merrill had two older half-sisters, Adelaide Brevoort Close (July 26, 1908 – December 31, 1998) and Eleanor Post Hutton (December 3, 1909 – November 27, 2006), by her mother's first marriage to Edward Bennett Close, grandfather of actress Glenn Close. Merrill was also first cousin—and first cousin once removed, respectively—to heiress Barbara Hutton and her son Lance Reventlow.[6][7]

Merrill graduated from Miss Porter's School, then attended George Washington University in Washington, DC for one term, but then enrolled at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City. She studied acting at HB Studio[8] under Uta Hagen.[9]

Acting career

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On advice from her half-sister's (then) husband, she adopted the stage name Dina Merrill, borrowing from Charles E. Merrill, a famous stockbroker like her father.[10] Merrill made her debut on the stage in the play The Mermaid Singing in 1945.[11]

During the late 1950s and 1960s, Merrill was believed to have been marketed as a replacement for Grace Kelly,[2] and in 1959, she was proclaimed "Hollywood's new Grace Kelly".[12]

Merrill's film credits included Desk Set (1957), A Nice Little Bank That Should Be Robbed (1958), Don't Give Up the Ship (1959), Operation Petticoat (1959, with Cary Grant, who had been married to her cousin, Woolworth heiress Barbara Hutton), The Sundowners (1960), Butterfield 8 (1960), The Young Savages (1961), The Courtship of Eddie's Father (1963), I'll Take Sweden (1965), The Greatest (1977), A Wedding (1978), Just Tell Me What You Want (1980), Anna to the Infinite Power (1983), Twisted (1986), Caddyshack II (1988), Fear (1990), True Colors (1991), The Player (1992), Suture (1993), and Shade (2003). She also appeared in made-for-TV movies, such as Seven in Darkness (1969), The Lonely Profession (1969), Family Flight (1972), and The Tenth Month (1979).

Dina Merrill in the film The Sundowners, 1960

Merrill appeared in numerous television series in the 1960s, such as playing the villain Calamity Jan in two 1968 episodes of Batman with then-husband Cliff Robertson. She also made guest appearances on two Bonanza episodes as Susannah Clauson, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour episode "Bonfire" (1962), The Investigators, The Bold Ones, Wagon Train (1964), Mission: Impossible, The Love Boat; Quincy, M.E.; Murder, She Wrote; Roseanne, and The Nanny, as Maxwell Sheffield's disapproving and distant British mother. In 1971, Merrill appeared as Laura Duff in The Men from Shiloh (rebranded name for the TV Western The Virginian) in the episode titled "The Angus Killer".

Her stage credits include the 1983 Broadway revival of the Rodgers and Hart musical On Your Toes, starring Russian prima ballerina Natalia Makarova. In 1991, she appeared in the rotating cast of the off-Broadway staged reading of Wit & Wisdom.[13]

Merrill, Bobby Short and Dick Sheridan in New York City (1970)

In 1991, Merrill and her third husband Ted Hartley merged their company Pavilion Communications with RKO to form RKO Pictures, which owns the intellectual property of the RKO Radio Pictures movie studio.

In the 1960s and 1970s, Merrill was a recurring guest on several network television game and panel shows, including Match Game, To Tell the Truth, What's My Line, and Hollywood Squares.

Board memberships

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Merrill was a presidential appointee to the board of trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, a trustee of the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center, and a vice president of the New York City Mission Society. In 1980, Merrill joined the board of directors of her father's E. F. Hutton & Co., continuing on the board and the compensation committee of Lehman Brothers when it acquired Hutton, for over 18 years.[10][14]

Personal life and death

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Merrill in 1999

Merrill was married three times. In 1946, she wed Stanley M. Rumbough Jr., an heir to the Colgate-Palmolive toothpaste fortune and entrepreneur.[15] They had three children, Nedenia Colgate Rumbough; David Post Rumbough; and Stanley Rumbough III,[15] before divorcing in 1966.[16] Later that year, she wed actor Cliff Robertson, with whom she had a daughter, Heather Robertson.[11] The couple divorced in 1986.[16]

In 1989, she married producer Ted Hartley, and they remained married until her death.[15]

On May 22, 2017, Merrill died at her home in East Hampton, New York at age 93. She had been suffering from Lewy Body Dementia.[15]

Two of Merrill's four children predeceased her.[17][18] David died in a boating accident a few weeks before his 24th birthday, and Heather died from ovarian cancer at the age of 38.[citation needed]

Honors

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Merrill received the Women's International Center (WIC) Living Legacy Award, in 1994,[19] and a lifetime achievement award from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in April 2005.[20]

Filmography

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Feature films

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Year Title Role Notes
1957 Desk Set Sylvia Blair
1958 A Nice Little Bank That Should Be Robbed Margie Solitaire
1959 Don't Give Up the Ship Ensign Rita J. Benson
Operation Petticoat Second Lieutenant Barbara Duran, NC, USAR
Catch Me As You Can
1960 Butterfield 8 Emily Liggett
The Sundowners Jean Halstead
1961 The Young Savages Karin Bell
Twenty Plus Two Nicki Kovacs
1963 The Courtship of Eddie's Father Rita Behrens
I'll Take Sweden Karin Granstedt
1970 Aru heishi no kake Kelly Allen
1974 Throw Out the Anchor! Lindy Baker
1975 The Meal Kelly Fielding
1977 The Greatest Velvet Green
1978 A Wedding Antionette Goddard
1980 Just Tell Me What You Want Connie Herschel
1983 Anna to the Infinite Power Sarah Hart
1986 Twisted Neil Kempler
1988 Caddyshack II Cynthia Young
1990 Fear Catherine Tarr
1991 True Colors Joan Styles
1992 The Player Celia
1993 Suture Alice Jameson
1995 Open Season Doris Hays-Britton
Point of Betrayal Mother
1996 Milk & Money Ellen - David's Mother Executive Producer
1998 Mighty Joe Young Society Woman
1999 The Other Sister Pucky Uncredited
2000 Meeting Genevieve Mother Short movie
2003 Shade Dina
2009 Beyond a Reasonable Doubt Woman in Courtroom Uncredited

Television films

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Year Title Role Notes
1961 Westinghouse Presents: The Dispossessed Annette DeGrande
1962 The Expendables Barbara
1964 "Rawhide" Incident of the Gilded Goddess Lisa Temple (TV Episode, First aired April 30, 1964)
1968 The Sunshine Patriot Brancie Hagen
1969 Seven in Darkness Emily Garth
The Lonely Profession Beatrice Savarona
1971 Mr. and Mrs. Bo Jo Jones Vivian Greher
1972 Family Flight Florence Carlyle
1973 The Letters Penelope Parkington
Running Wild Whit Colby
1979 The Tenth Month Cele
1983 The Brass Ring Mother
1986 The Alan King Show Nan Cooper
1989 Turn Back the Clock Maureen Dowd
1993 Not in My Family Claire Worth
1997 Something Borrowed, Something Blue Lydia D'Arcy - Monique's Mother
1998 A Chance of Snow Merilee Parker
2002 The Magnificent Ambersons Mrs. Johnson
The Glow Phoebe Janusz

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1955 Four Star Playhouse Marcia Episode: "A Place Full of Strangers"
1956 Playwrights '56 Sarah / Mrs. Neville Episode: "The Center of the Maze"
Episode: "Return to Cassino"
The Phil Silvers Show Lieutenant Roxberry /

WAC Lieutenant

Episode: "Bilko's Rest Cure"
Episode: "Bilko's War Against Culture"
1957–1958 Matinee Theatre Episode: "One for All"
Episode: "Day of Discoveries"
1958 Playhouse 90 Mary Episode: "The Time of Your Life"
Climax! Iris Farrar Episode: "Spider Web"
1959 Sunday Showcase Laurette Harrington Episode: "What Makes Sammy Run?: Part 1"
Episode: "What Makes Sammy Run?: Part 2"
1959–1960 The DuPont Show of the Month Laura Hudson / Julie Episode: "The Fallen Idol"
Episode: "Men in White"
1960 Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse Aline Lincoln Episode: "Murder Is a Private Affair"
1961 The Investigators Valerie Corbin Episode: "Style of Living"
The United States Steel Hour Lisa Muller Episode: "Brandenburg Gate"
Hong Kong Helen Rowan Randolph Episode: "Lady Godiva"
1962 The Alfred Hitchcock Hour Laura Season 1 Episode 13: "Bonfire"
The Dick Powell Theatre Mrs. Eve Emerson /

Carol Manson

Episode: "The Court Martial of Captain Wycliff"
Episode: "Obituary for Mr.X"
The New Breed Ruth Kingman Episode: "So Dark the Night"
Dr. Kildare Evelyn LeFevre Episode: "Oh, My Daughter"
Checkmate Laura Hammond Episode: "A Very Rough Sketch"
1963 Burke's Law Barrie Coleman Episode: "Who Killed Mr. X?"
The Eleventh Hour Rita Hall Episode: "Everybody Knows You Love Me"
1963–1965 Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre Maralise / Joan Cowley Episode: "The Candidate"
Episode: "The Game"
1964 Kraft Suspense Theatre Jo Andrews Episode: "The Gun"
Mickey Angela Episode: "Seaside Westside"
Rawhide Lisa Temple Episode: "Incident of the Gilded Goddess
1964–1965 The Rogues Clothilde Bonheur / Kendall Frazier Episode: "The Personal Touch"
Episode: "A Daring Step Backward"
1965 Daniel Boone Madeline Lorne Episode: "The Tamarack Massacre Affair"
1965–1972 The F.B.I Christine Minton /

Jean Davis

Episode: "The Monsters"
Episode: "The Franklin Papers"
1966 Bonanza Susannah Clauson Episode: "The Pursued: Part 1"
Episode: "The Pursued: Part 2"
Daktari Janet Lorne Episode: "Trail of the Cheetah"
12 O'Clock High Capt. Patricia Bates Episode: "Which Way the Wind Blows"
1967 Run for Your Life Caroline Willins Episode: "East of the Equator"
A.B.C Stage 67 Ginny Weldon Episode: "The Trap of Solid Gold"
1968 Batman Calamity Jan Episode: "Penguin's Clean Sweep" (uncredited)
Episode: "The Great Escape"
Episode: "The Great Train Robbery"
1969 Mission: Impossible Meredyth Episode: "The Controllers Part 1"
Episode: "The Controllers Part 2"
1969–1970 The Name of the Game Maggie Payden / Nancy Devlin Episode: "The Incomparable Connie Walker"
Episode: "The Glory Shouter"
1971 The Bold Ones: The New Doctors Madeline Calvert Episode: "Angry Man"
Medical Center Ruth Marlowe Episode: "Perfection of Vices"
The Virginian Laura Duff Episode: "The Angus Killer"
1973 Cannon Doris Hawthorne Episode: "Murder By the Numbers"
Marcus Welby, M.D. Dr. Carol Brooks Episode: "A Cry in the Night"
Night Gallery Ruth Wilson Episode: "Hatred Until Death / How to Cure the Common Vampire"
Segment: "Hatred Unto Death"
1974 The Odd Couple Anita Episode: "Oscar in Love"
1975 Ellery Queen Harriet Manners Episode: "The Adventure of the 12th Floor Express"
Switch Luciana Episode: "Kiss of Death"
1976 Quincy M.E. Claire Garner Episode: "Who's Who In Neverland"
Hawaii Five-O Dr. Barbara Dalton Episode: "Nine Dragons"
Kingston: Confidential Helen Martinson Episode: "Kingston"
1977 The Hardy Boys / Nancy Drew Mysteries Thelma March Episode: "A Haunting We Will Go"
1979 The Love Boat Helen Ames 2 Episodes
Roots: The Next Generation Mrs. Hickinger TV Mini-Series
Episode: "Part V"
1980 Matt and Jenny Adelaide Alcott Episode: "The Actress"
1982-

1984

Hotel Jessica Cabot / Eleanor Blackwood Episode: "Queen's Gambit"
Episode: "Opening Moves"
Episode: "The Wedding"
1984 Hot Pursuit Estelle Mordian 12 Episodes
1984 "Tales of the Unexpected" Series 7, ep 18, "The Open Window" "Marjorie"
1990-

1992

Murder, She Wrote Monica Douglas / Annie Floret Episode: "Always a Thief"
Episode: "The Monte Carlo Murders"
1995 The Nanny Elizabeth Sheffield Episode: "The Two Mrs. Sheffields"
1996 Roseanne Doris Episode: "Hoi Polloi Meets Holti Toiti"
1998 Vengeance Unlimited Ellen Hayworth Episode: "Ambition"
2001 100 Centre Street Judge Helen Randolph Episode: "Bottlecaps"

References

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  1. ^ Gingrich, Arnold (May 1960). Coronet. D. A. Smart. p. 13.
  2. ^ a b Hamilton, George; Stadiem, William (October 14, 2008). Don't Mind If I Do. Simon and Schuster. p. 98. ISBN 978-1-4165-9450-5.
  3. ^ "Date of birth given as December 29, 1923". hillwoodmuseum.org. Archived from the original on January 2, 2014.
  4. ^ Dina Merrill date of birth: December 29, 1923 Archived January 25, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, paulbowles.org; accessed December 31, 2013.
  5. ^ "Dina Merrill Biography". filmreference.com. Retrieved May 24, 2017.
  6. ^ Nelson, Nancy (2003). Evenings With Cary Grant: Recollections in His Own Words by Those Who Knew Him Best. New York: Citadel Press. p. 133. ISBN 0-8065-2412-X. "Dina Merrill's father (E. F. Hutton) and Barbara Hutton's father were brothers. Dina recalls: 'Cary and Barbara Hutton came to visit us in Washington right after they were married. [...] I was thrilled my cousin had married this eminent movie star.'"
  7. ^ "Engagement Announced". Lansing State Journal. August 7, 1959. p. 23. Retrieved July 8, 2024. "Actress Jill St. John, shown with Lance Reventlow, dime store heir [...] Reventlow, 23, son of Woolworth heiress Barbara Hutton and her former husband, Danish nobleman Count Haugwitz-Reventlow, operates a stable of racing cars."
  8. ^ HB Studio Alumni
  9. ^ "A Touch Of Class". February 28, 1993. Retrieved May 24, 2017.
  10. ^ a b Rowes, Barbara (May 12, 1980). "An Actress Turns to Finance: History Proves That Both Dina Merrill and Her Daddy Knew Best". People. Retrieved July 14, 2016.
  11. ^ a b Bernstein, Adam (May 22, 2017). "Dina Merrill, actress and philanthropist of aristocratic poise, dies at 93". Washington Post. Archived from the original on March 24, 2019. Retrieved March 23, 2019.
  12. ^ "Dina Merrill: A Star on Her Toes". The New York Times. April 3, 1983. Retrieved April 9, 2014.
  13. ^ Wit & Wisdom Archived June 14, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, theatermania.com; accessed December 27, 2013.
  14. ^ Gillespie, John (January 12, 2010). Money for Nothing: How the Failure of Corporate Boards Is Ruining American Business and Costing Us Trillions. Free Press. p. 13. ISBN 978-1-4165-5993-1.
  15. ^ a b c d Harmetz, Aljean (May 22, 2017). "Dina Merrill, Actress and Philanthropist, Dies at 93". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 23, 2017. Retrieved May 23, 2017.
  16. ^ a b "Dina Merrill: Performer". Internet Broadway Database. Archived from the original on October 21, 2017. Retrieved May 23, 2017.
  17. ^ "Fortune, fame...and tragic deaths". Chicago Tribune. November 17, 1975. Retrieved July 14, 2016.[dead link‍]
  18. ^ "Deaths Robertson, Heather Merriweather". The New York Times. May 2, 2007. Retrieved July 14, 2016.
  19. ^ Women's International Center. "Dina Merill". Retrieved September 13, 2021.
  20. ^ "Dina Merrill - biography". IMDb. Retrieved September 13, 2021.
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