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Diana Hyland

Diana Hyland, a striking, knowing beauty with a confident air about her, was born Diane Gentner on January 25, 1936, in Ohio and appeared on stage in summer stock as a teen before graduating from Cleveland Heights High School. Moving to New York in 1955 to test her acting mettle, the slim-faced, honey-blonde actress began to find TV roles almost immediately (one of her first being a "Robert Montgomery Presents" episode) in between supplementing her income as a switchboard operator. Initially billed Diane Gentner, she changed it to Diana Hyland (taking her mother's maiden name). Following a tour of the play "Look Back in Anger," she broke through quite impressively on the Broadway boards as the neurotic ingénue in the acclaimed 1959 Tennessee Williams production of "Sweet Bird of Youth" starring Paul Newman and Geraldine Page. Her role of Heavenly Finley could have made her a film star had she been allowed to take it the big screen, but Shirley Knight was given that honor. In the early 60s, Diana focused on the small screen with strong, emotional roles on such soaps as "Young Dr. Malone" (1958) and "Peyton Place" (1964) (in a particularly showy role as a minister's alcoholic wife). She also scored well in a series of guest parts, notably "The Twilight Zone," "The Fugitive," "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour" and "Alcoa Presents," the last for which she received an Emmy nomination. She was a particularly sought-after presence on medical shows as well, spicing up such popular tearjerkers as "Ben Casey," "Dr. Kildare," "The Doctors and the Nurses," "Medical Center" and "Marcus Welby, M.D.". Strangely, Diana made noticeably few films during her career, her best showcase being that of the unconventional minister's wife opposite Don Murray's Rev. Norman Vincent Peale in One Man's Way (1964). In addition to a small, downbeat supporting turn in The Chase (1966) starring Marlon Brando, Robert Redford and, Jane Fonda, she also co-starred with Fess Parker in the routine western yarn Smoky (1966). Remaining focused on TV, Diana continued to brightened up the TV medium into the 1970s with an emphasis on crime ("Kojak, "Harry O", "Cannon," "Mannix," etc.). IMDb Mini Biography By: Gary Brumburgh / gr-home@pacbell.net


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Born:
Jan 25, 1936 In Cleveland Heights, Ohio, USA
Movie/TV Credits:
29
First Appeared:
In the series Robert Montgomery Presents 1950-01-30
Latest Project:
Series Eight Is Enough 1977-03-15
Known For
Poster of Burke's Law
Poster of Ben Casey
Poster of The Twilight Zone
Filmography
Series Eight Is Enough 1977-03-15
Movie The Boy in the Plastic Bubble Mickey Lubitch 1976-11-12
Series S.W.A.T. Unknown 1975-02-24
Series Happy Days Unknown 1974-01-15
Series Kojak Unknown 1973-10-24
Series Banyon Unknown 1972-09-15
Series Alias Smith and Jones Unknown 1971-01-05
Series Cannon Unknown 1971-09-14
Movie Ritual of Evil Leila Barton 1970-02-23
Series Medical Center Unknown 1969-09-24
Movie Jigsaw Sarah 1968-06-05
Series Mannix Unknown 1967-09-16
Series Ironside Unknown 1967-03-28
Movie The Chase Elizabeth Rogers 1966-02-18
Movie Scalplock Martha Grenier 1966-04-10
Movie Smoky Julie Richards 1966-08-03
Movie Hercules and the Princess of Troy Princess Diana 1965-03-08
Series Run for Your Life Unknown 1965-09-13
Movie One Man's Way Ruth Stafford Peale 1964-02-26
Series Peyton Place 1964-09-15
Series Burke's Law Unknown 1963-09-20
Series Kraft Suspense Theatre Unknown 1963-10-10
Series Sam Benedict Unknown 1962-09-15
Series Dr. Kildare Unknown 1961-09-27
Series Ben Casey Unknown 1961-10-02
Series Alcoa Premiere 1961-10-10
Series The Twilight Zone Unknown 1959-10-02
Series Gunsmoke Unknown 1955-09-10
Series Robert Montgomery Presents Unknown 1950-01-30
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