Dina Merrill (born Nedenia Marjorie Hutton; December 29, 1923) is an American actress, socialite, businesswoman and philanthropist. In the last few years of life, Dina suffered from a very aggressive form of dementia, and succumbed to it on 22nd May 2017. Dina Merrill, the rebellious heiress who defied her super-rich parents to become a movie star, often portraying stylish wives or "the other woman," has died at age 93. Additionally, in the 1960s and 1970s, Merrill was a recurring guest on several network television game and panel shows including The Match Game, To Tell the Truth, Whats My Line, and Hollywood Squares. ), which she inherited and helped run following his suicide. Her son David Post Rumbough (DOB: September 27, 1949) was killed in a boating accident on September 8, 1973, when the twin-engine racing boat in which he was riding capsized in choppy seas in Gardiners Bay off eastern Long Island. The family of Dina Merrill Hartley confirmed Tuesday morning that the actress and philanthropist, an icon of taste and sophistication . View the most popular Dina Merrill pix. During this decade she appeared in films like "Anna to the Infinite Power," "Twisted," and "Caddyshack II." Dina Merrill Age. More recently, she was part of Robert Altmans ensemble cast for the Hollywood satire The Playerand in television programs such as Murder, She Wroteand The Nanny. Therefore, in 1959 she was proclaimed Hollywoods new Grace Kelly. She had been suffering from dementia with Lewy bodies. After divorcing Mr. Robertson in 1986, Ms. Merrill married Ted Hartley, a former Navy fighter pilot, actor and investment banker, who survives her. Dina's mother, Marjorie Merriweather Post, was at one time the richest woman in the United States. You didnt go to work then if you had young children, she said in 1979. Real Estate In 2018, it was reported that. Its really so depressing to be still listed in the Social Register after all the acting Ive done. Copyright 2023 /The Celebrity Deaths.com/All Rights Reserved. Heiress turned actress, Dina Merrill passed away at the age of 93 in her East Hampton, New York home. Towards the mid-60s, Merrill appeared in films like Frederick de Cordova's "I'll Take Sweden," "The Greatest," and "A Wedding." A Life of Privilege Her mother, Marjorie Merriweather Post was the heiress of a successful cereal company, Post Cereals while her father, Edward Francis Hutton was a wealthy stockbroker who established E.F Hutton & Co. It was a move that shaped the rest of Dinas life, who despite being a popular actress, was also known as a socialite and businesswoman. The agency said that by U.S. law there can be only one valid estate proceeding--Paris, in this instance. Paul Abrahamian, Big Brother, Biography, Age, Movies. Merrill was married three times. (Remember that the next time the IRS delays your lousy $1,000 refund.). Family Members . After her son David, who had diabetes, died in a boating accident at age 23 in 1973, Ms. Merrill created a yearly award for scientific excellence in his name for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. The second marriage lasted 20 years, and Ms. Merrill later married Ted Hartley, who was chairman of RKO Pictures. Keep reading for interesting details about the late actress. Dina Merrill, the rebellious heiress who defied her super-rich parents to become a movie star, often portraying stylish wives or "the other woman," has died at age 93. ", The most intriguing ploy came after the U.S. estate in 2007 paid $17.5 million to the Internal Revenue Service toward the final U.S. estate tax bill and in February 2008 got the U.S. will admitted to probate in Washington, D.C. A few days later De Bekessy quietly filed his own U.S. estate tax return. I didnt want to trade on the Hutton name, she explained. She attended George Washington University, but dropped out after a year to study at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York. Cliff took the telephone and told the whole story, she recalled. Merrill, raised in part. She studied acting at HB Studio under Uta Hagen. Merrill died Monday,. But the 20s are very important years to an actress. She was born Nedenia Hutton in New York City, and was drawn to the acting life at age 8, when she played an Indian in a Gilbert and Sullivan operetta at Greenvale School. Read also Howard Schultz. It's interesting to lead other people lives.". Her father was E.F. Hutton, founder of the stockbroker firm that bore his name. Actress Dina Merrill arrives at the 30th Annual Kennedy Center Honors December 2, 2007 in Washington, DC. She was a trustee of the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center and served on the board of trustees for the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Merrill had few acting credits in recent years, but never regretted her career. David Post Rumbough. She made her Broadway debut in 1945 with The Mermaids Singingand followed with George Washington Slept Hereand off-Broadway plays. The couple had three children -- Stanley, David and Nina. Herfather did not approve of her dreams tobecome an actress. Her father, C.W. I loved the make-believe, she commented in 1993, and I still do. My mother brainwashed me, she said. During the summer she worked at a regional theater where she painted scenery, sewed costumes and played occasional small roles. I was thrilled when they dropped me, she said in 1983. He was married to heiress, actress and philanthropist Dina Merrill [1] until her death in 2017. After a two-hour operation to save her, the doctors failed to get Diana's . Her interesting life, which other than as an actress, included being a presidential appointee to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, ended on the 22nd of May, 2017 at the age of 93. Dina Merrill, the rebellious heiress who defied her super-rich parents to become a movie star, often portraying stylish wives or "the other woman," has died at age 93. Dina Merrill, the rebellious heiress who defied her super-rich parents to become an actress, often portraying stylish wives or "the other woman," has died. Actress Dina Merrill and actor Cliff Robertson are shown in 1966. NEW YORK (AP) - Dina Merrill, the rebellious heiress who defied her super-rich parents to become a movie star, often portraying stylish wives or "the other woman," has died at age 93.. At age 20, in 1930, she eloped with the playwright and future Oscar-winning screenwriter Preston Sturges, 11 years her senior, scandalizing her family and titillating the press. She was a trustee of the Eugene ONeill Theater Center and served on the board of trustees for the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Merrill had few acting credits in recent yearsbut never regretted her career. Heiress turned actress, Dina Merrill passed away at the age of 93 in her East Hampton, New York home. Dina Merrill, the actress and heiress to two fortunes who wintered at her familys Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla., as a child before becoming a leading lady in movies, most often in upper-class roles, died on Monday at her home in East Hampton, N.Y. She was 93. Submit a correction suggestion and help us fix it. Discover the real story, facts, and details of Dina Merrill. She was 93 years old, and in the previous years, she had been suffering from dementia with Lewy bodies. But becoming an actress was not considered proper for someone of Merrills privileged status. De Bekessy quickly got himself qualified to administer the French estate, while the U.S. end in Washington was handled by Barzin's U.S. trustees and executors. Merrill attended George Washington University in Washington, D.C., for one term, then dropped out and enrolled at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City. Home Facts and lifehacks elebrity biographies elebrity biographies Monday, August 01, 2022 at 10:42 AM by Ryan Mutuku Dina Merrill grew up in a wealthy family, and she enjoyed a childhood of incredible privilege. In the same year she married Ted Hartley, a former pilot and actor turned investment banker. All rights reserved (About Us). "I didn't want to trade on the Hutton name," she explained. Date of death: 22 May 2017. The property was later purchased by Trump, who as president has made Mar-a-Lago an unofficial weekend White House. "I was particularly thrilled because (Robertson) was furious. Merrill made her debut on the stage in the play The Mermaid Singing in 1945. He wanted to be in the Social Register.". During the late 1950s and 1960s, Merrill was believed to have intentionally been marketed as a replacement for Grace Kelly, and in 1959 she was proclaimed Hollywoods new Grace Kelly. As a result, her name was dropped from the snobbish Social Register, which excluded actors. Dinas professional acting career lasted 64 years, retiring in 2009 after she began her career in 1945. 2023 Celebrity Net Worth / All Rights Reserved. Dina Merrill in 2002 at a Museum of Television & Radio gala in Beverly Hills. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. In retaliation, Trump purchased a nearby plot of land for $2 million and threatened to build a home that would block Mar-a-Lago's line of sight to the ocean. In this April 6, 1962 file photo, socialite-actress Dina Merrill models the gown she will wear at the Academy Awards presentation in Los Angeles. They divorced in 1986. They divorced in 1966. He was Stanley Rumbough Jr., heir to a Colgate fortune who had been serving as a White House aide. The Courtship of Eddies Father (1963), Ill 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). Keep reading for interesting details about the late actress. ", Dina Merrill continued to book roles throughout the 80s. The cause of death and other details were not immediately available Tuesday. Merril has been married three times. Biography - A Short Wiki She had been suffering from dementia with Lewy bodies. Starting in the 1950s, Merrill appeared in more than 100 films and television programs, her break coming after Katharine Hepburn recommended her for the 1957 Tracy-Hepburn comedy The Desk Set. In 1989, she married producer, Ted Hartley. Dina Merrill (Q51703) American actress, socialite heiress, businesswoman and philanthropist (1923-2017) Nedenia Marjorie Hutton edit Statements instance of human 1 reference image Dina Merrill.jpg 319 239; 9 KB 1 reference Dina Merrill 1968.JPG 498 620; 54 KB point in time 1968 media legend Dina Merrill, 1968. She had been in three marriages and had welcomed four children. David Post Rumbough. It never occurred to me to ask my father or mother to pay for something they didnt believe in, she said in a 1979 interview. Merrill. Dinas mother, Marjorie Merriweather Post, was at one time the richest woman in the United States. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. The couple had one child together before divorcing in 1986. Merrill made her debut on the stage in the play The Mermaid Singing in 1945. At the time of her death, she was suffering from dementia. As a result, her name was dropped from the snobbish Social Register, which excluded actors. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (each updated 1/26/2023). She even had appearances in shows like Murder She Wrote, The Nanny, Vengeance Unlimited, and The Love Boat. Merrills film credits included Desk Set (1957), A Nice Little Bank That Should Be Robbed (1958), Dont 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 Duke and Duchess of Windsor were among the guests on what has been described as a floating palace equipped with fireplaces, marble bathrooms, a barber shop and a wine cellar. Merrill appeared in numerous television series in the 1960s, such as playing the villain, Calamity Jan, in two 1968 episodes of Batman alongside then-husband Cliff Robertson. Early life. She made her Broadway debut in 1945 with "The Mermaids Singing" and followed with "George Washington Slept Here" and off-Broadway plays. Hot! Merrill left George Washington University after a year to enroll at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York. Dina's mother, Marjorie Merriweather Post, paid for the construction of the original Mar-a-Lago resort with her husband Edward F. Hutton. Read alsoHoward Schultz. Dina Merrill (full name: Nedenia Marjorie Hutton); December 29, 1923 May 22, 2017) was an American actress, heiress, socialite, businesswoman, and philanthropist. In 1991, she appeared in the rotating cast of the off-Broadway staged reading of Wit & Wisdom. She was an actress and writer, known for White Chicks (2004), Casting Adrift (2004) and Josie and the Pussycats (2001). When provided, we also incorporate private tips and feedback received from the celebrities or their representatives. Mr. Hartley, who was a U.S. Navy fighter pilot before going into investment banking, is now 93. Before she became known to the general public as Dina Merrill, a name she chose at the advice of her half-sisters husband, she was Nedenia Marjorie Hutton, daughter of Marjorie Merriweather Post and Edward Francis Hutton, two wealthy people who nurtured her after her birth on the 29th of December 1923 in New York City. Her last husband, who she was with until her death was Ted Hartley. Most of her estate went to Merrill and her two sisters. That same year she married actor Cliff Robertson and had a daughter with him. Son of Stanley Rumbough Jr. and Dina Merrill. Over the course of their relationship, they had three children together. Cause of death. Throughout her career as an actress, Dina worked on several films such as Desk Set, Dont Give Up the Ship, The Young Savages, Ill Take Sweden, True Colors, and Shade. Merrill and Robertson had a daughter, Heather, but divorced in 1989. They had three children, Nedenia Colgate Rumbough, David Post Rumbough, and Stanley Rumbough III before divorcing in 1966. The daughter of the Wall Street broker E. F. Hutton and the cereal heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post, Ms. Merrill grew up in luxury, spending up to six months a year on the Sea Cloud, the family yacht. 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. Stills. She is survived by her third husband, the film producer Ted Hartley, whom she married in 1989, and by a son, Stanley, and daughter, Nina, from her first marriage, to Stanley Rumbough Jr. Dina . Heiress turned actress, Dina Merrill passed away at the age of 93 in her East Hampton, New York home. When Hutton began her acting career, she chose to call herself Dina Merrill, a combination of her and a brother-in-laws names. She was. Merrill and Rumbough divorced in 1966, the same year she married actor Cliff Robertson. Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. If I had it to do over again today, I might continue working., Dina Merrill, Actress and Philanthropist, Dies at 93, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/22/movies/dina-merrill-dead-actress-and-heiress.html, Dina Merrill and Larry Blyden in What Makes Sammy Run?. By the end of the decade, she was booking roles in movies such as "Just Tell Me What You Want. An elegant presence in most of her 30 or so mid-20th-century movies, Ms. Merrill played the betrayed wife who loses both her husband, Laurence Harvey, and her mink coat to Elizabeth Taylor in Butterfield 8 (1960); the chic fashion consultant who loses Glenn Ford to Shirley Jones in The Courtship of Eddies Father (1963); and the steadfast socialite wife of an assistant district attorney played by Burt Lancaster in The Young Savages (1961). A U.S. will gave everything left over to De Bekessy. Trump then succeeded in acquiring the property for $7 million. With other investors, Hartley and Merrill in 1989 acquired RKO Pictures, the onetime major Hollywood studio that had been moribund for many years. If Dina Merrill always had an interest in acting, one could not say, especially when it is considered that she initially enrolled in George Washington University, spending a session at the school before she transferred to the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Men think we cant do two things at once. View the latest Dina Merrill photos. She got married three times while she was alive, marrying a couple of notable men. Stanley and Dina married in 1946. She quit acting in 1946, partly because of her mother's pressure. After the birth of her daughter, Merrill resumed her acting and modeling career and was invited to Hollywood by Dick Powell for appearances in his television series. The property was later sold byMerrill and her family toTrump, who as president has made Mar-a-Lago an unofficial weekend White House. (Swedish) 0 references Ms. Merrill had some regrets about her late-blooming acting career, which had been forestalled because of her child-rearing responsibilities. Her birth name was Dina Hutton, but she changed her last name to Merrill as an act of rebellion towards her father, whom hated that she pursued acting. Kelly Preston's death from breast cancer Monday was a tragic end to her 29-year marriage to John Travolta. Movie posters. Dina Merrill, right, and her husband Dave Allocca Nedenia Dye, a multimillionaire relative of actress Dina Merrill and a descendant of Marjorie Merriweather Post, was stabbed to death in. Dina Merrill, Elegant Actress and Philanthropist, Dies at 93. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. After his Marine Corps' service he became head of the Metal Containers Corp. and a company that made pari-mutuel betting machines. Merrill left George Washington University after a year to enroll at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York. Dina Merrill during her lifetime did not hesitate to give love a chance. Merrill and Rumbough divorced in 1966, the same year she married actor Cliff Robertson. A much more prominent role came next year when she starred in the 1958 film "A Nice Little Bank That Should Be Robbed.". Or their representatives a much more prominent role came next year when starred. 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