Diana Hyland

Biography

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

Known For

Robert Montgomery Presents

The Fugitive

The Fugitive

The Fugitive

The Fugitive

Run for Your Life

Run for Your Life

Ironside

All Movies (8)

• The Boy in the Plastic Bubble1976 · as Mickey Lubitch
• Ritual of Evil1970 · as Leila Barton
• Jigsaw1968 · as Sarah
• Smoky1966 · as Julie Richards
• Scalplock1966 · as Martha Grenier
• The Chase1966 · as Elizabeth Rogers
• Hercules and the Princess of Troy1965 · as Princess Diana
• One Man's Way1964 · as Ruth Stafford Peale

All TV Shows (52)

• Eight Is Enough1977 · as Joan Bradford
• S.W.A.T.1975
• Harry O1974
• Happy Days1974
• Kojak1973 · as Cleo Donatello
• Hawkins1973 · as Jennifer Pearson
• The ABC Afternoon Playbreak1972
• Banyon1972
• Search1972
• Cannon1971
• Alias Smith and Jones1971
• Medical Center1969
• The Name of the Game1968 · as Lisa Adrian
• Mannix1967 · as Janice Graham
• Judd, for the Defense1967
• Ironside1967
• The Invaders1967 · as Sherri Vikor
• The Invaders1967 · as Ellie Markham
• Felony Squad1966
• The Iron Horse1966 · as Marta Grenier
• The Green Hornet1966 · as Claudia Bromley
• Tarzan1966 · as Diana Russell
• The F.B.I.1965 · as Marie-Luise Karn
• The F.B.I.1965 · as Virginia Lamberth
• The F.B.I.1965 · as Joanne Kinston
• The F.B.I.1965 · as Pat Laner
• Run for Your Life1965 · as Eileen Henderson
• Run for Your Life1965 · as Diana Hays
• The Man from U.N.C.L.E.1964 · as Miranda Bryant / Irina
• The Man from U.N.C.L.E.1964 · as Mara
• Peyton Place1964 · as Susan Winter
• The Rogues1964 · as Celeste Martel
• Kraft Suspense Theatre1963 · as Laura DeLinda Stevenson / Laura Murdoch
• Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre1963
• Burke's Law1963 · as Laurel Peachey
• The Fugitive1963 · as Stella Savano
• The Fugitive1963 · as Carol Hollister
• The Fugitive1963 · as Penny
• The Fugitive1963 · as Alison Priestley
• Stoney Burke1962
• The Alfred Hitchcock Hour1962 · as Janet Nelson
• The Alfred Hitchcock Hour1962 · as Grace Renford
• Sam Benedict1962
• Alcoa Premiere1961
• Ben Casey1961
• Dr. Kildare1961 · as Dr. Lilith McGraw
• Dr. Kildare1961 · as Marguerite Williams
• The Twilight Zone1959 · as Anne Henderson / Rider in Black
• Young Doctor Malone1958
• Naked City1958 · as Vivian North
• Gunsmoke1955 · as Dallas Fair
• Robert Montgomery Presents1950 · as Judy