Dina Merrill will be remembered for many things. She was the epitome of poise and glamour, a socialite, an heiress as well as an actress.
Born into American aristocracy, Merrill grew up on the estate now owned by US President Donald Trump called Mar-a-Lago. Heir to two fortunes, she was driven to school by the family chauffer but told Quest magazine in an interview she wished she could have taken the bus. She didn’t believe in taking her money from her millionaire parents and against their wishes, supported herself modelling.
Promoted in the late ‘50’s as Hollywood’s new Grace Kelly, Merrill featured in a large number of classic Hollywood films in her career; from Catch Me If You Can and Operation Petticoat with Cary Grant and Tony Curtis in 1959, Butterfield 8 with Elizabeth Taylor in 1960, The Young Savages with Burt Lancaster in 1961 to Running Wild in 1973 and even Caddyshack II in 1988.
She also made appearances in a large number of television shows including playing ‘Calamity Jan’ in Batman, Bonanza, Rawhide, Daktari, Daniel Boone, The Odd Couple, Mission: Impossible, Love Boat, Murder She Wrote and even played Maxwell Sheffield’s mothers in The Nanny.
Married three times, Merrill had four children, only two of which are still alive.
She died at her East Hampton home in New York on Monday.
Her death was confirmed by her son, Stanley H Rumbough, who said she had Lewy Body dementia.