Actress Diana Douglas, first wife of screen icon Kirk Douglas and mother of Oscar-winner Michael Douglas, has passed away at the age of 92, reports The Hollywood Reporter.
Born Diana Dill, the Bermuda-born actress moved to New York City to study acting, where she met her future husband Kirk Douglas at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.
Married in 1943, the couple divorced in 1951. They had two children together, Michael and Joel.
“After Joel was born [in 1947], she and I realized that we were not right for each other, and we divorced amicably,” Kirk wrote in his 2007 book, Let’s Face It: 90 Years of Living, Loving, and Learning.
“I’ve always enjoyed Kirk’s sense of humour, even when I was angriest at him,”; Diana remarked in a 2011 interview. “He could always make me laugh, somehow, which annoyed the hell out of me. But then I think we both decided too, when the time of divorce came, that we had to maintain a certain amount of civility because of the children.”;
Diana and her ex-husband did indeed have a friendly relationship after their divorce, and even worked together in the 2003 film It Runs in the Family.
She got married for a second time in 1956 to Broadway producer and novelist Bill Darrid, and they remained wed until his death in 1992. She married Donald Webster, a former U.S. Treasury official, in 2002.
After her split with Kirk, Diana continued to have a thriving acting career in film and television, with such TV credits as The Waltons, CHiPs, Knots Landing, ER, Dallas, Dynasty and The West Wing, along with appearing in such films as Planes, Trains and Automobiles and The Star Chamber. She also appeared alongside son Michael in a guest spot on his 1970s cop show Streets of San Francisco.
In her 1999 memoir In the Wings: A Memoir, notes THR, she revealed her personal philosophy: “Be courageous, be compassionate, and, for God’s sake, have fun!”;
