Diane McBain

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Diane McBain
McBain as Daphne Dutton, 1962
Born
Diane Jean McBain

(1941-05-18)May 18, 1941
Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
DiedDecember 21, 2022(2022-12-21) (aged 81)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
EducationGlendale High School
OccupationActress
Years active1959–2001
Known forSurfside 6
Spinout
Batman
Spouse
Rodney L. Burke
​
​
(m. 1972; div. 1974)​
Children1

Diane Jean McBain[1] (May 18, 1941 – December 21, 2022) was an American actress who, as a Warner Brothers contract player, reached a brief peak of popularity during the early 1960s. She was best known for playing an adventurous socialite in the 1960–1962 television series Surfside 6 and as one of Elvis Presley's leading ladies in 1966's Spinout.

Early life[edit]

McBain was born on May 18, 1941 in Cleveland, Ohio.[2] She moved to the Los Angeles area at an early age and began her show business career as an adolescent model in print and television advertisements.[3][4]

During her senior year at Glendale High School, while appearing in a play, she was spotted by a Warner Bros talent scout and added to the studio's roster of contract performers.[5]

Career[edit]

McBain made her television acting debut in two episodes of Maverick, March 8 with Jack Kelly and November 22, 1959, with James Garner, as well as the October 16 episode of 77 Sunset Strip. Her first director, at the helm of the March 8 installment, "Passage to Fort Doom", was veteran actor Paul Henreid.[6]

Having received a positive reaction to McBain's initial performances, the studio realized it had a potential star under contract. She was given a prominent ingenue role in her first feature, the $3.5 million Ice Palace (1960) alongside Richard Burton and Robert Ryan. The filmed-on-location Technicolor epic was released on January 2, 1960, to mixed reviews, but McBain's notices were generally favorable.[7]

With James Garner in Maverick (1960)

Warner Bros continued to keep McBain busy during 1960 with numerous appearances on its TV shows. She returned to 77 Sunset Strip on February 26, then nine days later found herself in Alaska with a guest role in the March 6 installment of The Alaskans, starring Roger Moore. Eight days later, she was in Bourbon Street Beat and the following day on Sugarfoot. Another episode of Bourbon Street Beat followed two weeks later on March 28, and still another 77 Sunset Strip on May 6. In eight more days, she was in an episode of Lawman, and three weeks thereafter, on June 6, a third episode of Bourbon Street Beat in as many months. On March 1 and 2, 1967, during the second season of the ABC series Batman, she played socialite Pinkie Pinkston, a friend of Batman's alias Bruce Wayne.

Warners gave McBain a regular role on Surfside 6 (1960–62), supporting Troy Donahue, Van Williams, and Lee Patterson. Surfside 6 ran for two seasons.

Surfside 6 cast: Margarita Sierra, Troy Donohue, Lee Patterson, Diane McBain and Van Williams

McBain had a banner year in 1960. In addition to appearing in a top feature film and guest-starring in eight TV episodes, she was assigned two more theatrical features. The first offered her one of three ingenue roles in a major "A" film, Parrish (1961), supporting Troy Donahue; the others were Connie Stevens and Sharon Hugueny.[8] The film was a hit and made over $4 million.[9][10]

Warners then gave McBain the star part in her own "B"-film vehicle, Claudelle Inglish (1961) when she replaced the original choice for the lead, Anne Francis, in the title role. It was based on a novel by Erskine Caldwell.[11][12]

Warners gave her another lead role in a feature, Black Gold (1962). She returned to guest starring on shows like Hawaii Five-O.[13]

Producer Hall Bartlett borrowed McBain for a role in The Caretakers (1963) with Polly Bergen and Joan Crawford.[14]

When 77 Sunset Strip kicked off its sixth and final season in 1963 with a special five-part story called 'Five', McBain played opposite Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. as "Carla Stevens".[15]

She then supported Debbie Reynolds in Mary, Mary (1963). Her last film for Warners was A Distant Trumpet (1964) with Donahue and Suzanne Pleshette, the final film of director Raoul Walsh. In a 1964 interview she said she had "mostly been cast as the spoilt rich girl".[16]

Warners announced her for Sex and the Single Girl (1964) in the role of a secretary.[17] She turned down the role and Warners elected not to renew her contract.[18][19]

McBain guest starred on Arrest and Trial, Wendy and Me, Kraft Suspense Theatre, Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre, Burke's Law (a number of times), The Wild Wild West, The Man from UNCLE, and Vacation Playhouse.[20]

She was announced for the films Spring Is for Crying[21] and Halcyon Years[22] but neither was made. She made Five from the Hawk in Spain.[23]

"I was very stupid about money," McBain said later. "My mother had always made my clothes, and I was embarrassed about it. I became a shopaholic and spent a fortune on store-bought clothes. Tammy Bakker probably copied the way I did my shopping and eyelashes."[24]

Work began to dry up. "We were going through a revolution in society with the civil-rights movement and the Vietnam War," she said. "Now, white Anglo-Saxon, pretty people were low on the totem pole. We were thought to be on the other side, conservatives who were the cause of the war and the civil-rights problem. Dustin Hoffman, yes. Troy Donahue, no. Nobody wanted beautiful people on the screen. They wanted people like them, average. I didn't get much work."[24]

In August 1965 McBain's parents reported her as missing. It turned out she had checked herself into a hotel in San Diego under the name "Marilyn Miller" for "a change of faces, scenery and attitudes... I just wanted to be Miss Nobody from Nowhere." She said she had been despondent over a slackening income and not getting the type of roles she wanted.[25]

She was Elvis Presley's leading lady in Spinout (1966) alongside Shelley Fabares and Deborah Walley, and later that year she guest-starred on Batman.

McBain made two films with Fabian Forte at American International Pictures, Thunder Alley (1967), directed by Richard Rush, and Maryjane (1968), directed by Maury Dexter. Dexter then put McBain in the lead of AIP's The Mini-Skirt Mob (1968), a hit at the box office.[26]

McBain supported Gardner McKay in I Sailed to Tahiti with an All Girl Crew (1968) and went to Crown International Pictures for Five the Hard Way (1969) aka The Sidehackers. She toured Vietnam in 1968 with Tippi Hedren and Joey Bishop.[27]

During the 1970s, McBain slowed her career somewhat to care for her son Evan, though she continued to make guest appearances in a number of television series. "I never really cared about superstardom, I only cared about the roles that were available to those who were superstars," she later said. "I was motivated to continue on in the face of total failure because I had a child to rear on my own with little help from his father. Acting was the best way for me to make money and the best way for me to be a more present mom in my son's life. Full-time jobs brought in money but kept me away from the day-to-day life of my child."[28]

McBain guest-starred on Love, American Style, Mannix, To Rome with Love, Land of the Giants, and Mod Squad.

She had roles in the features The Delta Factor (1970), The Wild Season (1971), Huyendo del halcón (1973), Wicked, Wicked (1973), and The Deathhead Virgin (1974), which she later called "the stupidest screenplay I ever had to work with."[28]

McBain also guested on the TV series The Wide World of Mystery, Police Story, Barbary Coast, and Marcus Welby, M.D..[29][30]

Towards the end of the 1970s and in the early 1980s McBain was in Donner Pass: The Road to Survival (1978), The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams, Hawaii Five-O, Charlie's Angels, Eight Is Enough, Days of Our Lives, Dallas, Matt Houston, Airwolf, The Red Fury, Crazy Like a Fox, and Knight Rider. She also worked steadily in regional theatre.[31]

McBain appeared in Jake and the Fatman, Puppet Master 5 (1994), Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, Invisible Mom II, The Young and the Restless, The Broken Hearts Club: A Romantic Comedy (2000), Besotted (2001), and Strong Medicine.

She was in a TV movie Cab to Canada (1998) which she said "was enough to make me never want to act again".[28]

In 1990 she was seeking financing for her screenplay The Spilling Moon about the first woman to trek along the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon.[19]

Personal life[edit]

McBain was married to Rodney Burke, whom she met at a Buddhist camp, from 1972 until their 1974 divorce. The couple had one son, Evan.[2]

In 1982, McBain was beaten, robbed, and raped by two men in her garage in West Hollywood at 1:30 am on Christmas Day after she came home from a party. She began a second career as a rape victim counselor.[32][33][34][35] The culprits were never found. "The shock of what happened caused loss of memory, inability to concentrate, and I'm still startled out of proportion," she said in 1990.[19]

Death[edit]

McBain died from liver cancer on the morning of December 21, 2022, at the Motion Picture Country Home in Los Angeles, California, where she had lived for a number of years. She was 81.[2]

Filmography[edit]

Film[edit]

Year Film Role Notes
1960 Ice Palace Christine Storm
1961 Parrish Alison Post
Claudelle Inglish Claudelle Inglish
1962 Black Gold Ann Evans Adventure film
1963 The Caretakers Alison Horne Drama film
Mary, Mary Tiffany Richards
1964 A Distant Trumpet Laura Frelief - Quaint's Niece
1966 Spinout Diana St. Clair
1967 Thunder Alley Annie Blaine
1968 Maryjane Elli Holden
The Mini-Skirt Mob Shayne
1969 The Sidehackers Rita
I Sailed to Tahiti with an All Girl Crew Liz Clark Adventure film
1970 The Delta Factor Lisa Gordot
1971 Temporada salvaje Celia 'Doc' Drew
1973 Huyendo del halcon
Wicked, Wicked Dolores Hamilton
1974 The Deathhead Virgin Janice Cutter Horror film
1981 Legend of the Wild Jenny
1984 The Red Fury Mrs. French
1994 Puppet Master 5 Attorney Video
1998 The Christmas Path Laura
1999 Invisible Mom II Mrs. Chandler Video
2000 The Broken Hearts Club Josephine romantic comedy-drama film
2001 Besotted Mrs. Buell Romance film

Television[edit]

Year Title Role Notes
1959 Maverick Charlotte Stanton
Holly Vaughn 		Episode: "Passage to Fort Doom"
Episode: "A Fellow's Brother"
1960 The Alaskans Harriet Pemberton Episode: "Behind the Moon"
Sugarfoot Joan Guild Episode: "Return to Boothill"
Lawman Lilac Allen Episode: "The Judge"
Bourbon Street Beat Ginny Costello
Lorraine Elliott
Christina 		Episode: "The Missing Queen"
Episode: "Wall of Silence"
Episode: "Ferry to Algiers"
1960-1962 Surfside 6 Daphne Dutton 45 episodes
1962-1963 Hawaiian Eye Liz Downing
Charlene 'Charley' Boggs 		Episode: "Pursuit of a Lady"
Episode: "Pretty Pigeon"
1959-1963 77 Sunset Strip Laura Stapley
Paula Harding
Doris Spinner
Nita Maran
Lu-Ann Lynwood
Carla Stevens
Carla Stevens
Carla Stevens
Carla Stevens 		Episode: "Six Superior Skirts"
Episode: "The Starlet"
Episode: "Fraternity of Fear"
Episode: "Leap, My Lovely"
Episode: "Nine to Five"
Episode: "5: Part 1"
Episode: "5: Part 2"
Episode: "5: Part 3"
Episode: "5: The Conclusion"
1964 Arrest and Trial Elyse Binns Episode: "Tigers Are for Jungles"
Wendy and Me Linda Episode: "Molehills to Mountains"
Valentine's Day Sheila Episode: "The Hottest Game in Town"
Kraft Suspense Theatre Mary Jorgenson
Diane Weston 		Episode: "My Enemy, this Town"
Episode: "One Tiger to a Hill"
1965 Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre Show Girl Episode: "Double Jeopardy"
1964-1965 Burke's Law Susan Shaw
Xenobia
Lana De Armand
Cissy Davenport DeWitt 		Episode: "Who Killed Marty Kelso?"
Episode: "Who Killed Mr. Cartwheel?
Episode: "Who Killed the Tall One in the Middle?"
Episode: "Who Killed Nobody Somehow?"
1965 Vacation Playhouse Sherry Episode: "Alec Tate"
1965-1967 The Wild Wild West Jennifer Wingate
Elaine Dodd 		Episode: "The Night of a Thousand Eyes"
Episode: "The Night of the Vicious Valentine"
1966-1967 Lisa
Lisa
Pinky Pinkston
Pinky Pinkston 		Episode: "The Thirteenth Hat"
Episode: "Batman Stands Pat"
Episode: "A Piece of the Action"
Episode: "Batman's Satisfaction"
1965-1967 The Man from U.N.C.L.E. Joanna Lydecker
Contessa Margo De Fanzini
Contessa Nargi De Fanzini 		Episode: "The Deadly Toys Affair"
Episode" "The Five Daughters Affair: Part I"
The Five Daughters Affair: Part II"
1969 Love, American Style Jill Dougherty (segment: "Love and the Roommate") Episode: "Love and the Burglar / Love and the Roommate / Love and the Wild Party"
1970 Mannix Stella Diamond Episode: "Blind Mirror"
Land of the Giants Mrs. Evers Episode: "Panic"
To Rome with Love Connie Episode: "To Go Home Again"
1971 The Mod Squad Melba Norwood Episode: "Kicks Incorporated"
1974 The Wide World of Mystery Laura Stone Episode: "Tight as a Drum"
Police Story Mrs. Thompson Episode: "World Full of Hurt"
1975 Barbary Coast Myra Landis Episode: "Sauce for the Goose"
1976 Marcus Welby, M.D. Barra Dean Episode: "The Highest Mountain"
1978 Donner Pass: The Road to Survival Margaret Reed Television film
Once Upon a Starry Night Jenny Television film
The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams Jenny Episode: "Once Upon a Starry Night"
1980 Hawaii Five-O Eva Pritchard Episode: "The Moroville Covenant"
1979-1981 Charlie's Angels Marian Heston
Penny 		Episode: "Disco Angels"
Episode: "Angel on the Line"
1981 Eight Is Enough Mrs. Hall Episode: "Yet Another Seven Days in February"
1982 Dallas Dee Dee Webster Episode: "Denial"
Episode: "Head of the Family"
1983 Matt Houston Nurse Marcia Bingham Episode: "The Rock and the Hard Place"
1982-1984 Days of Our Lives Foxy Dumdinger 20 episodes
1984 Airwolf Lylah Santini Episode: "Sins of the Past"
1985 Crazy Like a Fox Episode: "Bum Tip"
Knight Rider Mama Flynn Episode: "Ten Wheel Trouble"
1988 General Hospital 11 episodes
1990 Jake and the Fatman Abigail Stevens Episode: "I Know That You Know"
1992 The Streets of Beverly Hills Mayor Sands Television film
1996 Sabrina, the Teenage Witch Granny Episode: "A Halloween Story"
1998 Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman Old Woman Episode: "Point Blank"
Cab to Canada Katherine's Friend (uncredited) Television film
1999 The Young and the Restless Society Matron 1 episode
2001 Strong Medicine Lovey Carmichael Episode: "Silent Epidemic"

References[edit]

  1. ^ Marks, Frederick M., ed. (1992). Who's who in America, 1992-1993, Volume 2. New Providence, N.J. : Marquis Who's Who. p. 3925. ISBN 0-8379-0147-2.
  2. ^ a b c Barnes, Mike (21 December 2022). "Diane McBain, Actress in 'Surfside 6' and 'Spinout,' Dies at 81". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
  3. ^ "Diane McBain - The Private Life and Times of Diane McBain". glamourgirlsofthesilverscreen.com. Retrieved 2016-05-07.
  4. ^ "Cocker Spaniel Named Best at Glendale Show: Palo Alto Dog Beats Out 1122 Purebreds to Win Prize in Kennel Club Competition". Los Angeles Times, 1 Apr 1957: 24.
  5. ^ "Too Pretty to Act? She Disproves It". Hopper, Hedda. Los Angeles Times, 5 Feb 1961: b9.
  6. ^ "Hedda Hopper: 'THEY'LL MAKE GOOD IN HOLLYWOOD!'". Hopper, Hedda. Chicago Daily Tribune, 27 Dec 1959: e10.
  7. ^ FOCUS ON THE FORTY-NINTH STATE By BILL BECKERJUNEAU New York Times 27 Sep 1959: X7.
  8. ^ "Troy Donahue - A Tribute". encore4.net. Retrieved 2016-05-07.
  9. ^ "All-Time Top Grossers", Variety, 8 January 1964 p 69
  10. ^ "'Parrish' Gaining Noteworthy Cast: Remakes Still Order of Day; Massey in 'Great Imposter'". Scheuer, Philip K. Los Angeles Times, 25 Apr 1960: C13.
  11. ^ Wagner, Laura Anne Francis: The Life and Career (p. 62) McFarland, 2011
  12. ^ "HOLLYWOOD CALENDAR: Sweet Young... Stripper!". Scott, John L. Los Angeles Times, 18 June 1961: b9.
  13. ^ "Hawaii Five-O (1968-80) -- Season 12 Episode Reviews".
  14. ^ "Mann Will Direct Odets' The Actor': Name Your Dish: Scaloppini Sal Mineo, Sausage Curtis?" Scheuer, Philip K. Los Angeles Times, 28 May 1962: C15.
  15. ^ "'77 Sunset' Filming Starts". Los Angeles Times, 25 July 1963: C11.
  16. ^ "Diane McBain: 'I Never Saw an Actor I'd Marry'". Alpert, Don. Los Angeles Times, 19 Apr 1964: V4.
  17. ^ "Busy Buono Tapped as Boston Strangler: Beckett's 'Play' Concrete; Ford---'Too Big for Texas'". Scheuer, Philip K. Los Angeles Times, 1 July 1963: C9.
  18. ^ "Diane McBain memoir". Sixties Cinema.
  19. ^ a b c "In Search of . . . Diane McBain". Peary, Gerald. Los Angeles Times, 27 May 1990: 23.
  20. ^ Diane McBain Stars Los Angeles Times 14 July 1964: C11.
  21. ^ "Actress Selected". Los Angeles Times, 9 May 1964: A9.
  22. ^ "'Black Spurs' First on Lyles' New Deal". Los Angeles Times, 26 June 1964: D11.
  23. ^ "Drury Gets Starring Role". Martin, Betty. Los Angeles Times, 14 Feb 1966: c18.
  24. ^ a b "N PERSON 'I didn't really know good films from bad'. From Elvis to Crawford, Diane McBain has shared the screen with a long list of stars since she signed her first contract at 18". Peary, Gerald. The Globe and Mail; 8 June 1990: C.3.
  25. ^ "ACTRESS NOT MISSING: Diane McBain Found; Just Wanted 'Change'". Los Angeles Times, 5 Aug 1965: 3.
  26. ^ Dexter, Maury (2012). Highway to Hollywood (PDF). p. 132.
  27. ^ "TV Today: NBC to Offer Musical Special with Negro Cast: It Could Be Preview of New Series". Gowran, Clay. Chicago Tribune, 10 Oct 1968: b23.
  28. ^ a b c "Interview with Diane McBain". Boy Culture. July 2014.
  29. ^ "MOVIE CALL SHEET: Oswald Forms Cinemago". Martin, Betty. Los Angeles Times, 12 June 1969: e23.
  30. ^ "MOVIE CALL SHEET: Ryan's Daughter in 'Moon'". Murphy, Mary. Los Angeles Times, 18 Sep 1972: e16.
  31. ^ "Beauty: McBain Kicks the Smoking Habit". Lane, Lydia. Los Angeles Times, 18 Jan 1981: s5.
  32. ^ "A Victim of Rape Speaks Out on This Vilest of Crimes". People Magazine. Retrieved April 5, 2015.
  33. ^ "Diane McBain". IMDb. Retrieved 2016-05-07.
  34. ^ NAMES & FACES: [1]. Boston Globe, 29 Dec 1982: 1.
  35. ^ "TV Actress Beaten, Raped on Christmas". Los Angeles Times, 29 Dec 1982: c6.

External links[edit]

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