The Dina Merrill Centennial

Born 100 years ago today, the unspeakably lovely socialite, model, and actress Dina Merrill (Nedenia Marjorie Hutton, 1923-2017)

Merrill was the product of the ultimate power union: her father was the Wall Street wiz E.F. Hutton, and her mother was C.W. Post heir and CEO Marjorie Merriweather Post. After attending Miss Porter’s as a girl, she decided to study acting, attending the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and HB Studios (under Uta Hagen). After an appearance in the short-lived Broadway play The Mermaid Singing in 1945 she married Colgate Toothpaste heir Stanley Rumbough Jr, and settled down for a few years to raise a family.

In 1955, Merill began appearing in live TV dramas, thus resuming her career. Her professional name, by the way, is kind of an inside joke. Instead of trading on her father’s name, she appropriated that of Charles Merill of the competing firm of Merrill Lynch. She came on the scene right around the time of Grace Kelly’s retirement, and many spoke of her as a potential successor.

At various Merill was spoken of as the richest woman in the world, yet as an actress she clearly did not consider herself to be above anyone. Her credits include some mighty silly stuff: The Phil Silvers Show (1956), Don’t Give Up the Ship (1959) with Jerry Lewis, Operation Petticoat (1959), I’ll Take Sweden (1963) with Bob Hope, Batman (1968), The Greatest (1977) with Muhammad Ali,Caddyshack II (1988). I’d seen her in such things for years without ever knowing that she was any kind of important heiress. About as often she was in more respectible fare as well, things like Butterfield 8 (1960), The Sundowners (1960), The Courtship of Eddie’s Father (1963), and others. Robert Altman cast her in A Wedding (1978), The Player (1992) and Tanner on Tanner (2004). She did memorable guest shots on The Odd Couple,The Love Boat, Murder She Wrote, The Nanny, etc. She also appeared on games shows like To Tell the Truth and Match Game.

From 1966 to 1989 Merrill was married to Cliff Robertson, himself from a wealthy background. In 1989 she married actor Ted Hartley (Peyton Place, Chopper One). The pair bought was remained of RKO and used the company to produce films, mostly remakes like Mighty Joe Young (1998), Ritual (2000, based on I Walked with a Zombie), and The Magnificent Ambersons (2002), as well as several Broadway and West End musicals. Dina passed away in 2017. Ted’s still with us. On November 6, 1924 he will be 100 years old!