It would have been pretty darn difficult for actress Dina Merrill to have ever pulled off playing a commoner on stage, film or TV. She just had too much class. The epitome of poise and glamor, the New York-born socialite and celebrity was born in 1923 the daughter of financier E.F. Hutton, the founder of the Wall Street firm, and heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post of the Post cereal fortune. Although Dina has made elaborate use of her silver spoon privilege over the many decades, she has handled it all positively and graciously, and without tabloid incident. Instilling these same refined credentials into her femme characters, she originally did not intend to pursue acting. Studying at George Washington University, she suddenly dropped out after only a year and continues to appear in occasional movie and television productions.
Third husband Ted Hartley was a regular on the television series "Peyton Place" . In 1989, they bought RKO Pictures, which she managed until her death.
Received the Womens International Center (WIC) Living Legacy Award .
Her mothers first husband, Edward Bennett Close, later became the grandfather of actress Glenn Close.
Spent her winters growing up at Mar-A-Lago, the largest and most elaborate estate in Palm Beach, Florida. As of this writing, Mar-a-Lago is owned by Donald J. Trump , who runs the estate as a private club and residence. Trump rescued the estate from condemnation in 1985 and painstakingly restored it to its former glory.
On Broadway in the 1940s before moving to film, she was hardly ever stretched during her career, being typed rather severely as a tactful, altruistic wife in family fare or as an elegant socialite and patron of the arts in sophisticated fluff.
When one of her children was diagnosed with diabetes, she became one of the founders of the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, which is dedicated to diabetic research. She is also a director of Project Orbis, a flying ophthalmological hospital which teaches advanced eye care and performs surgical techniques around the world.
She was a trustee of the Eugene ONeill Theater Centern and a director of the Museum of Broadcasting. She was also a presidential appointee to the Board of Trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
As an actress, socialite and model, she made the cover of Life magazine on January 11, 1960.
(April 2005) Received a lifetime achievement award from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.
Her cousin was heiress Barbara Hutton , who at one time was married to Cary Grant , who later co-starred with Merrill on Operation Petticoat .
Her three children with first husband Stanley Rumbough, Jr--a Colgate heir--are Stanley, David (deceased), and Nedenia (Nina). She and second husband Cliff Robertson are the parents of daughter Heather Robertson (deceased).
She studied drama at HB Studio in Greenwich Village, New York City.
Both she and her then husband Cliff Robertson played "Special Guest Villains" on "Batman" .
At a net worth of over $5 billion, she is by far the richest actress in the world. While this list changes every year, she has consistently held the #1 spot every year.
Ex-stepmother of Stephanie Robertson.
Daughter of Marjorie Merriweather Post and E.F. Hutton.
Her son David Post Rumbough (DOB: September 27, 1949) was killed in a boating accident on September 8, 1973 when the twin engine racing boat in which he was riding capsized in choppy seas in Gardiners Bay off eastern Long Island. His remains were recovered on September 13th.
