There are now dueling probates on both sides of the Atlantic--with competing lawsuits or estate matters filed in Washington, D.C., Baltimore, New York, Paris and Switzerland. Merrill was born in New York City on December 29, 1923, although for many years her date of birth was given as December 9, 1925. Ominously, the feds said in a recent filing they are auditing the Barzin estate, "which will likely result" in a bill for more U.S. taxes. Most of her estate went to Merrill and her two sisters. She also made guest appearances on Bonanza, The Bold Ones, The Love Boat, Quincy, M.E., Murder, She Wrote, Roseanne and The Nanny, as Maxwell Sheffields disapproving and distant British mother. Merrills film credits included Desk Set (1957), A Nice Little Bank That Should Be Robbed (1958), Dont Give Up the Ship (1959), Operation Petticoat (1959, with Cary Grant, who had been married to her cousin, Woolworth heiress Barbara Hutton), The Sundowners (1960), Butterfield 8 (1960), The Young Savages (1961). Before a year had passed since her divorce from Rumbough, Merrill married Cliff Robertson, a successful actor who would later go on to win an Oscar. One child was named "Nedenia Colgate Rumbough," while the other was given the name "David Post Rumbough." At the time of her death, she was suffering from dementia. Although her fathers investments had earned her a million dollars by the time she became an actress, against his wishes, Ms. Merrill supported herself by modeling clothes for Vogue at $10 an hour. Merrill, who had the poised, aristocratic beauty of fellow blonde Grace Kelly, co-starred with Cary Grant and Tony Curtis in "Operation Petticoat," Robert Mitchum and Deborah Kerr in "The Sundowners" and Oscar winner Elizabeth Taylor in "Butterfield 8." The couple had three children -- Stanley, David and Nina. An elegant presence in most of her 30 or so mid-20th-century movies, Ms. Merrill played the betrayed wife who loses both her husband, Laurence Harvey, and her mink coat to Elizabeth Taylor in Butterfield 8 (1960); the chic fashion consultant who loses Glenn Ford to Shirley Jones in The Courtship of Eddies Father (1963); and the steadfast socialite wife of an assistant district attorney played by Burt Lancaster in The Young Savages (1961). Dina Merrill, the rebellious heiress who defied her super-rich parents to become a movie star, often portraying stylish wives or "the other woman," has died at age 93. Actress Dina Merrill and actor Cliff Robertson are shown in 1966. Her father was E.F. Hutton, founder of the stockbroker firm that bore his name. They divorced in 1966. She chaired the New York City Mission Society, which supports young people living in poverty. ), which she inherited and helped run following his suicide. In becoming a businesswoman, Merrill was emulating her mother, who in the 1920s had helped build her late father's cereal business into the giant General Foods Corp. U.S., School Yearbooks . Born: 9-Dec-1925 Birthplace: New York City Died: 22-May-2017 Location of death: East Hampton, NY Cause of death: unspecified Gender: Female Race or Ethnicity: White Sexual orientation: Straight Occupation: Actor, Socialite Party Affiliation: Republican Nationality: United States Executive summary: EF Hutton heiress and actress . In addition, Merrill was especially renowned for her stage work. Her acting career brought her to Broadway and Hollywood and she was a highly active philanthropist. Merrill appeared in numerous television series in the 1960s, such as playing the villain, Calamity Jan, in two 1968 episodes of Batman alongside then-husband Cliff Robertson. While we work diligently to ensure that our numbers are as accurate as possible, unless otherwise indicated they are only estimates. Kay put an investigative reporter on it, and then it really became public.. She was an actress and writer, known for White Chicks (2004), Casting Adrift (2004) and Josie and the Pussycats (2001). Merrill was involved in numerous charitable and artistic causes. Here is all you want to know, and more! "Mother was politically and diplomatically and every which way well connected," Merrill remarked in 2000, "but she didn't know anyone in show business. One of her children with Mr. Rumbough died in a boating accident at age 23, and her daughter with Mr. Robertsonwho was a resident of Water Mill when he died in 2011died of cancer in 2007. The rest of her career after the debut became a series of excellence, starring in one film or television after the other, expressing her talents as an actress. Ms. Merrill had some regrets about her late-blooming acting career, which had been forestalled because of her child-rearing responsibilities. My ambitions were my own not exactly the ones they had for me.. Dina Merrill (born Nedenia Marjorie Hutton; December 29, 1923) is an American actress, socialite, businesswoman and philanthropist. The actress took her step-sisters husbands advice and adopted the stage name, Dina Merrill. Her father was E.F. Hutton, founder of the stockbroker firm that bore his name. Throughout the 50s to the 60s, Dina Merrills performances and looks were very much likened to that of another popular and iconic actress, Grace Kelly, who other than being a talented actress, was also wealthy. In becoming a businesswoman, Merrill was emulating her mother, who in the 1920s had helped build her late fathers cereal business into the giant General Foods Corp. Explore Dina Merrill's biography, personal life, family and cause of death. In 1946 shewed Stanley M. Rumbough Jr., an heir to the Colgate-Palmolive toothpaste fortune and entrepreneur. On May 22, 2017, Merrill died at her home in East Hampton, New York. The Social Register is a nice address book for some people, but thats about it. She was 93. Her birth name was Dina Hutton, but she changed her last name to Merrill as an act of rebellion towards her father, whom hated that she pursued acting. She had a successful stage, screen, and television acting career. The actress took her step-sisters then-husbands advice and adopted the stage name, Dina Merrill. "I turned down my career to marry my Marine.". I grow all kinds of annuals. Her stage credits include the 1983 Broadway revival of the Rodgers and Hart musical On Your Toes, starring Russian prima ballerina Natalia Makarova. Hot! Dina Merrill, an heiress turned actress who starred in classic movies such as 1960's "BUtterfield 8" and 1963's "The Courtship of Eddie's Father" died Monday in East Hampton, New York, the New. On advice from her half-sisters (then) husband, she adopted the stage name, Dina Merrill, borrowing from Charles E. Merrill, a famous stockbroker like her father. On advice from her half-sisters (then) husband, she adopted the stage name, Dina Merrill, borrowing from Charles E. Merrill, a famous stockbroker like her father. On May 22, 2017, Merrill died at her home in East Hampton, New York. Over the course of their relationship, they had three children together. In the same year she married Ted Hartley, a former pilot and actor turned investment banker. She made her Broadway debut in 1945 with "The Mermaids Singing" and followed with "George Washington Slept Here" and off-Broadway plays. She was a trustee of the Eugene ONeill Theater Center and served on the board of trustees for the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Merrill had few acting credits in recent yearsbut never regretted her career. Family (1) Parents Cliff Robertson Dina Merrill Trivia (3) Daughter of Dina Merrill and Cliff Robertson. ROBERTSON--Heather Merriweather, 38, died this past weekend in Buenas Aires, Argentina. The grounds were deemed too expensive to maintain, and so it was returned to the Post Foundation. Submit a correction suggestion and help us fix it. IE 11 is not supported. The couple divorced in 1986. The film also starred Cary Grant, who was at the time married to Dina's cousin Barbara Hutton. As a result, her name was dropped from the snobbish Social Register, which excluded actors. Movie posters. Cause of death. Heiress turned actress, Dina Merrill passed away at the age of 93 in her East Hampton, New York home. During this decade she appeared in films like "Anna to the Infinite Power," "Twisted," and "Caddyshack II." More recently, she was part of Robert Altmans ensemble cast for the Hollywood satire The Playerand in television programs such as Murder, She Wroteand The Nanny. Dina Merrill Net Worth: Dina Merrill was an American heiress, socialite, philanthropist, and actress who had a net worth of $5 billion. Son of Stanley Rumbough Jr. and Dina Merrill. Regardless, it did not affect the number of credits she went on to amass over the course of her career which totaled 110 at the end of her career across film and television. The first was Stanley M. Rumbough Jr, who was the son and heir to the Colgate toothpaste empire. She starred in films like The Greatest, Operation Petticoat, Twisted, True Colors, and The Tenth Month. She was a trustee of the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center and served on the board of trustees for the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Merrill had few acting credits in recent years, but never regretted her career. NEW YORK (AP) - Dina Merrill, the rebellious heiress who defied her super-rich parents to become a movie star, often portraying stylish wives or "the other woman," has died at age 93.. Dinais also known forTV-movies likeThe Lonely Profession, Family Flight, andThe Tenth Month. Born: 9-Dec-1925 Birthplace: New York City Died: 22-May-2017 Location of death: East Hampton, NY Cause of death: unspecified. Post's fortune, which included. Dina Merrill during her lifetime did not hesitate to give love a chance. 2023 Celebrity Net Worth / All Rights Reserved. Dina Merrill. Therefore, in 1959 she was proclaimed Hollywoods new Grace Kelly. By the time she got her first movie role as a young research assistant to Katharine Hepburn in Desk Set (1957), with Spencer Tracy she was over 30. I didnt want to trade on the Hutton name, she explained. She also made guest appearances on Bonanza, The Bold Ones, The Love Boat, Quincy, M.E., Murder, She Wrote, Roseanne, and The Nanny, as Maxwell Sheffields disapproving and distant British mother. With no obvious quick end in sight to the litigation, lawyers, taxes and administration expenses are certain to eat up much of the estate. Like most actresses at the time, she began her career on stage, performing in the play, The Mermaid Singing and that became the first of many theatres shows Dina Merrill would play in the first 10 years of her career. In the 90s, Dina and her husband Ted Hartley merged their production company Pavilion Communications with RKO. In 1989, she married producer, Ted Hartley. View the latest Dina Merrill photos. 2023 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Satellite Information Network, LLC. The daughter of the Wall Street broker E. F. Hutton and the cereal heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post, Ms. Merrill grew up in luxury, spending up to six months a year on the Sea Cloud, the family yacht. A Life of Privilege Dina Merrill, the actress and heiress to two fortunes who wintered at her family's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla., as a child before becoming a leading lady in movies, most often in. A building now known as Camellia House will become the Dina Merrill Pavilion. The Courtship of Eddies Father (1963), Ill Take Sweden (1965), The Greatest (1977), A Wedding (1978), Just Tell Me What You Want (1980), Anna to the Infinite Power (1983), Twisted (1986), Caddyshack II (1988), Fear (1990), True Colors (1991), The Player (1992), Suture (1993) and Shade (2003). Place of death. The late Associated Press writer Bob Thomas contributed biological material to this report. Dina Merrill, American actress, socialite heiress, businesswoman and philanthropist Birth Place: New York City, New York Country: United States Birthday: December 9, 1923 Death Date: May 22 , 2017 ( age 93 ) Birth Sign : Sagittarius About Biography Dina Merrill is an American actress socialite businesswoman and philanthropist. The former actress was 93. ), As a child, born into the American aristocracy of money and high society, Ms. Merrill wished she could take the bus like the other kids, she said, instead of being driven to school by the family chauffeur. That same year she married actor Cliff Robertson and had a daughter with him. She made her Broadway debut in 1945 with The Mermaids Singingand followed with George Washington Slept Hereand off-Broadway plays. Dina Merrill, the rebellious heiress who defied her super-rich parents to become a movie star, often portraying stylish wives or "the other woman," has died at age 93. The buyer was none other than Merrill's own daughter, Nedenia Rumbough. Of course, my parents eyebrows shot up when I said I wanted to be an actress. Dina Merrill, who was an elegant screen presence in film and on television starting in the late '50s, has died. She received a lifetime achievement award from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in April 2005. We welcome all corrections and feedback using the button below. She was 93. The body of David Post Rum bough, the 23yearold son or Dina Merrill, the actress, was found yesterday, five days after Mr. Rumbough was reported missing in a boating acciaent in waters off. After she became a successful actress, she told Quest magazine, Its fascinating to lead someone elses life for a while.. In 1946 she married Stanley Rumbough, Jr., an heir to the Colgate-Palmolive fortune, and had three children with him. She made her Broadway debut in 1945 with "The Mermaids Singing" and followed with "George Washington Slept Here" and off-Broadway plays. She was 93. A much more prominent role came next year when she starred in the 1958 film "A Nice Little Bank That Should Be Robbed.". Lewy body dementia. Before she became known to the general public as Dina Merrill, a name she chose at the advice of her half-sisters husband, she was Nedenia Marjorie Hutton, daughter of Marjorie Merriweather Post and Edward Francis Hutton, two wealthy people who nurtured her after her birth on the 29th of December 1923 in New York City. Again, she also appeared in made-for-TV movies, such as Seven in Darkness (1969), The Lonely Profession (1969), Family Flight (1972), and The Tenth Month (1979). Dina Merrill Biography, Age, Children, Spouse, Causes of Death, GrandChildren, Son Death And Movies, Dina Merrill Net Worth AND Dina Merrill House, Stressmonster101 Age, Height, Weight, Net Worth in 2021 and more, Davy Jones Biography, Age, Family, Married, Monkees, Death, Net Worth, Michael Raymond-James Married, Bio, Wife, Age, Girlfriend, Salary, Dating, Net Worth, Gay, Ethnicity. During the summer she worked at a regional theater where she painted scenery, sewed costumes and played occasional small roles. After divorcing Mr. Robertson in 1986, Ms. Merrill married Ted Hartley, a former Navy fighter pilot, actor and investment banker, who survives her. They also controlled the $32 million--nearly all of her liquid assets. Heiress turned actress, Dina Merrill passed away at the age of 93 in her East Hampton, New York home. Merrill died Monday,. Dina Merrill was an American heiress, socialite, philanthropist, and actress who had a net worth of $5 billion. 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