Diana Lynn

Diana Lynn (1926-1971) was an American actress and pianist. A child prodigy on the piano, she played with the Los Angeles Junior Symphony Orchestra at age 11. In Hollywood, she excelled in comedies, such as Billy Wilder's debut The Major and the Minor (1942) and Preston Sturges's The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek (1944).


Belgian postcard by S.A. Victoria, Brussels, no. 639. Photo: Paramount.


American postcard by Coral-Lee, Eancho Cordova, CA, no. CL-RR #2, 1981. Photo: Tony Korody / Sygma. Ronald Reagan, Diana Lynn and Bonzo in Bedtime for Bonzo (Frederick De Cordova, 1951).

The studio's youngest actress under contract

Diana Lynn was born Dolores Marie Loehr in Los Angeles, California, in 1926. Her parents were Louis William Loehr, a prosperous oil company executive, and Eartha "Thes" Loehr. Her mother was an accomplished pianist and teacher who guided Diana's early musical career. Dolores spent her childhood in Beverly Hills and attended Miss Grace's Private School in Los Angeles. At the age of six, she began taking piano lessons and quickly became a child prodigy.

By the age of eleven, she was a leading member of the Los Angeles Junior Symphony Orchestra. At the same time, she made her screen debut as Dolly Loehr, performing a song on the piano in They Shall Have Music (Archie Mayo, 1939). Because she hated playing piano in front of an audience, Loehr sought solace in acting. In an interview, she admitted that acting was a way for her to rebel.

She became good friends with actress Susanna Foster and appeared as the character Diana Lynn in Foster's film The Hard-Boiled Canary (Andrew L. Stone, 1941). She impressed audiences and signed a contract with Paramount Pictures that same year. The name stuck. She was the studio's youngest actress under contract and attended Paramount High School of Education.

Her breakthrough came soon after, with a role as Ginger Rogers's young friend and ally in the Screwball comedy The Major and the Minor (1942), the directorial debut of Billy Wilder. She made a similar appearance as a precocious young woman in the Preston Sturges comedy The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek (1944) with Betty Hutton.

Diana Lynn became good friends with actress Gail Russell, and they co-starred in the highly popular Our Hearts Were Young and Gay (Lewis Allen, 1944), in which she played writer Emily Kimbrough and Russell played close friend and author Cornelia Otis Skinner. Both Kimbrough and Skinner would outlive their 20-odd years younger screen actresses playing them. After supporting roles in several successful films, she bought her own house at 21 with the money she earned. She honed her piano skills by taking lessons with Raissu Kaufman. During World War II, Lynn performed as a pianist for troop entertainment and in 1947, she released three albums, including one with music by Mozart.


Vintage postcard.


Dutch postcard by Takken / 't Sticht, no. 3356. Photo: Paramount.


British postcard from Movie Star Postcards by Dover Publications, Inc., 1986. Ronald Reagan, Diana Lynn and Bonzo in Bedtime for Bonzo (Frederick De Cordova, 1951).

A successful transition to television in the 1950s

From the mid-1940s onward, Diana Lynn easily transitioned into adult roles, including alongside Cary Grant in the comedy Every Girl Should Be Married (Don Hartman, 1948) and taking on the lead role of Lady Marianne de Beaudray in the adventure film Rogues of Sherwood Forest (Gordon Douglas, 1950), starring John Derek as Robin Hood. She was primarily used in light comedies, such as My Friend Irma (George Marshall, 1949), which marked Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis's entry into the film business.

An exception was the crime film The People Against O’Hara (John Sturges, 1951), alongside Spencer Tracy and Pat O'Brien. In 1948, she became engaged to Bob Neal, a prominent California architect. However, at the end of that year, she married the 30-year-old architect John C. Lindsay. The couple separated in 1953. Their divorce was finalised in 1954.

As she grew older, Lynn found it increasingly difficult to get film roles. She made a successful transition to television in the 1950s. In 1952, she graced the cover of Life magazine as one of television's leading actresses. Simultaneously, she achieved theatre success on both Broadway in New York and London's West End. On Broadway, she followed Barbara Bel Geddes in the title role in 'Mary Mary' to acclaim, and starred in both new plays and comedies as well as revivals.

While filming her last film, The Kentuckian (Burt Lancaster, 1955), she began a relationship with actor Andrew V. McLaglen. Despite plans to marry, she married Mortimer W. Hall, president of L.A. radio station KLAC, at the end of 1956. He was the son of the well-known publisher Dorothy Schiff of the New York Post. They had a happy marriage and four children: Matthew (born 1958), Dolly (1960), Mary (1962), and Margaret (1964). When her husband received a job offer from the New York Post, Lynn moved her family to Manhattan.

In 1970, she gave up her acting career and instead became a director at the travel agency GO! This position was short-lived: at the age of 45, Diana Lynn died unexpectedly of a stroke in New York City in 1971. Shortly before her death, Lynn was offered the role of Helene in the film Play Your Game (Frank Perry, 1972) alongside Anthony Perkins, her first feature film in over 15 years. Diana Lynn accepted, but suffered a stroke before filming began. Her remains were interred at the Episcopal Church of the Heavenly Rest in New York City. She has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one for film and one for television.


British postcard by the Celebrity Autograph Series, no. 199. Photo: Warner Bros. Diana Lynn in Track of the Cat (William A. Wellman, 1954).


Dutch postcard by DRC, no. 25. Photo: Paramount / MPEA.


Austrian postcard by Kellner-Fotokarten, Wien, no. 387. Photo: Paramount.

Sources: Wikipedia (Dutch, German and French) and IMDb.