Known for me as a youngster for being a game show frequenter and "Shame"'s wife in real life. Never caught much of her later but The Courtship Of Eddie's Father stands out.
I always liked her work, even though the socialite roles she often played were probably not unlike her own life. Also I admired her philanthropy. Very classy.
Also it's great that she turned out to be such a great person despite being raised by tycoons. It seems like most people with that type of upbringing end up as messes.
The only thing I really associate her with her guest appearance on Matt And Jenny (On The Wilderness Trail) (about two kids going across Canada to find their uncle. The first episode is below, as "The Actress" - which Miss Merrill was the guest star* in as said actress, who Matt develops a crush on - doesn't seem to be online. I've always remembered the part where the actress tells Matt the trick about acting isn't what you say, but rather the way you said it.
The actress (in a hillbilly voice, rather than her posh, cultured tones): "It ain't whatcha say, it's how ya say it!"
*Like many Canadian shows of the time most of the guest stars were Americans (Sharon Acker, Peter Graves, Victor Buono, et al) or non-Americans known to a US audience (e.g. Linda Thorson, or in the first episode up there Barry Morse).
DESK SET was the first picture that Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy made together outside MGM. Hepburn chose Dina Merrill, Sue Randall, Merry Anders and Diane Jergens for their roles in the picture, which marked Merrill's screen debut. Merrill played "Sylvia Blair," a researcher at the Federal Broadcasting Company, where "Bunny Watson" (Hepburn) is the quick-witted, sharp-tongued head researcher. Into their world comes efficiency expert "Richard Sumner" (Tracy). Walter Lang directed the film, which had an unreleased score by Cyril Mockridge.
In 1959's OPERATION PETTICOAT, "Lt. Cmdr. Matt T. Sherman" (Cary Grant) commands the Sea Tiger, a submarine patrolling Japanese-held waters during World War II. After a leak in the hull forces Matt to dock at a nearby island, "Lt. Nick Holden" (Tony Curtis), a socialite Naval officer, is sent to scout the island and returns with "Maj. Edna Hayward" (Virginia Gregg), "Lt. Barbara Duran" (Dina Merrill), "Lt. Claire Reid" (Madlyn Rhue), "Lt. Ruth Colfax" (Marion Ross) and "Lt. Dolores Crandall" (Joan O'Brien), nurses who have been stranded en route to Manila. Naval hi-jinks ensue.
Blake Edwards directed the comedy, which has an unreleased score by David Rose.
In BUTTERFIELD 8, Dina Merrill played "Emily Liggett," the wife of wealthy executive "Weston Liggett" (Laurence Harvey). Emily has her mink coat stolen by "Gloria Wandrous" (Elizabeth Taylor), a call girl who has been seeing her husband. Daniel Mann directed the 1960 drama. Bronislau Kaper's score was released by Film Score Monthly in 2010.
Fred Zinneman's THE SUNDOWNERS is set in Australia's Outback during the early 20th century, where the impoverished Carmody family lives a nomadic life out of their wagon. The mother (Deborah Kerr) and son (Michael Anderson, Jr.) want to settle down, while the father (Robert Mitchum) is against it. Dina Merrill plays "Jean Halstead," a ranch owner’s wife and a former society girl who is overprotected and lonely. A 10-minute suite from Dimitri Tiomkin's score was recorded by Tadlow for a 2005 release.
In 1961's THE YOUNG SAVAGES, Assistant District Attorney Hank Bell (Burt Lancaster), himself the product of a slum environment, is investigating the stabbing death of a 15-year-old Puerto Rican boy by three hoodlums from an Italian street gang. His task is complicated by the fact that his former fiancée, "Mary Di Pace" (Shelley Winters), is the mother of one of the trio. Furthermore, Hank's wife, "Karin" (Dina Merrill), is a Vassar liberal staunchly opposed to capital punishment.
Dina Merrill said that the treatment she received from director John Frankenheimer on this picture nearly drove her out of the business. He literally told her at the end of a days' filming that she was the worst actress he'd ever worked with. She said she went home in tears. It got so bad that her co-star Burt Lancaster came to her defense one morning by ridiculing the director's "good mood" as being due to the fact that he hadn't insulted Dina yet.
David Amram's score was released on a Columbia LP, which was re-issued on CD by Intrada in 2014.
Angie Dickinson was originally announced for the role played by Dina Merrill, a chic fashion consultant, in THE COURTSHIP OF EDDIE'S FATHER. As "Rita Behrens," Merrill becomes involved with recently widowed "Tom Corbett" (Glenn Ford). Vincente Minnelli directed the comedy, which has an unreleased score by George Stoll.
In the 1965 comedy I'LL TAKE SWEDEN, single father "Bob Holcomb" (Bob Hope), dissatisfied with his daughter JoJo's (Tuesday Weld's) choice of partner, seizes an unexpected opportunity to bring her on a trip to Sweden in order for her to forget all thoughts on marriage. Dina Merrill plays interior designer "Karin Grandstedt," who becomes romantically involved with Holcomb. Frederick De Cordova directed the film. Jimmie Haskell's score was released on a United Artists LP, which has not been re-issued on CD.
In 1973's RUNNING WILD, a photographer for Time magazine (Dina Merrill) travels to the stunning vistas of Colorado and becomes involved in an effort to save a herd of wild horses. Robert McCahon directed the film, which has an unreleased score by Luchi De Jesus.
In the little-seen THE MEAL (also known as DEADLY ENCOUNTER), a rich Florida woman (Dina Merrill) invites big shots to a banquet, then watches with a friend (Carl Betz) as they destroy one another. R. John Hugh wrote and directed the film, which was shot in Orlando, Florida. Stu Phillips' score was released by Kritzerland in 2010.
1977’s THE GREATEST was based upon the 1975 book “The Greatest: My Own Story” by Muhammad Ali with Richard Durham. Dina Merrill had a small role as "Velvet Green."
Tom Gries directed the film, but he died prior to its release. Michael Masser’s score was released on an Arista LP, and re-issued on CD by Razor & Tie in 1997. The score centered around the film’s theme song, “The Greatest Love Of All,” written by Masser with lyrics by Linda Creed. The song, sung in the film by George Benson, was a modest pop success for him in 1977. Nine years later, in 1986, singer Whitney Houston recorded a number-one pop version of the song. Here's the film's trailer:
In Robert Altman's A WEDDING, a wedding ceremony for young "Muffin Brenner" (Amy Stryker) and "Dino Corelli" (Desi Arnaz, Jr.) begins with members of the bride and groom’s extended families present. A few miles away at the Corelli’s family mansion, the groom’s maternal grandmother and powerful matriarch, "Nettie Sloan" (Lillian Gish), lies in bed awaiting news of the ceremony. Dina Merrill plays one of Nettie’s daughters, "Antoinette “Toni” Sloan Goddard."
The script for the film was not complete before principal photography began on 15 June 1977, and shortly before filming, the actors were given biographies of their characters. Dina Merrill claimed that all of the actors were paid below Screen Actors Guild (SAG) minimum wages. On working with Lillian Gish, Merrill said that "Lillian was the nicest mother one could hope to have in A WEDDING." The 1978 film did not have an original score.
In JUST TELL ME WHAT YOU WANT, Dina Merrill plays "Connie Herschel," the wife of corporate tycoon "Max Herschel" (Alan King). Sidney Lumet directed the 1980 comedy, which has an unreleased score by Charles Strouse.
In the television series "Hot Pursuit", "James Wyler" (Eric Pierpoint) and his wife "Kate Wyler" (Kerrie Keane) are an upper-middle class couple. Kate is a successful automotive engineer, while Jim is a practicing veterinarian. But then Kate is framed for murdering her boss, "Victor Modrian," and sentenced to prison.
In reality, Victor Modrian's evil wife "Estelle" (Dina Merrill) had orchestrated the murder using a lookalike for Kate. Jim discovers the homeless lookalike and determines to bring Estelle to justice. He helps Kate escape from prison, and they go on the run. Estelle, discovering that Jim and Kate have escaped, hires one-eyed assassin "Alec Shaw" (Michael Preston) and orders Kate's lookalike found and murdered — and both Jim and Kate found, and murdered – before they find her.
NBC premiered the series on Saturday, 22 September 1984 at 10 PM. It went up against two other freshman series: the romantic drama "Finder of Lost Loves," starring Anthony Franciosa, on ABC, and the action-adventure "Cover Up," starring Jennifer O'Neill and Jon-Erik Hexum, on CBS. None of the shows would survive the season. "Hot Pursuit was cancelled first, after only 12 episodes. "Cover Up" ultimately ended when star Jon-Erik Hexum accidentally shot himself in the head with a prop gun and died from a brain hemorrhage.
The cast of "Hot Pursuit": (L to R) Michael Preston, Kerrie Keane, Eric Pierpoint, and Dina Merrill
In the comedy CADDYSHACK II, Merrill played "Cynthia Young," wife of snooty golf club president "Chandler Young" (Robert Stack). Allan Arkush directed the 1988 film. Eight minutes of Ira Newborn's score appeared on the CBS song-score CD.
