Diana Hyland
Hyland as Susan Winter inPeyton Place, 1968
Born	Diane Gentner (1936-01-25)January 25, 1936 Cleveland Heights, Ohio, U.S.
Died	March 27, 1977(1977-03-27) (aged 41) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1955–1977
Spouse	Joe Goodson ​ ​ (m. 1969; div. 1974)​
Partner	John Travolta (1976–1977; her death)
Children	1
Awards	Emmy Award forOutstanding Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Comedy or Drama Special 1977The Boy in the Plastic Bubble; awarded posthumously

Diana Hyland (bornDiane Gentner; January 25, 1936 – March 27, 1977)^[1] was an American stage, film, and television actress.

Hyland was born Diane Gentner^[2] to John Theodore and Mary (Gorman) Gentner inCleveland Heights, Ohio. She had one sibling, a brother, John Gorman Gentner.^[3]

She made her acting debut in 1955 at age 19 in an episode ofRobert Montgomery Presents. Over the next decade, she appeared often in guest and supporting roles in varioustelevision series, includingNaked City,The Eleventh Hour,The Fugitive,The Invaders,The Green Hornet, andThe Twilight Zone, and she was cast in the feature filmThe Chase (1966) withMarlon Brando,Jane Fonda, andRobert Redford.

In 1959, she originated the role of Heavenly Finley inTennessee Williams'Sweet Bird of Youth^[4][5] on Broadway, appearing withGeraldine Page andPaul Newman.

In 1966, she co-starred in the movieSmoky in which she played Julie Richards, owner of the Rockin' R Ranch, who falls in love with Clint Barkeley (Fess Parker), owner of Smoky, a black stallion turnedcutting horse. The same year she appeared in an episode of the TV seriesThe Man from U.N.C.L.E. titled "The Candidate's Wife Affair" and in another episode titled "The Nowhere Affair". From 1958 to 1963, Hyland was a regular on the NBC soap operaYoung Doctor Malone, playing Gig Houseman, wife of the younger Dr. Malone.

Hyland's debut in a feature film was inOne Man's Way (1963), playing the wife ofNorman Vincent Peale.^[6][7] She had a continuing role as Susan Winter in the prime-time soap operaPeyton Place^[8]: 829 from 1968 to 1969. She appeared in the 1976 television movieThe Boy in the Plastic Bubble, for which she won a posthumousEmmy Award.^[6] The following year, she co-starred withDick Van Patten in the seriesEight Is Enough.^[8] She appeared in only five episodes before her death, and her character, Joan Bradford, was subsequently killed off.^[9]

Hyland married actor Joe Goodson on April 24, 1969. The couple had one son, Zachary, born in July 1973. Hyland and Goodson divorced in August 1974.^{[citation needed]}

She began a romantic relationship with actorJohn Travolta, 18 years her junior, in 1976 after meeting him when she played his mother in the television movieThe Boy in the Plastic Bubble.^[10]

Hyland was diagnosed withbreast cancer in 1975, and underwent amastectomy andchemotherapy .^[10] However, the cancer spread and her health continued to deteriorate. Hyland and Travolta remained together until her death at age 41 on March 27, 1977, in Los Angeles.^[11] She died with Travolta,Eight Is Enough co-star Dick Van Patten, and his wife Patty by her side.^[12]

• Diana Hyland atIMDb 
• Diana Hyland at theInternet Broadway Database
• Diana Hyland portrait gallery at NY Public Library (Billy Rose collection)

• 1936 births
• 1977 deaths
• 20th-century American actresses
• Actresses from Ohio
• American film actresses
• American soap opera actresses
• American stage actresses
• American television actresses
• Deaths from breast cancer in California
• Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Movie Primetime Emmy Award winners
• People from Cleveland Heights, Ohio
• Primetime Emmy Award winners

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