biography

Diane McBain Born in Cleveland, Ohio on May 18, 1941, actress Diane McBain was raised in Glendale, California. As a teenager, McBain worked as a juvenile model and took an interest in dramatics while in high school. She was discovered by a Warner Bros. agent while acting in a play in 1958. At the age of 17, she was put under contract with Warner Bros. and given her first role in a March 1959 episode of Maverick. Her first film for the studio was the drama Ice Palace (1960; with Richard Burton and Martha Hyer), in which she received very good notices. She was then cast in the ABC series Surfside 6 (1960-1962; with Troy Donahue, Van Williams, and Lee Patterson). The studio also cast her in several of its high-profile films, including Claudelle Inglish (1961; with Constance Ford), Parrish (1961; with Troy Donahue), and The Caretakers (1963; with Robert Stack and Joan Crawford).

Diane McBainDiane McBain

Early 1960s Warner Bros. photos of Diane McBain

When McBain's Warner contract ended in 1964, her film and television career suffered without the backing of a big studio. Her next film was the Elvis Presley musical Spinout (1966; with Deborah Walley and Shelley Fabares), and soon she was starring in a handful of American International Pictures (AIP) films, such as Thunder Alley (1967; with Annette Funicello and Fabian), Maryjane (1968; with Fabian), and the biker flick The Mini-Skirt Mob (1968; with Jeremy Slate, Patty McCormack, and Sherry Jackson). She also did guest-star turns on the TV series Mannix, Love, American Style, and Mod Squad between films. After a couple of early 1970s horror films, Wicked, Wicked (1973; with Tiffany Bolling and Edd Byrnes) and The Deathhead Virgin (1974; with Jock Gaynor and Vic Diaz), McBain worked almost exclusively in television.

the films of diane mcbain

Ice Palace (1960)

Diane McBain and Carolyn JonesRay Danton and Diane McBain

The Warner Bros. drama Ice Palace was Diane McBain's first film. LEFT: With Carolyn Jones. RIGHT: With Ray Danton

Surfside 6 (1960-1962 ABC TV Series)

Margarita Sierra, Troy Donahue, Lee Patterson, Diane McBain, and Van Williams

From the ABC series Surfside 6, produced by Warner Bros. Pictured are series regulars Margarita Sierra, Troy Donahue, Lee Patterson, Diane McBain, and Van Williams

Claudelle Inglish (1961)

Constance Ford and Diane McBain

With Constance Ford in the Warner Bros. drama Claudelle Inglish

Black Gold (1962)

Diane McBain and Philip Carey

With Philip Carey in the Warner Bros. adventure Black Gold

The Caretakers (1963)

Diane McBain, Van Williams, and Janis PaigePolly Bergen, Diane McBain, and Robert Stack

LEFT: With Van Williams and Janis Paige in the Warner Bros. drama The Caretakers. RIGHT: With Polly Bergen and Robert Stack

Mary, Mary (1963)

Barry Nelson and Diane McBain

From the Warner Bros. romantic comedy Mary, Mary with Barry Nelson

A Distant Trumpet (1964)

Troy Donahue and Diane McBain

With fellow Warner Bros. contract player Troy Donahue in the western A Distant Trumpet. This was McBain's last film for Warner Bros.

Batman (1966-1968 ABC TV Series)

Burt Ward, Diane McBain, and David WayneAdam West and Diane McBain

LEFT: With Burt Ward and David Wayne in a 1966 episode of ABC's Batman. RIGHT: With Adam West in a 1967 episode titled A Piece of the Action

Spinout (1966)

Diane McBain and Elvis Presley

From the Elvis Presley MGM musical comedy Spinout

Thunder Alley (1967)

Diane McBain and Fabian

From American International's action flick Thunder Alley with Fabian

Maryjane (1968)

Fabian and Diane McBain

With Fabian in American International's drug culture cult classic Maryjane

The Mini-Skirt Mob (1968)

Diane McBain, Patty McCormack, and Jeremy Slate

McBain stars as the tough-as-nails leader of a biker gang with a settle to score in the campy American International flick The Mini-Skirt Mob. Also pictured are Patty McCormack and Jeremy Slate

The Sidehackers (1969)

Ross Hagen and Diane McBain

McBain is Ross Hagen's ill-fated fiance in the Crown International biker flick The Sidehackers

The Delta Factor (1970)

Christopher George and Diane McBain

From the low-budget crime drama The Delta Factor with Christopher George

Hawaii 5-0 (1968-1980 CBS TV Series)

Paul Burke and Diane McBain

With Paul Burke in a March 1980 episode of the long-running CBS crime series Hawaii 5-0 titled The Moroville Covenant

later years

When Diane McBain married in early 1972, she decided to focus on going to college and motherhood with the birth of her son in 1973. However, her marriage proved to be short-lived, so McBain soon went back to work as an actress. Movie roles had dried up, so she did quite a bit of work as a guest star on such television series as Marcus Welby, M.D. and Hawaii Five-O. In 1982, she was cast as "Foxy Humdinger" on the long-running NBC daytime drama Days of Our Lives, but she retreated from acting following an assault by two men in her Los Angeles home in December 1982. Afterward, she took occasional roles while studying psychology at Antioch University and worked as a rape counselor. She retired from acting following the release of the comedy Besotted (2001). Sadly, after a battle with cancer, Diane McBain passed away on December 21, 2022, at age 81. She is survived by her son, Evan.

filmography

FILM
Besotted (2001) with Jim Chiros
The Broken Hearts Club: A Romantic Comedy (2000) with Ben Weber, Timothy Olyphant, Matt McGrath, Dean Cain, and Justin Theroux
Invisible Mom II (1999) with Dee Wallace, Micky Dolenz, Mary Woronov, Barry Livingston, Kathy Garver, Jonathan Haze, and Robert Quarry
Puppet Master 5: The Final Chapter (1994) with Gordon Currie, Chandra West, Ian Ogilvy, Guy Rolfe, Nicholas Guest, Clu Gulager, and Ron O'Neal
The Red Fury (1984) with Cal Bartlett, Katherine Cannon, and Alan Hale Jr.
Once Upon a Starry Night (1978) with Dan Haggerty, Ken Curtis, Don Galloway, and Denver Pyle
Donner Pass: The Road to Survival (1978) with Robert Fuller, Andrew Prine, Michael Callan, John Anderson, Royal Dano, Gregory Walcott, and Whit Bissell
The Deathhead Virgin (1974) with Jock Gaynor and Vic Diaz
Wicked, Wicked (1973) with Tiffany Bolling, Scott Brady, Edd Byrnes, Madeleine Sherwood, and Arthur O'Connell
The Wild Season (1971) with Isela Vega, Ron Harper, Victor Buono, Armando Silvestre, andSlim Pickens
The Delta Factor (1970) with Yvette Mimieux, Christopher George, Ralph Taeger, Yvonne De Carlo, Ted de Corsia, and Rhodes Reason
The Sidehackers (1969) with Ross Hagen, Michael Pataki, and Claire Polan
The Mini-Skirt Mob (1968) with Jeremy Slate, Sherry Jackson, Ross Hagen, Patty McCormack, and Harry Dean Stanton
Maryjane (1968) with Fabian, Patty McCormack, and Russ Bender
I Sailed to Tahiti with an All Girl Crew (1968) with Gardner McKay, Fred Clark, Pat Buttram, Richard Denning, Edy Williams, and Zulu
Thunder Alley (1967) with Annette Funicello, Fabian, Warren Berlinger, and Jan Murray
Spinout (1966) with Elvis Presley, Shelley Fabares, Dodie Marshall, Deborah Walley, Jack Mullaney, Will Hutchins, Warren Berlinger, Carl Betz, and Cecil Kellaway
Flying From The Hawk (1966) with John Ireland
A Distant Trumpet (1964) with Troy Donahue, Suzanne Pleshette, James Gregory, William Reynolds, Claude Akins, and Russell Johnson
Mary, Mary (1963) with Debbie Reynolds, Barry Nelson, and Michael Rennie
The Caretakers (1963) with Robert Stack, Polly Bergen, Joan Crawford, Janis Paige, Van Williams, Constance Ford, Herbert Marshall, Barbara Barrie, and Robert Vaughn
Black Gold (1962) with Philip Carey, James Best, Fay Spain, Claude Akins, Dub Taylor, and Iron Eyes Cody
Claudelle Inglish (1961) with Arthur Kennedy, Will Hutchins, Constance Ford, Claude Akins, Chad Everett, and Ford Rainey
Parrish (1961) with Troy Donahue, Claudette Colbert, Karl Malden, Dean Jagger, Connie Stevens, Dub Taylor, Sylvia Miles, Madeleine Sherwood, and Hayden Rorke
Ice Palace (1960) with Richard Burton, Robert Ryan, Martha Hyer, Jim Backus, Carolyn Jones, Ray Danton, Karl Swenson, Shirley Knight, and George Takei

TELEVISION SERIES
General Hospital, 1963-present ABC daytime drama. McBain portrayed Claire Howard in 1988
Days of Our Lives, 1965-present NBC daytime drama. McBain portrayed Foxy Humdinger from 1982-1984
Surfside 6, 1960-1962 ABC TV series. McBain portrayed Daphne Dutton

TELEVISION GUEST APPEARANCES
Strong Medicine, episode Silent Epidemic, originally aired November 11, 2001
Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, episode Point Blank, originally aired February 28, 1998
Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, episode A Halloween Story, originally aired October 25, 1996
Jake and the Fatman, episode I Know That You Know, originally aired December 12, 1990
Knight Rider, episode Ten Wheel Trouble, originally aired March 24, 1985
Crazy Like a Fox, episode Bum Tip, originally aired February 24, 1985
Airwolf, episode Sins of the Past, originally aired October 27, 1984
Matt Houston, episode The Rock and the Hard Place, originally aired January 2, 1983
Dallas, episode Head of the Family, originally aired January 22, 1982
Dallas, episode Denial, originally aired January 15, 1982
Eight Is Enough, episode Yet Another Seven Days in February, originally aired April 4, 1981
Charlie's Angels, episode Angel on the Line, originally aired February 14, 1981
Hawaii Five-O, episode The Moroville Covenant, originally aired March 29, 1980
Charlie's Angels, episode Disco Angels, originally aired January 31, 1979
Marcus Welby, M.D., episode The Highest Mountain, originally aired February 17, 1976
Barbary Coast, episode Sauce for the Goose, originally aired October 20, 1975
Police Story, episode World Full of Hurt, originally aired October 8, 1974
Mod Squad, episode Kicks Incorporated, originally aired January 12, 1971
Land of the Giants, episode Panic, originally aired January 25, 1970
To Rome with Love, episode To Go Home Again, originally aired January 25, 1970
Mannix, episode Blind Mirror, originally aired January 24, 1970
Love, American Style, episode Love and the Burglar/Love and the Roommate/Love and the Wild Party, originally aired November 17, 1969
The Man from U.N.C.L.E., episode The Five Daughters Affair: Parts I and II, originally aired March 31 and April 7, 1967
Batman, episode Batman's Satisfaction, originally aired March 2, 1967
Batman, episode A Piece of the Action, originally aired March 1, 1967
Batman, episode Batman Stands Pat, originally aired February 24, 1966
Batman, episode The Thirteenth Hat, originally aired February 23, 1966
The Wild Wild West, episode The Night of the Vicious Valentine, originally aired February 10, 1967
The Man from U.N.C.L.E., episode The Deadly Toys Affair, originally aired November 12, 1965
The Wild Wild West, episode The Night of a Thousand Eyes, originally aired October 22, 1965
Vacation Playhouse, episode Alec Tate, originally aired July 2, 1965
Burke's Law, episode Who Killed Nobody Somehow?, originally aired March 31, 1965
Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre, episode Double Jeopardy, originally aired January 8, 1965
Kraft Suspense Theatre, episode One Tiger to a Hill, originally aired December 3, 1964
Burke's Law, episode Who Killed the Tall One in the Middle?, originally aired November 25, 1964
Burke's Law, episode Who Killed Mr. Cartwheel?, originally aired October 21, 1964
Wendy and Me, episode Molehills to Mountains, originally aired September 14, 1964
Arrest and Trial, episode Tigers Are for Jungles, originally aired March 22, 1964
Burke's Law, episode Who Killed Marty Kelso?, originally aired February 28, 1964
Kraft Suspense Theatre, episode My Enemy, This Town, originally aired February 6, 1964
77 Sunset Strip, episode 5: Parts 1,2,3 and 4, originally aired September 20 and 27 and October 4 and 18, 1963
77 Sunset Strip, episode Nine to Five, originally aired March 8, 1963
Hawaiian Eye, episode Pretty Pigeon, originally aired January 22, 1963
Hawaiian Eye, episode Pursuit of a Lady, originally aired December 11, 1962
77 Sunset Strip, episode Leap, My Lovely, originally aired October 19, 1962
Bourbon Street Beat, episode Ferry to Algiers, originally aired June 6, 1960
Lawman, episode The Judge, originally aired May 15, 1960
77 Sunset Strip, episode Fraternity of Fear, originally aired May 6, 1960
Bourbon Street Beat, episode Wall of Silence, originally aired March 28, 1960
Sugarfoot, episode Return to Boot Hill, originally aired March 15, 1960
Bourbon Street Beat, episode The Missing Queen, originally aired March 14, 1960
The Alaskans, episode Behind the Moon, originally aired March 6, 1960
77 Sunset Strip, episode The Starlet, originally aired February 26, 1960
Maverick, episode A Fellow's Brother, originally aired November 22, 1959
77 Sunset Strip, episode Six Superior Skirts, originally aired October 16, 1959
Maverick, episode Passage to Fort Doom, originally aired March 8, 1959

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