SHADOWGRAM – THE OFFICIAL DARK SHADOWS NEWS ONLINE UPDATES
Friday, January 8, 2021
SHADOWGRAM UPDATE # 441
REMEMBERING DIANA MILLAY (June 7, 1935-January 8, 2021)
It is with extreme sadness that we report the passing of beloved Dark Shadows actress Diana Millay who portrayed Laura Collins.
Debuting as Dark Shadows' first full-fledged supernatural character in 1966, Diana relished playing the immortal phoenix Laura, the estranged wife to Roger Collins (Louis Edmonds) who returns to claim her son David (David Henesy). Following Laura's fiery finale in 1967, Diana returned to the series in 1969 with an earlier incarnation of Laura in the 1897 storyline. She played another version of Laura in the 1971 motion picture Night of Dark Shadows.
Diana was passionate about her role as Laura and shared her enthusiasm for many years at Dark Shadows Festivals and other events. Her love for art, history, folklore and travel prompted Diana to host an overseas excursion with fans to Egypt in 1988 and to Romania in 2003.
Born in Rye, New York, Diana began modeling as a child into her teens and started acting in summer stock stage plays during summer vacations. By the mid-1950s into the early 1960s, she was appearing on numerous live television dramas from New York including Kraft Television Theatre, Studio One, Philco Television Playhouse, Omnibus, The U.S. Steel Hour and Playhouse 90. She also served as straight woman for comics Bob & Ray on The Ed Sullivan Show. In Hollywood, Diana guest-starred in dozens of filmed drama and comedy series from the late 1950s through the 1960s including Perry Mason, Bonanza, Dobie Gillis, Rawhide, Father Knows Best, The Rifleman, Thriller, Maverick, My Three Sons, The Virginian, Route 66, and The Man From U.N.C.L.E. Her last television appearance was in 1970 as a regular on the soap opera The Secret Storm as Kitty Styles.
Diana's career also included co-starring roles in the motion pictures Tarzan And The Great River and Street Of Sinners. She appeared in the Broadway productions Fair Game, Drink To Me Only, Roger The Sixth, The Glass Rooster and Boeing-Boeing in addition to the national tour of The Seven-Year Itch. Her co-stars included Robert Duvall, Alan Alda, William Shatner, David Janssen, and Peter Graves.
In her later years, Diana added "author" to her list of creative accomplishments, writing the books I'd Rather Eat Than Act, The Power Of Hallowee,n and How To Create Good Luck.
She is survived by her son Kiley Jones.
