Diana Van der Vlis
Encyclopedia
Diana Van der Vlis was a Canadian stage, screen and television actress best known for her characters ‘Dr. Nell Beaulac’ on the ABC soap opera "Ryan's Hope
" and 'Kate Hathaway Prescott’ on the CBS soap opera Where the Heart Is
. Two other roles on soap operas that she played were Sherry Rowan on "Ryan's Hope
" and Susan Ames Carver on The Secret Storm
when she was a substitute for Judy Lewis in the role.
Van der Vlis studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA) in London
and acted in Canada
before moving to New York
in the spring of 1956. She made her Broadway debut opposite Walter Pidgeon
in the hit "The Happiest Millionaire." Her subsequent Broadway productions
include leading or featured roles in "Comes a Day," "A Mighty Man is He," "A Shot in the Dark," "On an Open Road," and "The Waltz of the Toreadors."
Diana appeared in the movies "The Girl in Black Stockings," "The Man with the X-Ray Eyes," "The Incident," "The Swimmer" and "Lovespell."
She also appeared in the TV film, "Ghostbreakers."
Miss Van der Vlis has guest starred on numerous primetime TV shows, including "Kraft Theatre," "Naked City
," "Tactic," "U.S. Steel Hour,"
"Dupont Show of the Month
," "Dupont Show of the Week," "Alfred Hitchcock Presents
," "Great Ghost Tales," "Brenner," "Checkmate
," "East Side/West Side
," "Route 66
," "Dr. Kildare
," "Flipper
," "Mr. Broadway
," "The Defenders," "12 O'Clock High," "The Invaders
," "The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
," "T.H.E. Cat," "The FBI," and "The Fugitive
."
She was a naturalized U.S. citizen and mother of actor Matthew Powers.
On October 22, 2001 she died due to a cardiac arrest caused by a pulmonary embolism following a brief illness.
Ryan's Hope
Ryan's Hope is an American soap opera, revolving around 13 years of trials and tribulations within a large Irish American family in the Riverside district of New York City. It aired from July 7, 1975 to January 13, 1989 on ABC...
" and 'Kate Hathaway Prescott’ on the CBS soap opera Where the Heart Is
Where the Heart Is (1969 TV series)
Where the Heart Is is an American soap opera telecast on the CBS television network from September 8, 1969 to March 23, 1973. Created by Lou Scofield and Margaret DePriest, the program ran for 25 minutes, the remaining five minutes of its timeslot ceded to a CBS news break.Scofield and DePriest...
. Two other roles on soap operas that she played were Sherry Rowan on "Ryan's Hope
Ryan's Hope
Ryan's Hope is an American soap opera, revolving around 13 years of trials and tribulations within a large Irish American family in the Riverside district of New York City. It aired from July 7, 1975 to January 13, 1989 on ABC...
" and Susan Ames Carver on The Secret Storm
The Secret Storm
The Secret Storm is a soap opera which ran on CBS from February 1, 1954 to February 8, 1974. The series was created by Roy Winsor, who also created the long-running soap operas Search for Tomorrow and Love of Life...
when she was a substitute for Judy Lewis in the role.
Van der Vlis studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA) in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and acted in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
before moving to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
in the spring of 1956. She made her Broadway debut opposite Walter Pidgeon
Walter Pidgeon
Walter Davis Pidgeon was a Canadian actor, who starred in many motion pictures, including Mrs...
in the hit "The Happiest Millionaire." Her subsequent Broadway productions
include leading or featured roles in "Comes a Day," "A Mighty Man is He," "A Shot in the Dark," "On an Open Road," and "The Waltz of the Toreadors."
Diana appeared in the movies "The Girl in Black Stockings," "The Man with the X-Ray Eyes," "The Incident," "The Swimmer" and "Lovespell."
She also appeared in the TV film, "Ghostbreakers."
Miss Van der Vlis has guest starred on numerous primetime TV shows, including "Kraft Theatre," "Naked City
Naked City (TV series)
Naked City is a police drama series which aired from 1958 to 1963 on the ABC television network. It was inspired by the 1948 motion picture of the same name, and mimics its dramatic "semi-documentary" format....
," "Tactic," "U.S. Steel Hour,"
"Dupont Show of the Month
DuPont Show of the Month
DuPont Show of the Month, an acclaimed 90-minute television anthology series, aired monthly on CBS from 1957 to 1961. The DuPont Company also sponsored a weekly half-hour anthology drama series hosted by June Allyson, The DuPont Show with June Allyson .During the Golden Age of Television, DuPont...
," "Dupont Show of the Week," "Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Alfred Hitchcock Presents is an American television anthology series hosted by Alfred Hitchcock. The series featured dramas, thrillers, and mysteries. By the premiere of the show on October 2, 1955, Hitchcock had been directing films for over three decades...
," "Great Ghost Tales," "Brenner," "Checkmate
Checkmate (TV series)
Checkmate is an American detective television series starring Anthony George, Sebastian Cabot, and Doug McClure. The show aired on CBS Television from 1960 to 1962 for a total of 70 episodes and was produced by Jack Benny's production company, "JaMco Productions" in co-operation with Revue...
," "East Side/West Side
East Side/West Side
East Side/West Side is an American drama series starring George C. Scott, Elizabeth Wilson, Cicely Tyson, and later on, Linden Chiles. The series aired for only one season and was shown Monday nights on CBS.-Synopsis:...
," "Route 66
Route 66 (TV series)
Route 66 is an American TV series in which two young men traveled across America. The show ran weekly on CBS from 1960 to 1964. It starred Martin Milner as Tod Stiles and, for two and a half seasons, George Maharis as Buz Murdock. Maharis was ill for much of the third season, during which time Tod...
," "Dr. Kildare
Dr. Kildare
Dr. James Kildare is a fictional character, the primary character in a series of American theatrical films in the late 1930s and early 1940s, an early 1950s radio series, a 1960s television series of the same name and a comic book based on the TV show, and a short-lived 1970s television series...
," "Flipper
Flipper (1964 TV series)
Flipper, from Ivan Tors Films in association with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Television, is an American television program first broadcast on NBC from September 19, 1964, until April 15, 1967. Flipper, a bottlenose dolphin, is the companion animal of Porter Ricks, Chief Warden at fictional Coral Key Park...
," "Mr. Broadway
Mr. Broadway
Mr. Broadway is a 13-episode CBS adventure and drama television series starring Craig Stevens , formerly of Peter Gunn, as New York City public relations specialist Mike Bell. The program aired at 9 p.m. Eastern time Saturdays from September 26 to December 26, 1964...
," "The Defenders," "12 O'Clock High," "The Invaders
The Invaders
The Invaders, a Quinn Martin Production , is an ABC science fiction television program created by Larry Cohen that ran in the United States for two seasons, from January 10, 1967 to March 26, 1968...
," "The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. is an American television series that was broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1964, to January 15, 1968. It follows the exploits of two secret agents, played by Robert Vaughn and David McCallum, who work for a fictitious secret international espionage and law-enforcement...
," "T.H.E. Cat," "The FBI," and "The Fugitive
The Fugitive (TV series)
The Fugitive is an American drama series produced by QM Productions and United Artists Television that aired on ABC from 1963 to 1967. David Janssen stars as Richard Kimble, a doctor from the fictional town of Stafford, Indiana, who is falsely convicted of his wife's murder and given the death...
."
She was a naturalized U.S. citizen and mother of actor Matthew Powers.
On October 22, 2001 she died due to a cardiac arrest caused by a pulmonary embolism following a brief illness.