Dina Merrill — the fabulously wealthy NYC socialite who fought to become a serious actress — passed away in her Easthampton, N.Y., mansion on May 22 at the age of 93.
Despite being born to financier E.F. Hutton and cereal heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post, young Dina dropped out of college and left behind high society to study acting in Greenwich Village.
She made her big-screen debut alongside Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy in the classic 1957 comedy “Desk Set,” and went on to films including “Operation: Petticoat” and “BUtterfield 8.”
Dina was always in demand to play society types, and worked steadily in films and television while overseeing different charities maintained through her family fortune.
She was also part of an enduring showbiz marriage to actor Cliff Robertson — although Dina abruptly left the late actor heartbroken in 1986 after 19 years of marriage.
“Since Dina hit her 60th birthday last year,” a friend told The ENQUIRER, “she’s had an almost feverish desire to live it up before it’s too late!”
The couple finally divorced in 1989, and Dina later married producer Ted Hartley — now left widowed after helping her wife through her final years suffering from Lewy body dementia.
