Diane McBain dies at 81 following liver cancer battle ... had starred alongside Elvis Presley in Spinout and on ABC show Surfside 6
- McBain died at facility in Woodland Hills, California Wednesday
- McBain was initially a model before she was inked to a seven-year deal with Warner Bros. Studios when she turned 18 in 1959
- She appeared on many TV shows and in films over multiple decades
Actress Diane McBain, best known for appearing alongside Elvis Presley in the 1966 film Spinout and starring on the ABC show Surfside 6, died Wednesday at the age of 81 following a battle with liver cancer.
McBain died at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, California, and her passing was announced by her confidante Michael Gregg Michaud.
'It is with great sadness that I report actress Diane McBain lost her battle with liver cancer and passed away on December 21, 2022,' Michaud, who co-authored McBain's 2014 memoir Famous Enough, said in a social media post, Deadline reported.
The latest: Actress Diane McBain, best known for appearing alongside Elvis Presley in the 1966 film Spinout and starring on the ABC show Surfside 6, died Wednesday at the age of 81 following a battle with liver cancer. She was pictured in 1962
McBain was initially a model before she was inked to a seven-year deal with Warner Bros. Studios when she turned 18 in 1959, Michaud said.
She began her career on TV in 1959 on the ABC series Maverick opposite James Garner, and in 1960, began playing the role of Daphne Dutton on the ABC crime series Surfside 6.
Share this article
She appeared from 1960-1962 on 45 episodes of the show, which also featured Troy Donahue, Van Williams and Lee Patterson.
McBain played the titular role in the 1961 motion picture Claudelle Inglish, which she said was her favorite part in her career. She also appeared the the 1961 movie Parrish with Donahue, and on nine episodes of 77 Sunset Strip from 1959-1963.
Her most prolific film role came in Spinout in which she portrayed the role of ambitious author Diana St. Clair, who strove to profile Presley's character, a singer-race car driver named Mike McCoy
McBain began her career on TV in 1959 on the ABC series Maverick opposite James Garner
She also played multiple roles on four episodes of the Batman series in 1966 and 1967.
Among the other TV shows McBain had appeared on through the 1960s included The Man From U.N.C.L.E., The Wild Wild West, Burke's Law and Kraft Suspense Theatre.
Her most prolific film role came in Spinout in which she portrayed the role of ambitious author Diana St. Clair, who strove to profile Presley's character, a singer-race car driver named Mike McCoy.
'Women have asked me many times what it was like to kiss Elvis,' McBain told Boomer Magazine last year. 'And I tell them it was just as wonderful as you would imagine! He was charming and a lovely person to work with. He didn't come on to me, which I appreciated because so many did throughout my career.'
Among the other TV shows McBain had appeared on included The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (pictured on show), The Wild Wild West, Burke's Law and Kraft Suspense Theatre
In 1960, McBain began playing the role of Daphne Dutton on the ABC crime series Surfside 6 opposite Van Williams
She also played multiple roles on four episodes of the Batman series in 1966 and 1967
In the 1970s, she appeared on a number of prominent TV shows including Mod Squad, Police Story, Marcus Welby, M.D. and The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams, while in the 1908s she made appearances on shows such as Hawaii Five-O, Charlie's Angels, Eight is Enough and Dallas.
She also appeared on 11 episodes of General Hospital in 1988 and 20 episodes of Days of Our Lives from 1982-1984. Her last role before retiring from her Hollywood career was on a 2001 edition of the show Strong Medicine.
McBain also had literary experience, having penned novels in recent years such as 2020's The Laughing Bear and 2021's The Color of Hope.
McBain took on a second career as a counselor for sex assault survivors after she spoke about being sexually assaulted by two men in West Hollywood on Christmas day of 1982.
'She lived a full life and experienced every opportunity that presented itself,' Michaud said of McBain, according to The Hollywood Reporter. 'She was very kind, thoughtful, loyal and generous, and she had a wicked sense of humor. Despite her remarkable professional accomplishments, she was the most un-affected movie star I have ever known.'
McBain is survived by son Evan Burke and goddaughter Mary Haber.
Most watched News videos
- Pro-Palestine flags at University of Michigan graduation ceremony
- Aid trucks line up in Rafah as Israel takes control of crossing
- Poet Laureate Simon Armitage's Coronation poem 'An Unexpected Guest'
- Moment suspect is arrested after hospital knife rampage in China
- Emmanuel Macron hosts Xi Jinping for state dinner at Elysee palace
- Ship Ahoy! Danish royals embark on a yacht tour to Sweden and Norway
- Moment pro-Palestine activists stage Gaza protest outside Auschwitz
- Police arrest man in Preston on suspicion of aiding boat crossings
- Deliveroo customer calls for jail after rider bit off his thumb
- Moment Kadyrov 'struggles to climb stairs' at Putin's inauguration
- IDF troops enter Gazan side of Rafah Crossing with flag flying
- Harry arrives at Invictus Games event after flying back to the UK
