Diana Lynn papers, 1900-1971

Diana Lynn was born Dolores Eartha Loehr on July 5, 1926. Her father, Louis Loehr, was an oil supply executive and her mother, Martha Eartha Loehr, was a concert pianist and piano teacher. Lynn learned to play the piano at age four and she quickly became a child prodigy, by age twelve she was playing with the Los Angeles Junior Symphony Orchestra. Lynn made her film debut playing the piano in “They Shall Have Music” and “There’s Magic In Music.” Paramount Pictures changed her name to “Diana Lynn” and began casting her in films. Her 1940s and 1950s film credits include: “The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek,” “The Major and the Minor,” “My Friend Irma,” “My Friend Irma Goes West,” “Our Hearts Were Young and Gay,” “Our Hearts Were Growing Up,” “You’re Never Too Young,” “The People Against O’Hara,” “Bedtime for Bonzo” opposite Ronald Reagan, “The Kentuckian,” and many staring TV roles. In the 1950s she also released one single as a pianist through Capitol Records. Starting in the early 1950s, Diana Lynn starred on the Broadway stage in “The Wild Duck” and in 1964 she had a six month stint on Broadway replacing the lead in “Mary, Mary.” Her most known Broadway performance occurred both in the US and the United Kingdom when she starred in “The Moon is Blue.”

Diana Lynn was briefly married to architect John C. Lindsay, divorcing in 1953. In 1956 she married Mortimer Hall, the son of the New York Post publisher and they had four children. Lynn slowed down some in the late 60s and early 70s to focus on her family. Two of Lynn’s daughters, Dolly Hall and Margaret “Daisy” Hall also worked in the entertainment industry, Dolly was a film producer and Daisy was an actress. Lynn suffered a stroke and died on December 18, 1971 at the age of 45. Diana Lynn was named the most talented juvenile actress by Parents Magazine in 1942 and has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.