Dyan Cannon (born Samille Diane Friesen, January 4, 1937) is an American actress, filmmaker and editor. Her accolades include a Saturn Award, a Golden Globe Award, three Academy Award nominations and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She was named Female Star of the Year by the National Association of Theatre Owners in 1973 and the Hollywood Women's Press Club in 1979.
A former beauty queen who held the title of Miss West Seattle, Cannon made her television debut in 1958. Over the next decade, she became a common sight on episodic shows while appearing occasionally on Broadway and in B-movies. In 1969, she had her breakthrough film role in the sex comedy Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Cannon was nominated in that category again for Heaven Can Wait (1978), earning her a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture, and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama for her lead role in Such Good Friends (1971). She also was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film as the producer of Number One (1976).
Other films in which Cannon has performed include The Love Machine (1971), Shamus (1973), The Last of Sheila (1973), Child Under a Leaf (1974), Revenge of the Pink Panther (1978), Honeysuckle Rose (1980), Coast to Coast (1980), Deathtrap (1982), Author! Author! (1982), Caddyshack II (1988), 8 Heads in a Duffel Bag (1997), Out to Sea (1997), and Boynton Beach Club (2005). Cannon made her feature directorial debut with 1990's semi-autobiographical drama The End of Innocence, which she also wrote and starred in. From 1997 to 2000 she played a recurring role on the legal series Ally McBeal.
Before her career took off, Cannon was married to Cary Grant for three years and gave birth to his only child, daughter Jennifer. Reluctant to discuss the marriage since their 1968 divorce, Cannon turned down publishing deals following Grant's death in 1986. Her memoir Dear Cary (2011) became a New York Times Best Seller. In 2022, it was announced the book would be adapted into a miniseries for ITV with Cannon executive producing.
Early life
Cannon was born Samille Diane Friesen in Tacoma, Washington, on January 4, 1937, the daughter of housewife Claire (née Portnoy) and life insurance salesman Ben Friesen. She was raised in the Jewish faith of her Ashkenazi Jewish mother, who was an immigrant from Ukraine; her father was Anabaptist of Canadian Mennonite ancestry. Her younger brother is jazz musician David Friesen. Cannon attended West Seattle High School and was crowned Miss West Seattle in 1954. She spent two-and-a-half years at the University of Washington.
In 1957, Cannon dropped out of college and went to live with her Aunt Sally in Phoenix, Arizona, where she took a job at Merrill Lynch & Co. Courted by a traveling businessman, she got engaged and followed her fiancé to Los Angeles. They soon parted, but she decided to stay in the area and enroll at UCLA. A part-time modeling job led to an interview with producer Jerry Wald, who suggested she change her last name to Cannon. She signed to MGM, doing promotional work for the film Les Girls, and studied with acting teacher Sanford Meisner.
Career
Cannon made her film debut in 1960 in The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamond; she had appeared on television since the late 1950s, including a guest appearance on Bat Masterson as Mary Lowery in the 1959 episode "Lady Luck" and again in a 1961 episode as Diane Jansen in "The Price of Paradise". She appeared in 1959 on CBS's Wanted: Dead or Alive, in episode 52, "Vanishing Act", as Nicole McCready. About this time, she was on the CBS western Johnny Ringo, starring Don Durant, and on Jack Lord's western Stoney Burke on ABC. She also appeared on Hawaiian Eye, using her name Diane Cannon, in 1961, opposite Tracey Steele, Robert Conrad, and Connie Stevens.
In 1962, Cannon appeared on Broadway with Jane Fonda and Bradford Dillman in The Fun Couple. Next came the national touring company of the musical How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, in which she played Rosemary.