Dyan Cannon's Main TV Roles Show Character(s) Ally McBeal Jennifer 'W… Ally Judge Jenni… Three Sisters Honey Berns… Full Circle Lisa Crowder

Main Movie Roles 2004 - After the Sunset 2003 - Kangaroo Jack 1997 - 8 Heads in a Duffel Bag 1997 - That Darn Cat 1997 - Out to Sea 1993 - The Pickle 1988 - She's Having a Baby 1988 - Caddyshack II 1982 - Deathtrap 1982 - Author! Author! 1978 - Heaven Can Wait 1978 - Revenge of the Pink Panther 1973 - Shamus 1973 - The Last of Sheila 1971 - The Anderson Tapes 1971 - Le casse 1960 - The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamond

BIOGRAPHY:

Perhaps best known for her trademark curly blond tresses and her faithful appearances at L.A. Lakers basketball games, Dyan Cannon has enjoyed nearly fifty years in the entertainment industry. Born in Tacoma, Washington on January 4, 1937, Cannon had early dreams of becoming an actress. She made her screen debut with a small part in the critically acclaimed crime drama The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamond (1960). A short-lived TV series and This Rebel Breed (1960) followed that same year. It was during this time that she caught the eye of one of Hollywood's favorite leading men, Cary Grant, who was 33 years her senior. The couple, a hotbed of Hollywood gossip, experienced an on-again, off-again relationship until marrying in 1965. Cannon left her acting career behind during her short-lived marriage to Grant and bore his daughter, Jennifer Grant (II), in 1966. Cannon and Grant were divorced in 1968, and she returned to the big screen in 1969 in the pop-culture classic Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1969), garnering an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. A series of less-than-remarkable TV and feature films followed in the early '70s, but comedies proved her most successful medium. Cannon received another Oscar nomination for Heaven Can Wait (1978), where she played a money-hungry, adulterous wife who hatches a plot to kill her husband only to find that another man has been reincarnated via her husband's body. The multi-talented Cannon, who is also a singer/songwriter, found success behind the camera as well as in front of it. In 1976, she produced, directed, wrote, and edited the short film Number One (1976), an Academy Award nominee for Best Short Film-Live Action. The tedious experience of wearing so many hats deterred her from writing and directing again until 1991, with the release of The End of Innocence (1990). She gave a strong and critically acclaimed performance in the picture, but it received a lukewarm response overall. The '80s and '90s found Cannon on the small screen more often than the big one, as she starred in several made-for-TV movies and made guest appearances in numerous series. Most notable was her recurring role on the hit show "Ally McBeal" (1997), where, in 1997-98, she played Judge Jennifer "Whipper" Cone in several episodes of the wacky comedy/drama. Though it's been 20 years since Cannon scored a major movie success and she's outgrown her sexpot image (early nude photos of the actress are still in circulation), she continues to find respectable roles in decent-though-not-great films, most recently Out to Sea (1997) with the aging comedy duo of Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon (I); 8 Heads in a Duffel Bag (1997), That Darn Cat (1997) and Kangaroo Jack (2003).


TRIVIA:

• In the early 1970s, Paramount had plans that were unrealized to remake _Double Indemnity (1944)_ (qv) with Cannon in the 'Barbara Stanwyck' (qv) role.
• Ex-mother-in-law of 'Randall Zisk' (qv).
• Her high school nickname was "Frosty".
• Her commitment to Christianity has led her to hold twice-monthly revival-style Bible study meetings on the CBS studio lot.
• Always seen courtside at Los Angeles Lakers home basketball games.
• 'Cary Grant' (qv) first saw her on a TV show in 1961, when she was already a 24-year-old TV vet. They started lived together in 1963.
• Considered the second-most-famous Laker fan behind 'Jack Nicholson' (qv).
• 'Miss West Seattle' of 1955.