Diane Marie Antonia Varsi (February 23, 1938 – November 19, 1992) was an American film actress best known for her performances in Peyton Place – her film debut, for which she was nominated for an Academy Award – and the cult film Wild in the Streets. She left Hollywood to pursue personal and artistic aims, notably at Bennington College in Vermont, where she studied poetry with poet and translator Ben Belitt.
Early life
Varsi was born in San Mateo, California, a suburb of San Francisco, the daughter of Beatrice (née DeMerchant) and Russell Varsi. Varsi unsuccessfully tried to become a model and a restaurant hostess in her teen years. While in high school, she was called an "oddball" by her classmates. She often was truant from school to visit San Francisco, so was labeled a "rebel". She dropped out of school in her junior year at age 15, failing in all studies, and saying: "I was bored. I didn't like the social sides – the cliques." Around the same time, she married an 18-year-old. Their marriage was annulled before her son Shawn was born. The following year, Varsi shared the Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year – Actress with Sandra Dee and Carolyn Jones. Several famous actresses were tested for the main role in the big-budget film, until the then-unknown Varsi was cast in May 1957. She was discovered by producer Buddy Adler, who immediately put her under contract at 20th Century Fox.
Career
By the time she was cast, Varsi already had an agent and had been searching for film roles for a long while, without any luck. She later said: "I'm still trying to find myself. It's still hard for me to separate illusion from reality...I don't know whether acting is the form of creativity best for me." On March 18, 1959, she suddenly left Hollywood, abandoning her contract. "I'm running away from destruction," she explained, A week later she elaborated, "Hollywood is too impressed with superficial cheapness." Nevertheless, her contract with Fox did not expire until 1965.
By walking out of her contract, Varsi's inclusion in plans for several films was cancelled, including a starring role in The Best of Everything (1959). After leaving Hollywood, Varsi participated in local San Francisco theater productions. Varsi returned to film acting in the late 1960s, but by this time she was no longer offered major roles and subsequently referred to the movies she made in this period as "cheap films of little merit". Although producers were curious about her, she said, they would not hire her. Johnny Got His Gun (1971), which Varsi described as her favorite; and an ABC Movie of the Week, titled The People (1972). In 1970, she was a supporting actress to Shelley Winters in Bloody Mama; Robert DeNiro also appeared in the film as one of Ma Barker's sons. Of Johnny Got His Gun, the actress said: "This is the kind of thing I always wanted to do. It comes very late to me. It's been a long time to wait." She was apprehensive about playing the role, saying: "I felt too inadequate to do [Johnny Got His Gun]. It's so intense, the responsibility."
From November 26, 1956, to August 29, 1958, Varsi was married to James Dickson, whom she made her manager while working as an actress. She also suffered from Lyme disease.
Filmography
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%;"
! colspan="4" style="background: LightSteelBlue;" | Film
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Notes
|-
| 1957
| Peyton Place
| Allison MacKenzie
|
|-
| rowspan=2|1958
| Ten North Frederick
| Ann Chapin
|
|-
| From Hell to Texas
| Juanita Bradley
| alternative title: Man Hunt
|-
| 1959
| Compulsion
| Ruth Evans
|
|-
| rowspan=2|1967
| Sweet Love Bitter
| Della
| alternative titles: Black Love, White Love<br>It Won't Rub Off, Baby!
|-
| Roseanna
| Mary Jane
|
|-
| rowspan=2|1968
| Wild in the Streets
| Sally LeRoy
|
|-
| Killers Three
| Carol Warder
|
|-
| 1970
| Bloody Mama
| Mona Gibson
|
|-
| 1971
| Johnny Got His Gun
| Fourth Nurse
|
|-
| 1977
| I Never Promised You a Rose Garden
| Sylvia
|
|-
|-
! colspan="4" style="background: LightSteelBlue;" | Television
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Notes
|-
| 1959
| Playhouse 90
| Lurene Dawson
| S3.E21: "The Ding-A-Ling Girl"
|-
| 1966
| Dr. Kildare
| Nurse Claire Hanson
| 2 episodes
|-
| 1969
| My Friend Tony
| Iris
| S1.E12: "Computer Murder"
|-
| 1971
| Cannon
| Mrs. Hill
| S1.E4: "Country Blues"
|-
| 1972
| The People
| Valancy Carmody
| ABC Movie of the Week
|}
Awards and nominations
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%;"
|-
! Year
! Award
! Result
! Category
! Work
|-
|rowspan=4|1958
|Academy Award
|
|Best Actress in a Supporting Role
|Peyton Place
|-
|Golden Globe Award
|
| Most Promising Newcomer - Actress
|
|-
|rowspan=2|Laurel Awards
|
|Top New Female Personality
|
|-
|
|Top Female Supporting Performance
|Peyton Place
|}