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Diane Marie Varsi (February 23, 1938 in film|1938
- November 19, 1992 in film|1992) was an United
States|American film and television actor|actress.

Born in San Mateo, California, Varsi made her
screen debut in Peyton Place (film)|Peyton Place
(1958), and received a nomination for an Academy
Award for Best Supporting Actress.   The same
year, she shared a Golden Globe as "Most Promising
Newcomer" with Sandra Dee and Carolyn Jones.
She appeared in the films Ten North Frederick
(1958) and Compulsion (movie)|Compulsion (1959)
and worked steadily until 1960. 

After she left Hollywood due to its negative
influence on her, she married Michael Hasuman who
later became a noted line producer for many
award-winning films. 

Science fiction and fantasy film fans probably
remember Varsi best as Valancy Carmody in The
People, a 1972 ABC-TV Movie of the Week based on a
story by Zenna Henderson about peaceful alien
refugees living on earth. Her portrayal of the
would-be Oldest One with a dead-flat affect but
compassionate expression and soft, recollected
speaking voice was partly caused by the death of
her father just after filming began. The director,
John Korty, appealed to her professionalism and
insisted on her completing the film despite her
trauma. Varsi was rendered virtually mute and had
to dub in her many of her voice parts later.   

In 1968, while working on the set of Wild In The
Streets Diane suffered extreme trauma to her
cervical spine, which led to long years of
misdiagnosed pain. In 1977, she contracted Lyme
disease and lived for five years in undiagnosed
and unremitting meningitis which to brought her
close to death several times. The Lymes disease,
combined with her neck injury, which had resulted
in numerous surgeries, was not diagnosed until
1989.

Another very brief but memorable Varsi role was
Sylvia in I Never Promised You A Rose Garden,
based on the Joanne Greenberg novel about a Jewish
teen whose allegiance to an alternate universe
called the Kingdom Of Yr has led to her being
diagnosed as a schizophrenic. In the book, Sylvia
was a patient in the mental hospital who
ordinarily stood frozen by the wall and very
rarely spoke, although completely aware of
everything around her. Varsi appears only for a
moment in the film and is almost unrecognizable;
Deborah, the central character, crumples in misery
on the floor of the dayroom, and Varsi breaks away
from the wall, kneels by Deborah's side, and
whispers a Roman Catholic blessing. It was the
last time she was seen on film.

Diane's favorite role was that of the nurse in
Johnny Got His Gun, which had been adapted from
the novel of the same name by Dalton Trumbo. 

Diane is survived by two children, son Shawn,
daughter Willo, and younger sister Gael.

Varsi's Lyme disease, contributed to her death
from respiratory failure.