Diane McBain, an actress who rose to prominence in the 60s has died. She was 81.
McBain's death occurred on Wednesday following a battle with liver cancer. Her writing partner, Michael Gregg Michaud, told The Hollywood Reporter that she was at her home in the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, Calif., at the time of her death.
Prior to her death, he went on her Facebook account on Nov. 18 to express that she was ill and in "a bit of a rough patch."
Though a representative for Michaud did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment, he shared on Instagram that his "heart is heavy" following her death.
He added, "My dear friend, and creative partner, actress Diane McBain, passed away peacefully today at the Motion Picture Home in Woodland Hills. She lost her bravely fought battle against liver cancer. I'll miss her terribly."
McBain's career began at the age of 17 after a talent agent scouted her during a high school theater performance. Following a short stint as a model in commercials and print ads, she made her television debut in 1959 on the western series Maverick and appeared in the television series 77 Sunset Strip the following year.
After finding success on television, she landed her first film role in the 1960 historical drama Ice Palace, which she credits as the reason for signing a talent contract early in her career.
"I was doing a play, and the talent guy at Warner Bros. came to see it," she explained to Fox News in May.
"He saw me and thought I would be the perfect fit for a film called Ice Palace, which starred Richard Burton. It was about the statehood of Alaska. I remember there were quite a few wonderful actors involved with the project. The fact that they signed me to this contract at Warner Bros. to do this film was quite astonishing. I played the granddaughter in that movie."
Upon signing her contract, McBain's star quickly rose, being given a role on Surfside 6, working alongside Van Williams and Tory Donahue, and starring in more films that included 1966's Spinout, with Elvis Presley where she starred as an author fighting for his attention alongside Shelley Fabares and Deborah Walley.
The musical was followed by another role next to a similar pop-culture icon, Adam West, in the 1966 live adaptation of Batman.
As her career continued, she had a brief two-year marriage in 1972 with fellow actor Rodney Burke, and gave birth to her son, Evan Burke, in 1973. Her most recent projects include her 2014 autobiography, Famous Enough: A Hollywood Memoir, co-written with Michaud, and her first novel, The Laughing Bear, in 2020.
