Diana Alice Bellamy

 Diana Alice Bellamy (September 19, 1943 – June 17, 2001)

She was a character actress of stage, film, and television, during the 1980s and mid-2000s, who was often cast in both comedic and dramatic roles to great acclaim. Bellamy is perhaps best known for her starring role as Head Nurse Maggie Poole in the NBC comedy 13 East and Principal Cecilia Hall in Popular. She began her career with her own puppet theatre in her native Los Angeles and later began working professionally on the stage. Although she suffered from cancer, blindness, and diabetes, she never let her illnesses stop her from pursuing a career in acting and she later went on to appear in over 80 film and TV roles throughout the 1980s up until her death, some of which included Murder, She Wrote; Tall Tales and Legends; Matlock; Alien Nation; Married...with Children; Life Goes On; Family Ties; Murphy Brown; Baywatch; Grace Under Fire; and Wings, among other shows. She died from cancer at her home in Valley Village, California, on June 17, 2001, at the age of 57. Bellamy, in her own words, said of her health in a 1999 interview, "I had tried crying and being in a snit about blindness, but that was real boring. I've learned to live with it as best I can, and I feel very blessed that this has happened."