ACTRESS Diana Douglas, the first wife of Kirk Douglas and the mother of Michael Douglas, has died. She was 92.

    Douglas, who was married to the legendary actor from 1943 until their divorce in 1951, and then starred in two films with him, died Friday from cancer at the Motion Picture and Television Home in Woodland Hills, said Donald Webster, her husband of 15 years.

    In the 2003 film “It Runs in the Family,” about a dysfunctional New York clan, Diana played devoted matriarch Evelyn Gromberg opposite Kirk as her husband, Michael (who also produced the movie) as her son and Cameron Douglas (Michael’s son with Diandra Douglas) as her grandson. Joel Douglas, her other child with Kirk, served as an associate producer. It was her final film.

    Kirk, now 98, married Anne Buydens in 1954, and they recently celebrated their 61st wedding anniversary. In 1956, Diana wed Bill Darrid, a Broadway producer and novelist who helped raise her two young boys. Their marriage ended with his death in 1992.

    “I’ve always enjoyed Kirk’s sense of humor, even when I was angriest at him,” Diana said in a 2011 interview. “He could always make me laugh, somehow, which annoyed the hell out of me. But then I think we both decided too, when the time of divorce came, that we had to maintain a certain amount of civility because of the children.”

    Born in Devonshire, Bermuda, she moved to New York and met Kirk while they were studying acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.

    She appeared in 22 films, many TV series and Broadway plays.

    (SD-Agencies)