Anne Diamond - Biography

Anne Diamond Brownstone starred in 100's of radio shows in Hollywood opposite every major star of the day including John Wayne and Jimmy Stewart. She wrote and starred in early TV shows such as "Dragnet" "Burns and Allen" "The Nurses" and "Tombstone Territory" and on stage played opposite James Whitmore, Claire Trevor, and Robert Redford to name a few. Well-known in Hollywood and a regular leading actress at The Pasadena Playhouse, she was referred to as "The L'il Gem" in the column "The Boulevardier' from her maiden name "Diamond". She also did screen dubbing for Italian (Voice of Sylvano Mangano), French, Russian, Swedish, and German Films. While performing the season at Arena Stage, Producer Norman Kean and his wife Gwyda Kean introduced Anne to her husband Joseph Brownstone, an actor and director, who at the time was the stage manager for The Lunts in "The Visit". Joseph went on to become the top company manager for Sol Hurok Productions managing such theatrical troupes as The Bolshoi Ballet, The Royal Ballet, British Tournament and Tattoo and The Royal Highland Fusiliers. Considered theatre royalty, they toured the country with Sol Hurok's Productions and the first ever run of Disney on Parade along with their three children, until Joseph's sudden early death in 1970. During her hiatus from the stage to raise her children, Anne worked as Assistant to the President of Actors' Equity Association to Theodore Bikel, Ellen Burstyn and Colleen Dewhurst from 1974 to 1989 and was granted a Lifetime Membership to Actors' Equity by the Council for her devotion to actors and the Union. She returned to the stage in 1992 touring in such productions as Neil Simon's "Lost in Yonkers" and "Moon Over Buffalo". She is survived by her three children, Diana Brownstone, a Broadway Actress and Astrologer, Robert Brownstone, an attorney who is Technology and eDiscovery Counsel at Fenwick & West LLP, and Richard Brownstone, Upper School Dean/English Teacher at the Packer-Collegiate Institute, and their spouses and her three grandchildren.