Dana Hill - Wikipedia

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American actress (1964–1996)

Dana Hill
Hill in 1982
Born	Dana Lynne Goetz[1](1964-05-06)May 6, 1964[1]Los Angeles, California, U.S.[1]
Died	July 15, 1996(1996-07-15) (aged 32)Burbank, California, U.S.
Other names	Dana Hill-Goetz
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1978–1996
Known for	Audrey Griswold in National Lampoon's European Vacation, Max Goof in Goof Troop
Television	See below
Awards	1986 - L.A. Drama Critics Circle, Best Featured Actress for "Picnic" 1982 - Young Artist Award, Best Actress for "Fallen Angel"

Dana Hill (born Dana Lynne Goetz; May 6, 1964 – July 15, 1996) was an American actress. She was known for playing Audrey Griswold in National Lampoon's European Vacation, and also known for her roles in Shoot the Moon and Cross Creek. As a voice actress, she was known for her work as Max Goof in Goof Troop. Hill had type one diabetes that affected physical growth, which meant that she often played children into her adolescence and beyond.

Life and career

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1964–1981: Early life and career

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Dana Lynne Goetz was born on May 6, 1964, in the neighborhood of Encino in Los Angeles, California, to Theodore Arthur "Ted" Goetz, a director of commercials, and Sandy Hill.[2][3] Excelling at swimming, basketball, and track,[3] Hill placed third nationwide in the 880-yard run and fourth in the mile run at the age of ten.[4] A few weeks later, she collapsed on the track, after which she was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.[3]

Standing under 5 feet 2 inches (1.57 metres),[3] the disease caused her to stop growing for two years before being detected.[5] Neglecting the disease at first, Hill adapted a sugar-free diet and daily insulin shots after being hospitalized many times.[3][4] Hill gave up athletics after her physical strength deteriorated from the diabetes.[3] Inspired by Mary Tyler Moore, Hill acted in theatrical productions in Cal Prep High School in Van Nuys, and several commercials.[3][4] Hill graduated in 1981.[3]

1981–1987: Breakthrough roles

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Hill landed a major role in The Two of Us (1981–1982) as Gabrielle "Gabby" Gallagher.[3] While filming this series, the 17-year-old Hill would sometimes be pulled over by the police while driving to the studio because she looked too young to drive.[4] Her breakthrough role was in the 1981 television film Fallen Angel. The 17-year-old Hill played 12-year-old molestation victim Jennifer Phillips, a role that earned her a Young Artist Award for Best Young Actress in a Television Special.[6]

In 1982, Hill played Sherry Dunlap in Shoot the Moon. The same year, she played Frankie Addams, the lead character in the made-for-TV adaptation of The Member of the Wedding, co-starring with Pearl Bailey. She starred with Rip Torn and Mary Steenburgen in the 1983 film Cross Creek, a semi-biographical story about Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, author of The Yearling.

In 1982 and 1983, Hill made two guest appearances in the TV series The Fall Guy. In season 1, episode 18 "Child's Play", she played a young girl called Libby. In season 2, episode 20 "P.S. I Love You" she had the role of 21-year-old stuntwoman Cassie Farraday. In 1983, she made a guest appearance on Magnum, P.I. in the episode "Basket Case". She played Willie, a 13-year-old foster child who joined Magnum's youth basketball team.

At age 19, she starred in a 1984 CBS Schoolbreak Special titled Welcome Home, Jellybean, playing Geraldine "Jellybean" Oxley, a 12-year-old developmentally disabled girl whose parents take her out of an institution so she can experience a normal home life. The same year, she appeared in Shelley Duvall's 1980s children's TV series Faerie Tale Theatre, playing the princess in an episode titled "The Boy Who Left Home to Find Out About the Shivers". In 1986, she had another role in the TV series The Fall Guy. She appeared in the episode "Tag Team".

After being as cast as Audrey Grisworld in National Lampoon's European Vacation, Hill acted in a few roles on television before quitting due to a deteriorating appearance caused by her kidneys.[3] At the age of 22, an agent persuaded her to do voice acting after watching her performance in the Los Angeles stage production of Picnic.[3]

1987–1996: Voice acting roles

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Beginning in 1987, she provided the voice for Scrappy, the orphan mouse, on eight episodes of Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures. She also provided the voice of Toots in the episode "The Bright Eyes Mob" for Pound Puppies. She was Teddy-2 in Jetsons: The Movie (1990); from 1989–1991 she voiced Buddy on the animated children's television show Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears, in 1991 was the voice of Tank Muddlefoot on Darkwing Duck and in 1992–1993 was the voice of Max on Goof Troop. She was also the speaking voice of Tim (Tom's proclaimed twin brother) in Tom and Jerry Kids. Her voice was featured as Jerry Mouse in Tom and Jerry: The Movie, Norton in the DIC cartoon What-a-Mess, and Charles Duckman in Duckman until her death in 1996. She was also a semi-regular panelist on the 1990s version of To Tell the Truth.

Hill also was a celebrity guest on the game shows Hot Potato (hosted by Bill Cullen), Body Language (hosted by Tom Kennedy) and on the 1990 version of To Tell the Truth.

Death

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Casting directors stopped hiring Hill as her body deteriorated over time.[3] In 1996, Hill started to take antidepressants to combat mood swings.[3] After being hospitalized for suffering a stomach disease and mood swings many times, Hill entered a diabetic coma in May,[3] followed by a massive stroke on June 5.[3] Hill died on July 15, at age 32 at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, California,[3][7] and her remains were cremated.[1]

Filmography

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Film

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Year	Title	Role	Notes
1982	Shoot the Moon	Sherry Dunlap
1983	Cross Creek	Ellie Turner
1985	Waiting to Act	Dana
	National Lampoon's European Vacation	Audrey Griswold
1990	Jetsons: The Movie	Teddy 2	Voice[8]
1991	Rover Dangerfield	Danny
1992	Tom and Jerry: The Movie	Jerry Mouse
1996	The Hunchback of Notre Dame	Additional Voices	Voice
2000	An Extremely Goofy Movie	Young Max Goof	Voice, archival recording

Television

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Year	Title	Role	Notes
1978	Mork & Mindy	Girl Scout	Episode: "Mork the Gullible"
1979	The Paul Williams Show	Debbie	TV film
	Featherstone's Nest	Courtney Featherstone
	The French Atlantic Affair	Maggie Joy	TV miniseries
1980	The $5.20 an Hour Dream	Kim Lissick	TV film
	The Kids Who Knew Too Much	Foxy Cooper
	ABC Afterschool Special	Michelle Mudd	Episode: "What Are Friends For?"
	Family	Martha	Episode: "Smarts"
1981	Fallen Angel	Jennifer Phillips	TV film
1981–1982	The Two of Us	Gabrielle "Gabby" Gallagher	Main role; 20 episodes
1982	The Member of the Wedding	Frankie Addams	TV film
1982, 1983, 1986	The Fall Guy	Libby, Cassie Farraday, Loser	3 episodes
1983	Magnum, P.I.	Willie	Episode: "Basket Case"
	Branagan and Mapes	Gussie Mapes	TV short
1984	CBS Schoolbreak Special	Geraldine "Jellybean" Oxley	Episode: "Welcome Home, Jellybean"
	Silence of the Heart	Cindy Lewis	TV film
1984, 1985	Faerie Tale Theatre	Princess Amanda, Guest Interviewee	2 episodes
1986	Picnic	Millie Owens	TV film
	Combat Academy	Cadet Sergeant Andrea Pritchett
1987	Pound Puppies	Toots / Colin	Voice, 2 episodes
1987–1988	Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures	Orphan Scrappy / Kid Mouse	Voice, 19 episodes
1988	The Flintstone Kids' Just Say No Special	Stoney	Voice, TV film
	The Adventures of Raggedy Ann and Andy	Raggedy Dog	Voice
	Fantastic Max	XS	Voice, 3 episodes
1989	Marvin, Baby of the Year	Marvin Miller	Voice, TV short
1990	Bobby's World	Markie	Voice, 4 episodes
	Sugar and Spice	Ginger	7 episodes
1990, 1991	Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears	Buddy Gummi	Voice, 2 episodes
1990–1991	Widget	Kevin	Voice, 14 episodes
1991	Final Verdict	Francy	TV film
	Darkwing Duck	Tank Muddlefoot	Voice, 11 episodes
	The Legend of Prince Valiant	Young Valiant	Voice, episode: "The Gift"
1991–1994	Rugrats	Various Characters	Voice, 8 episodes[8]
1992	P.J. Sparkles	Sparks	Voice, TV film[8]
	Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles	Foster Fenwick	Voice, episode: "Too Hot to Handle"
1992	Goof Troop	Max Goof	Voice, main role; 70 episodes
1993–1994	The Pink Panther	Additional voices	Voice
	Sonic the Hedgehog	Baby TYoung Sally
1993	Bonkers	Timmy	Voice, 2 episodes
	Droopy, Master Detective	Additional Voices	Voice
1994	Beethoven	Timmy / Bully	Voice, 2 episodes
1994–1997	Duckman	Charles	Voice, main role; 46 episodes
1995–1996	What-a-Mess	Norton / Archbishop of Canterbury	Voice, 4 episodes
1996	The Hot Rod Dogs and Cool Car Cats	Hot Rod	Voice, 7 episodes
	Adventures from the Book of Virtues	Joe Harper	Voice, episode: "Work"; Posthumous release
	The Spooktacular New Adventures of Casper	Wee Willie Winkle	Voice, episode: "Leave It to Casper"; Posthumous release

References

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1. ^ a b c d "Dana Hill Biography". dLife. December 30, 2013. Archived from the original on May 7, 2012. Retrieved December 29, 2014.
2. ^ "Theodore (Ted) Goetz Obituary". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. July 24, 2012. Retrieved August 10, 2020 – via Legacy.com.
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Lipton, Michael A. (August 12, 1996). "Fighting Spirit". People. Vol. 46, no. 7. Archived from the original on March 30, 2011. Retrieved August 10, 2020.
4. ^ a b c d Bacon, Doris Klein (March 8, 1982). "Diabetes Has Slowed Her Growth but Not Her Talent — Dana Hill Is Big Enough to Shoot the Moon Vol. 17, no. 9. Archived September 24, 2015, at the Wayback Machine". People. Retrieved August 10, 2020.
5. ^ Richey, Rodney (July 17, 1983). "Confidence Personified: Actress Dana Hill Believes in Addage of Making Own Breaks". The Star Press. p. B7. Retrieved November 14, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
6. ^ "Young Artist Award website". Archived from the original on April 2, 2011. Retrieved January 16, 2010.
7. ^ "Dana Hill Goetz; Award-Winning Actress". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. July 27, 1996. Retrieved November 17, 2025.
8. ^ a b c "Dana Hill (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved November 9, 2024. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.

External links

[edit] Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dana Hill.

• Dana Hill at IMDb

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