Donna DeMeo is a major antagonist of the Hulu series, Only Murders In The Building, acting as the secondary antagonist of season three. She is the co-producer of Oliver's play, Death Rattle Dazzle The Musical, and the mother of producer, Clifford DeMeo.
She is portrayed by Linda Emond.
Biography[]
Early Life[]
After Cliff was born, Donna became overprotective over Cliff and stood by him at all times. Donna had breastfed Cliff until he was eight years old. According to Donna, she was a producer for fourty years often taking up big projects. While Donna's plays were showing on stage, Cliff sat above the stage and watched her plays whilst eating a bag of Twizzlers and pretending he was the conductor.
Only Murders In The Building[]
Donna and Cliff had signed on to produce Death Rattle but Donna was insistent that Cliff would be producing on his own for the first time but she would be co-producer. On opening night, Donna ordered custom-made Schmackeries with rattles on them to celebrate the show's debut. Cliff became nervous about the show doing well so Donna spoke with him and told him that his show would be a hit. When Ben Glenroy, who was the lead actor in the play, approached Donna and Cliff, Donna made a remark about how Ben looked. Donna advised Ben to go to his dressing room and be kind to himself in order to get himself ready and pumped up for the show.
After Ben Glenroy collapsed on stage and died, Oliver sent everybody to his place for the party that he planned. However, Donna and Cliff told Oliver that it would be the end of the play but Oliver tried to convince Donna otherwise. Ben then showed up at the party, which shocked everyone including Donna. He revealed that his stomach was pumped and insisted on getting checked out of the hospital so he could celebrate with the cast. Ben then apologised to everyone about his revolting behaviour and apologised to Donna and Cliff, although he forgot Cliff's name. After the speech, Donna and Cliff agreed that the show was back on.
After Ben was pushed down the elevator shaft, Donna and Cliff attended Ben's funeral together. Oliver called Donna later that night and said he'd had an idea to reimagine Death Rattle as a musical. Donna and Cliff decided to hear Oliver's idea out. Oliver continued to write music for Death Rattle Dazzle and showed Cliff and Donna the little pieces that he had. Donna was unimpressed with his idea but Cliff was all for it. Donna told Oliver that he needed a showstopper and he promised her a whole show filled with showstoppers. Donna agreed to give Oliver three days to put his musical into action.
After three days, Donna and Cliff watched as Loretta performed Look For The Light. Donna was unimpressed and wanted to walk away but Cliff said she'd taught him not to give up on something that he loved and that he loved the idea of the musical. After Charles had decided to leave the show due to conflicts, Donna helped Oliver hold auditions to replace Charles. Cliff decided to call Matthew Broderick, whom he met at a Ritz Carlton. When Broderick easily mastered the song, Oliver grew frustrated with his dedication to getting every single detail correct and fired him and re-hired Charles.
During the sitzprobe, Donna confronted Oliver about Maxine's appearance at the show. Oliver told Donna that he invited her because she was going to pan the original show and wanted to show her the changes that he made to improve it. Donna was upset that Maxine was there alongside the cops. In the bathroom, Donna told Loretta that they had made a big swing to save the show and if it weren't for Cliff, she would have probably called the show off. Before Dickie could be arrested for Ben's murder, Loretta confessed to protect Dickie. After Howard managed to get Maxine's original review out of the shredder, the trio realised that Donna must have seen that Ben was ruining the show so she shredded the review and put rat poison in his cookies which she left in his dressing room.
When the trio rushed to prevent Loretta from pleading guilty, the trio saw Donna at her arraignment which shocked them. Before opening night, the trio managed to trap Donna whilst putting on a performance to try and get her to confessed. Donna then got frustrated and ended up confessing to poisoning Ben immediately. Donna told them that she put rat poison in his cookies and wasn't trying to kill him but she was just trying to make him sick so he doesn't ruin the show. Donna also confesses that she pushed Ben down the elevator after Charles shows her the handkerchief with her lipstick on it. Donna then tells them not to call the police so that Cliff can have his moment on opening night. Donna reveals that she has stage-four lung cancer and that she will not be fleeing and will turn herself in.
During opening night, Donna tells Cliff that she confessed to Ben's murder and will be turning herself in after the show. Cliff then started crying and runs to the top of the building above the stage. When Mabel finds Cliff, she realises that Donna placed the handkerchief in Cliff's front pocket after kissing it. Mabel then discovers that Cliff pushed Ben down the elevator shaft and Donna confessed to protect her son. Cliff confesses to Ben's murder and claims that it was an accident. He tells Mabel that Ben was going to have Donna arrested and was making fun of him for being a momma's boy. Cliff then threatened to commit suicide but Donna found him and rescued him before they shared a hug. After curtain call, Donna and Cliff get taken away in cuffs and share one last kiss before being separated.
[]
 Villains
| ||
|
Season 1 Season 2 Season 3 Season 4 Season 5 | ||