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BERNAY -- Lynn Bernay, dancer, actor, artist, film costumer, and raconteur, died December 9, 2008 after a brief struggle with brain cancer. Lynn led a rich and colorful life full of professional achievements and the personal rewards of developing and nurturing numerous friends. Lynn was born in the Bronx, New York on August 18, 1931. In 1947, at the age of 16, she began a professional dance career as a Radio City Rockette, and went on to dance in Can Can and other musical hits on Broadway, as well as the movie adaptations of Guys and Dolls, The Pajama Game, and many more. She danced throughout the 50s and 60s in films such as Singing in the Rain, and the Alan Freed series of four movies, including Don't Knock the Rock, among others. Lynn also danced at the Copa Cabana, and in most well known TV variety shows of the period including the Ed Sullivan Show, the Milton Berle Show, and the Jackie Gleason Show. During this period Lynn acted in movies and on TV. Looking to re-invent herself, at the suggestion of Jack Nicholson on Drive, He Said, she shifted from performing to costume supervising and design. Lynn designed feature films including Untamed Heart, Home Alone, and Hearts of the West. As a member of the Local 480 (Film Union), she costumed TV movies in New Mexico. All who had the opportunity to work with her will remember Lynn as a bold, decisive, innovative and imaginative force. Her creativity, energy and zest for life made her seem, at times, larger than life. Many will also pay tribute to Lynn for her artwork. She was an accomplished painter, printmaker and mixed media artist. Her work often addressed social and political issues, and is included in collections at several Hilton Hotels, Mobil Oil Corporation, Cincinnati Airport, and Quail Run Development, in Santa Fe. Galleries in Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico represented her. Lynn served as a volunteer teaching art to children in South Africa; she brought solace to patients at the cancer center at St. Vincent's Hospital; and was a Big Sister. Lynn was an original. She had the mouth of a sailor, the soul of an artist, the face of an angel, the compassion of a saint, the courage of a lion, and a heart as big as the world. Milton Berle described her as, "one of the funniest woman I know,"-something her friends can attest to, as they recall rolling on the floor and convulsing with laughter at her humor. Lynn is survived by her sister, Carol Schwirck her brother-in-law Steve; niece Jessica Letson and husband Ben; grand-nieces Hope and Kelly Letson; and friends too numerous to mention. A Memorial Ceremony will be held at 1 p.m. on Sunday, December 21, 2008, at Santa Fe Center for Spiritual Living, 505 Camino de Los Marquez. An Open House will follow at Lynn's home. In lieu of flowers, kindly make donations to the non-profit, volunteer hospice organization: Coming Home Connection, Inc., 418 Cerrillos Road, Santa Fe, NM 87501
        Published on: Sun December 21, 2008