Beryl Bernay

Beryl Bernay (March 2, 1926 – March 29, 2020) was an American journalist and children's television creator, as well as a painter and photographer.

Early life Bernay was born Beryl Bernstein in Brooklyn, New York. Her parents were Russian-Jewish immigrants. Her father was a garment worker, and her mother, Sade, sold stockings and taught kindergarten. Her father changed the family name to Berney when Beryl was a child, but Beryl changed the spelling to Bernay when she reached adulthood.

Acting career Bernay took acting classes, appearing on Broadway in Tonight in Samarkand in 1955 and later that year in ANTA's Paris production of Thornton Wilder's The Skin of Our Teeth. She returned to Broadway in 1957 as the narrator in The Dancers of Bali and toured with the production in the United States and Canada. She appeared on stage, television and radio Her last television appearance was in 1983 as the librarian in a Law and Order episode (Season 3, Episode 13), her last stage performance was as Aunt Ev in the 2010 production of The Miracle Worker at The Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor, New York.

Children's programming Bernay was the creative force behind All Join Hands, America's first international children's television series. The studio audience consisted of children from the United Nations International School and public schools in Harlem and Chinatown.

Journalism Bernay wrote and broadcast articles on domestic and international events, first as an independent photojournalist and later as a United Nations correspondent. human rights abuses, Her United Nations journalism primarily focused on Southeast Asia. Her articles and photographs have appeared as cover stories or features in numerous publications, including Newsweek, It's reported that during this first Bali trip "Ms. Bernay's decades-long [journalism] career was launched," as it was then she met Indonesian President Sukarno and their professional relationship began. Already on contract with CBS for her children's show, Bernay pitched the story of the impending Indonesian regime change. She reports that CBS agreed because Sukarno assured Bernay he would grant her exclusive interviews. After briefly training Bernay in broadcast journalism, CBS sent her to Jakarta, Indonesia in 1965, She included images of the 1966 cremation ceremony for Bali's King of Karangasem in her photography exhibitions. Her photographs from this trip were exhibited at the Museum of Natural History in New York. was broadcast by multiple radio and television stations, including Group W Radio News, Bernay captured portraits of celebrities including Pablo Picasso, Marc Chagall, Ingrid Bergman, Maurice Chevalier, and Bertolt Brecht. Bernay's international photographs include the Far East, Mexico and France. Her Balinese photographs were exhibited in the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Denmark.

Bernay's fine art awards and exhibitions include: 1959 ACA Gallery Poster Photograph and Exhibit Nairobi, Kenya 1985-2009 Ashawagh Hall Paintings Springs, NY 1986 The Children's Museum of Indianapolis 15 Photographs Indianapolis, IN 2000 Grandmother Winifred Award Painting, Honorable Mention East Hampton, NY 2011 Southampton Cultural Center Painting, Honorable Mention Southampton, NY

Death Bernay died from COVID-19 complications at the age of 94 in Manhattan on March 29, 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City.