{{Short description|American journalist and children's television creator (1926–2020)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2020}} [[File:Beryl_Bernal_copy.jpg|thumb|right|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 City|New York]]. Her parents were Russian-Jewish immigrants.<ref>{{Cite web|date=June 24, 2020|title=Beryl Bernay, 94, New York, N.Y.|url=https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/4791891/jewish/Beryl-Bernay-94-New-York-NY.htm|url-status=live|website=Chabad.org|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200926093756/https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/4791891/jewish/Beryl-Bernay-94-New-York-NY.htm |archive-date=September 26, 2020 }}</ref> 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.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Steinhauer |first=Jennifer |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/20/obituaries/beryl-bernay-dead-coronavirus.html |title=Beryl Bernay, Children's TV Host with a Varied Career, Dies at 94 |date=2020-04-20 |work=The New York Times |access-date=2020-04-22 |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200422074757/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/20/obituaries/beryl-bernay-dead-coronavirus.html |archive-date=April 22, 2020 |url-status=live }}</ref>
== Acting career== Bernay took acting classes, appearing on Broadway in ''Tonight in Samarkand'' in 1955 and later that year in [[American National Theater and Academy|ANTA]]'s Paris production of [[Thornton Wilder]]'s ''The Skin of Our Teeth''.<ref>{{Cite news |date=June 27, 1955 |title=Art by An Actress |publisher=The Westport Town Crier & Westporter-Herald |publication-place=Westport, Conn. |page=17, Section I}}</ref> 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.<ref name=carmichael2011>{{Citation |last=Carmichael |first=Isabel |year=2011 |title=Beryl Bernay: Ambassador Without Portfolio |publisher=The East Hampton Star |publication-place=East Hampton, N.Y. |page=C1}}</ref> She appeared on stage,<ref>{{Citation |date=June 17, 1959 |title=Stock Reviews, The Law and Mr. Simon |publication-place=Variety-New York, N.Y. |page=56}}; and {{Citation |date=August 27, 1959 |title=Sharon Ends Season With "Tunnel of Love" |publication-place=The Lakeville Journal-Sharon, Conn. |page=5}}</ref> television<ref name=doyle1962>{{Citation |last=Doyle |first=Jim |date=November 23, 1962 |title='All Join Hands' Show Is Designed To Enlighten Children |publication-place=Evening Sun-Baltimore, MD}}</ref> and radio<ref name=Etter1967>{{Citation| last=Etter |first=Betty |date=May 13, 1967 |title=People & Places |publisher=World Press Center |publication-place=The Overseas Press Bulletin-New York, N.Y. |page=8}}</ref><ref name="doyle1962"/> from the late 1950s through the 2000s.<ref>{{Citation |date=February 4, 1988 |title="A Busy Guild Hall" |publication-place=The East Hampton Star-East Hampton, N.Y. |page=II-SIX}} an {{Citation |date=August 3, 2000 |title="Fellow Travelers" |publication-place=The East Hampton Star-East Hampton, N.Y. |page=C2}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Citation |date=November 15, 2010 |title='Miracle Worker' Shines at Bay Street |publisher=27 East |publication-place=Southampton, N.Y. |url=https://www.27east.com/arts/miracle-worker-shines-at-bay-street-1370847/ |access-date=January 30, 2020}}</ref>
== Children's programming == Bernay was the creative force behind ''All Join Hands,'' America's first international children's television series.<ref name=carmichael2011/> She and her two puppet co-hosts narrated the show<ref name=":0" /> which introduced young people to cultures from around the world through story-telling, puppetry, artwork, songs, and games.<ref name=doyle1962/> The series was produced by the [[UNICEF|United Nation's Children's Fund]] and was broadcast weekend mornings on [[CBS]] from 1962 to 1965.<ref name=Evans2004>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thevillager.com/2004/10/westbeth-artist-reveals-a-remarkable-life/|title=Westbeth artist reveals a remarkable life|date=2004-10-05|website=The Villager|access-date=2020-04-22}}</ref> The studio audience consisted of children from the United Nations International School and public schools in Harlem and Chinatown.<ref name=doyle1962/>
Prior to creating ''All Join Hands,'' Bernay appeared in television programs geared at the young audience.<ref name=TVGuide1954/> She developed her craft of drawing on camera, story-telling and using puppets in her earlier program ''Merry-Go-Round-the-World''<ref name=Variety1960/> and while hosting the children's section of the New York television program ''Day Watch.''<ref name=carmichael2011/>
{| class="wikitable" |- | 1954 || [[Tom Corbett, Space Cadet]]<ref name=TVGuide1954>{{Citation |date=March 26, 1954 |title=Now There Are WOMEN DRIVERS Even In Space |publication-place=TV Guide-New York, N.Y. |page=12}}</ref> || [[NBC]]|| Betty |- |1959-1960 || Merry-Go-Round-the-World<ref name=Variety1960>{{Citation |date=January 13, 1960 |title=MERRY-GO-ROUND-THE-WORLD |publication-place=Variety-New York, N.Y. |page=31}}</ref> || [[WNTA|WNTA-TV]] || writer, narrator |- | 1960-1961 || Day Watch<ref name=carmichael2011/> || [[WNTA|WNTA-TV]] || children's host, artist, puppeteer |- | 1962-1964 || All Join Hands<ref name=doyle1962/> || [[WCBS-TV|WCBS]] || creator, writer, host, artwork<ref name=Green1963 /> |- | 1963-1964 || Birthday House<ref name=Green1963>{{Citation |last=Green |first=Ted |date=November 12, 1963 |title=Main Street |publication-place=Radio-Television Daily, New York, N.Y.}}</ref> || [[WNBC-TV|WNBC]] || writer, performer, artwork |- | 1966 || Let's Be Friends: India, Switzerland, Nigeria, Hawaii<ref name=Etter1967/> || MacMillan Films || creator, writer, artwork, host |}
Bernay's phonographs for children include: {| class="wikitable" |- | 1960 || ''Hi Neighbor: Songs and Dances from Five Countries Being Assisted by the United Nations Children's fund'' (five-record series)<ref name=doyle1962/> || Riverside Records, Diplomat Records || writer, performer |- | 1963 || ''All Join Hands with Beryl Berney''<ref name=carmichael2011/> || Diplomat Records || writer, performer |- | 1963 || ''A Child's Introduction to life in Spain and Brazil''<ref>{{Citation |last=Dickson Sheeby |first=Emma |date=June 1964 |title=Records For Your Children & You |publication-place=Parent's Magazine-New York, N.Y.}}</ref> || Rocking Horse Records || writer, performer |}
== Journalism == Bernay wrote and broadcast articles on domestic and international events, first as an independent photojournalist and later as a United Nations correspondent.<ref name=Evans2004/> As an independent journalist, Bernay wrote about women in politics,<ref>{{Citation |last=Berney |first=Beryl |date=October 1, 1967 |title=It Takes a Woman to Run A Country |publisher=Parade Magazine, Boston Sunday Globe |publication-place=New York, N.Y. |page=14}}</ref> human rights abuses,<ref name=Evans2004/> and politically sensitive topics.<ref name=OPC1980>{{Citation |date=September 1, 1980 |title=. . .and postscripts |publisher=Overseas Press Club Bulletin |publication-place=New York, N.Y. |page=4}}</ref> Her United Nations journalism primarily focused on Southeast Asia.<ref name=Hinkle2005>{{Citation |last=Hinkle |first=Annette |date=January 8, 2005 |title=Visions of Southeast Asia |publisher=The Sag Harbor Express |publication-place=Sag Harbor, N.Y. |page=7, Arts & Leisure}}</ref> Her articles and photographs have appeared as cover stories or features in numerous publications, including Newsweek,<ref name=carmichael2011 /> Time, Parade, the New York Times.,<ref name=Evans2004/> the Herald Tribune, Christian Science Monitor, and the UN Observer.<ref name=Rogers2004 />
=== Indonesia === Bernay had assignments in Indonesia every year from 1964 through 1978.<ref name=Onboard2004/> Her first professional photography assignment was in Bali in 1964 for Holiday Magazine.<ref name=Onboard2004>{{Citation |date=December 2004 |title=Beryl Bernay elements of culture |publisher=Onboard Publishing |publication-place=Hampton Jitney-New York, N.Y. |page=31}}</ref> It's reported that during this first Bali trip "Ms. Bernay's decades-long [journalism] career was launched," <ref name=Rogers2004>{{Citation |last=Rogers |first=Pat |date=December 16, 2004 |title=Photographer Brings Cultures into Focus |publication-place=Southampton Press-Southampton, N.Y.}}</ref> as it was then she met Indonesian [[Sukarno|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,<ref name=Rogers2004/> where she reported before, during, and after the [[September 30 Movement|October 1965 attempted coup]].
Bernay's political photographs of [[Sukarno|President Sukarno]] and [[Suharto|General Suharto]] are available through Getty images. Her landscape and cultural photographs serve to illustrate Ronald McKie's 1969 book ''Bali''.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Bali |last=McKie |first=Ronald |date=1969 |publisher=Angus and Robertson |others=Bernay, Beryl. |isbn=0-207-95235-3 |location=Sydney |pages=cover and all 49 photographs(unpaginated)}} and {{Citation |last=Taylor |first=Cheryl |year=2009 |title=Late Twentieth Century Catastrophes: The Novels of Ronald McKie |publication-place=JASAL: Journal of the Association for the Study of Australian Literature |page=14.5}}</ref> She included images of the 1966 cremation ceremony for Bali's King of Karangasem in her photography exhibitions.<ref name=Hinkle2005 />
Bernay took graduate courses in Cultural Anthropology with [[Margaret Mead|Dr. Margaret Mead]] at [[Columbia University]].<ref name=Rogers2004/> In 1977 Bernay went with [[Margaret Mead]] to help during the famed anthropologist's last field trip to [[Bali]].<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/nytimes/obituary.aspx?n=beryl-bernay&pid=196007609 |title=Beryl Bernay Obituary |date=April 19, 2020 |work=New York Times |access-date=April 22, 2020 }}</ref> Her photographs from this trip were exhibited at the [[Natural history museum|Museum of Natural History]] in New York.<ref name=":0" />
=== Civil rights === Bernay covered the May 1968 [[Poor People's Campaign|Poor People's March]] on Washington for Westinghouse Broadcasting and reported daily from Resurrection City, the temporary residence erected after the march in the Washington D.C. mall. Later that year, [[Andrew Young]] asked her to assist with the 1968 tribute to Dr. [[Martin Luther King Jr.]] at the [[Museum of Modern Art]].<ref name=carmichael2011/>
=== Broadcast === Bernay's international reporting<ref name=EtterJune67>{{Citation |last=Etter |first=Betty |date=June 10, 1967 |title=People & Places |publication-place=The Overseas Press Bulletin, New York, N.Y. |page=8}}</ref> was broadcast by multiple radio and television stations, including [[Westinghouse Broadcasting|Group W Radio News]],<ref name=Etter1967/> [[NPR|National Public Radio]], [[Public Radio International]], [[Metromedia|Metromedia Television]], [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]], and [[NBC|NBC Radio and Television]].<ref name=Rogers2004 />
== Painting and photography == Though mostly a self-taught painter, as a young woman Bernay studied at [[Cooper Union]] and [[Art Students League of New York|The Art Students League]].<ref name=carmichael2011/> Without formal training in photography, Bernay captured portraits of celebrities including [[Pablo Picasso]], [[Marc Chagall]], [[Ingrid Bergman]], [[Maurice Chevalier]], and [[Bertolt Brecht]].<ref name=AAEH2001>{{Citation |date=November 2001 |title=AAEH Members Exhibition |publication-place=The Artists Alliance of East Hampton, East Hampton, N.Y. |page=3}}</ref> Bernay's international photographs include the Far East, Mexico and France.<ref>{{Citation |last=Wolberg Weiss |first=Marion |date=December 24, 2004 |title=Arts & Galleries ART COMMENTARY With Marion Wolberg Weiss Photography at Local Venues: Tulla Booth Gallery and Rogers Memorial Library |publication-place=Dan's Papers, East Hampton, N.Y. |page=55}}</ref> Her Balinese photographs were exhibited in the [[Louisiana Museum of Modern Art]] in Denmark.<ref name=portfolio2006>{{Citation |date=August 24, 2006 |title=Portfolio Beryl Bernay |publication-place=The East Hampton Star, East Hampton, N.Y. |page=C6}}</ref>
Bernay's fine art awards and exhibitions include: {| class="wikitable sortable" |- | 1959 || ACA Gallery<ref name=doyle1962/> || Painting, First Prize || New York, NY |- | 1960 || [[National Academy of Design|National Academy of Art]]<ref name=doyle1962/> || Painting || New York, NY |- | 1961 || [[National Audubon Society|Audubon Society]]<ref name=doyle1962/> || Painting || New York, NY |- | 1977 || [[Louisiana Museum of Modern Art]]<ref name=portfolio2006/> || Bali Exhibition, Solo Show, continuous slide show of 150 photographs || Denmark |- | 1985 || [[World Conference on Women, 1985]]<ref name=Nairobi>{{Citation |date=July 18, 1985 |title=Beryl Bernay's mural-sized photographs |publication-place=The East Hampton Star, East Hampton, N.Y. |page=II-SIX}}</ref> || Poster Photograph and Exhibit || Nairobi, Kenya |- | 1985-2009 || Ashawagh Hall<ref name=Nairobi/><ref>{{Citation |date=May 2001 |title=Town Hall Exhibit |publisher=The Artists Alliance of East Hampton |publication-place=East Hampton, N.Y. |page=1}}</ref> || Paintings || Springs, NY |- | 1986 || [[The Children's Museum of Indianapolis]]<ref>{{Citation |date=December 25, 1985 |title=A Photograph of a Mexican Indian |publication-place=The East Hampton Star-East Hampton, N.Y. |page=II-FIVE}}</ref> || 15 Photographs || Indianapolis, IN |- | 2000 || Grandmother Winifred Award<ref name=AAEH2001 /> || Photography || Sag Harbor, NY |- | 2001 || [[New York Foundation for the Arts]]<ref name=AAEH2001 /> || Photography || New York NY |- | 2004 || Westbeth Gallery<ref name=Evans2004 /> || Solo Show, "World Untied" || New York, NY |- | 2005 || [[Guild Hall of East Hampton|Guild Hall Museum's]] Artists Members Show<ref>{{Citation |last=Long |first=Robert |date=May 26, 2005 |title=Many Ways of Seeing |publisher=The Southampton Press |publication-place=East Southampton, N.Y. |page=C1}}</ref> || Painting, Honorable Mention || East Hampton, NY |- | 2011 || Southampton Cultural Center<ref>{{Citation |date=September 16, 2011 |title=SCC's Annual Juried Art Exhibition |publisher=Patch, Neighbor News |url=https://www.patch.com/new-york/southampton/ev--sccs-annual-juried-art-exhibition/ |access-date=March 2, 2020}}</ref> || 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]].<ref name=":0" />
== References == {{Reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bernay, Beryl}} [[Category:1926 births]] [[Category:2020 deaths]] [[Category:American children's television presenters]] [[Category:American people of Russian-Jewish descent]] [[Category:American women television hosts]] [[Category:American women photographers]] [[Category:Jewish American journalists]] [[Category:Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in New York (state)]]