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Bunny Summers
American actress From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Bunny Summers (born Bernice Siegel; February 23, 1924 – September 9, 2010) was an American character actress known for her work in stage and screen productions from the 1940s through the 1990s. Active in both professional and community theater, she was a frequent performer in Los Angeles-area productions and later appeared in regional theaters across the United States. Her screen credits include roles in The Last Starfighter (1984), Re-Animator (1985), From Beyond (1986), and Merlin’s Shop of Mystical Wonders (1995).
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Early life
Bunny Summers was born Bernice Siegel February 23, 1924 in Brooklyn, New York. She began performing at the age of 13 on the Borscht Belt circuit in New York, an early proving ground for many American entertainers.[1]
By the early 1960s, she had relocated to Sherman Oaks, California, where she raised three daughters and became active in local theater. She was known professionally as Bunny Summers, but was often credited in community roles as Mrs. Ben Sussman.[2]
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Theater career
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Summers gained prominence in Los Angeles’s theater scene throughout the 1960s and 1970s. In 1965, she starred as a teacher in Dear Me, the Sky Is Falling at the Players Ring-Gallery Theatre in Hollywood, a performance highlighted in the Los Angeles Times and other Valley newspapers.[3][4]
In July 1973, she played the lead role of Minnie Marx in the West Coast premiere of Minnie’s Boys, a musical based on the early life of the Marx Brothers. The production took place at the Academy Theatre in Chatsworth, California, and featured Summers prominently in promotional materials and reviews.[5][6]
Summers continued acting on stage throughout the 1970s and 1980s, including a performance in Come Blow Your Horn at the 565 Broadway Dinner Theater in Tacoma, Washington, in 1979.[7]
In 1991, she portrayed Golde in Fiddler on the Roof at the Jupiter Theatre in Jupiter, Florida, opposite Marty Ross as Tevye. Though one critic noted limitations in her singing voice, her stage presence was praised.[8][9]
In 1998, her appearance in Merlin’s Shop of Mystical Wonders was promoted in UK television listings, with her name among the lead cast.[10]
Her television credits reportedly include guest roles on popular shows such as Family Ties, Seinfeld, Married... with Children, The Facts of Life, Saved by the Bell, and ALF.
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Personal life
Bunny Summers was married and known socially as Mrs. Ben Sussman. She was an active member of the Cadenzas, the women’s auxiliary of the San Fernando Valley Symphony Association, and often participated in benefit performances for local arts organizations.[1]
Death
Summers died on September 9, 2010, in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles. She is interred at Eden Memorial Park in Mission Hills, California.
Filmography
Film
Television
Stage credits
- Dear Me, the Sky Is Falling (1965) – Players Ring-Gallery Theatre, Hollywood
- Minnie’s Boys (1973) – Minnie Marx, Academy Theatre, Chatsworth
- Come Blow Your Horn (1979) – 565 Broadway Dinner Theater, Tacoma
- Fiddler on the Roof (1991) – Golde, Jupiter Theatre, Florida
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References
External links
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