Leah Bernstein

1921 - 2020

March 28, 1921 - April 23, 2020 Leah Bernstein, 99, passed away on April 23, 2020, from complications from Covid-19. Growing up in Los Angeles, Leah always loved movies and aspired to a career in Hollywood. When she was 16, she began working after school, from 5pm to midnight, at MGM Studios. She put herself through Woodbury Business College and became an executive secretary. She spent her career working with entertainment industry executives, including renowned animator Ralph Bakshi and award-winning producer/director Stanley Kramer, with whom she worked on 28 films. She counted some of Hollywood's biggest stars, such as Sidney Poitier and Vivien Leigh, as her friends. To an interviewer Leah once noted, "I remember Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney playing outside the window, and Katharine Hepburn was always trying to get me to play tennis." After her retirement, Leah dedicated her time to volunteering at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the Beverly Hills Public Library. Leah was devoted to her family. She is survived by her nephew Rodger Brown (Bonnie), her three grand-nieces and nephews, and nine great-grand nieces and nephews, all of whom loved her very much. We are especially grateful to the heroic staff at the Wasserman Campus of the Motion Picture and Television Fund who risked their own safety in these past weeks as they cared for Leah so well. Due to the current gathering restrictions, there will not be a public memorial. Remembrances in Leah's honor may be made to the Covid-19 Emergency Relief funds at the Discovery Eye Foundation (discoveryeye.org) and the Motion Picture and Television Fund (mptf.org).