Susan Bernard

{{Infobox person

| name = Susan Bernard

| image = Susan Bernard in Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (1965).jpg

| caption = Susan Bernard in Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!

| birth_name = Susan Lynn Bernard

| birth_date = {{birth date|1948|2|11}}

| birth_place = Los Angeles, California, U.S.

| spouse = {{marriage|Jason Miller
|1974|1983|end=divorced}}

| children = Joshua John Miller

| death_date = {{Death date and age|2019|6|21|1948|2|11}}

| death_place =Los Angeles, California, U.S.

| occupation = Author, businesswoman, actress, model

| website = {{Website defunct|bernardofhollywood.com}}

}}

Susan Lynn Bernard (February 11, 1948 – June 21, 2019){{cite web|url=http://wekinglypigs.com/cgi-bin/nand/search/pmstat?browse=%3A%3ACONFIG%3A%3Amodelbrowse&key=bernard%2C+susan&limit=0|title=Playmate data|accessdate=February 5, 2010}} was an American author, actress, model and businesswoman from Los Angeles, California. She was the daughter of photographer Bruno Bernard.{{cite news|last=Beggs|first=Alexandra|url=http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/features/2011/10/marilyn-monroe-201110#/slide=1|title=Marilyn Monroe: The Metamorphosis|work=Vanity Fair|date=2011-09-28}}

Career

Susan Bernard was the author of six books, including Marilyn: Intimate Exposures, Bernard of Hollywood's Ultimate Pin-Up Book and Joyous Motherhood.

She was the president of Bernard of Hollywood/Renaissance Road Incorporated.{{cite news|last=Nadler|first=Art|url=http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/1996/dec/26/mgm-exhibit-to-host-bernards-lv-photos|title=MGM Exhibit To Host Bernard's LV Photos|work=Las Vegas Sun|date=1996-12-26}}

Bernard starred in the Russ Meyer film Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! in 1965,{{cite news|last=Knolle|first=Sharon|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/19/susan-bernard-marilyn-intimate-exposures_n_1363928.html|title=Susan Bernard, 'Marilyn, Intimate Exposures' Author, Looks Back On 'Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!'|work=The Huffington Post|date=2012-03-19}} and in two seasons of General Hospital in the late 1960s.

She appeared in Playboy in December 1966, and was believed to be the first Jewish Playmate of the month, though in recent years Cindy Fuller, Miss May 1959, has claimed that she was the first Jewish Playmate.{{Cite web|url=http://www.laweekly.com/columns/a-considerable-town/icon-love-susan-of-hollywood/10257|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080306112929/http://www.laweekly.com/columns/a-considerable-town/icon-love-susan-of-hollywood/10257/|url-status=dead|title=The Essential Online Resource for Los Angeles|archivedate=March 6, 2008}}

In an interview in the August 1998 issue of Femme Fatales, Bernard revealed, "I was the first under-18 Jewish virgin who was in the centerfold placed in front of a Christmas tree," and that she'd never been nude in front of anyone other than her mother prior to posing for Mario Casilli, who had been one of her father's apprentices.

{{cite journal

| last1 = Scapperotti

| first1 = Dan

| title = Banned in Boston: Bernard of Hollywood

| journal = Femme Fatales

| date = 1 August 1998

| volume = 7

| issue = 3

| pages = 8–31

| publisher = Frederick S. Clark

| location = Forest Park, Illinois

| issn = 1062-3906

}}

Personal life

Her father was photographer Bruno Bernard.{{cite journal|periodical=Playboy|title=Playmate News|volume=55|date=November 2008|pages=143–144}} Her husband, although they later divorced, was actor/playwright Jason Miller; their son is actor Joshua John Miller.

She died of an apparent heart attack on June 21, 2019.{{Cite news |first=Katharine Q. |last=Seelye |title=Susan Bernard, 71, Dies; Actress and Keeper of a Photographic Legacy |newspaper=The New York Times |date=2019-06-30 |page=A21 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/30/obituaries/susan-bernard-dies.html |url-access=subscription |access-date=2024-11-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230716045926/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/30/obituaries/susan-bernard-dies.html |archive-date=2023-07-16 |url-status=live}}{{cite web |last1=Evans |first1=Greg |title=Susan Bernard Dies: 'Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!' Actress, Publisher Of Iconic Hollywood Photo Archive Was 71 |url=https://deadline.com/2019/06/susan-bernard-dead-faster-pussycat-kill-kill-actress-publisher-iconic-hollywood-photo-archive-1202638352/ |website=Deadline Hollywood |access-date=21 May 2021 |date=2019-06-26}}

Bibliography

{{cite book|last=Bernard|first=Susan|title=Marilyn: Intimate Exposures|publisher=Sterling Signature|year=2011}}
{{cite book|last=Bernard|first=Susan|title=Bernard of Hollywood: The Ultimate Pin-Up Book|publisher=Taschen|year=2002}}