She is survived by her daughter, Minna Elias, and two grandchildren, Talia and Oren Barnoy. Lois was an actress, activist, media specialist and early member of the women's movement, helping to found NOW-NYC. Born Lois Goldstein in Pittsburgh, PA, she became a professional actress at the age of 14, mostly appearing in children's theater as a teenager. Lois was a small woman, less than 5 feet, with a deep, wonderful, rich voice. She married the painter Arthur Elias in 1949, and in 1950 moved with him to Paris where she got a job working for the American Embassy. She was on the Embassy's staff when Senator McCarthy's right hand man, Roy Cohn, came through looking for communists, resulting in the dismissal of several of her friends. In 1953, she and Arthur moved to New York City where Lois joined the Provincetown Playhouse company and appeared in numerous plays, including Springs Awakening, directed by Denis Vaughan. In 1960, after the birth of her daughter, Lois retired from acting and went into public relations. She worked for Fred Friendly at the Columbia School of Journalism from 1962-1970. In 1970, she joined the PR department of the New York Convention and Visitors Bureau, where she promoted the city of New York, traveling the world with the New York Summer Festival Queen. She did a series of ads with celebrities like Louis Armstrong and Bennie Goodman. She subsequently worked for a private PR firm and then joined the staff of The Junior League of America. In 1991, Lois and Arthur inherited the literary work of their longtime friend, Bella Spewack, including Kiss Me, Kate. They helped bring the play back to Broadway in 1999. Lois also found a publisher for Bella's memoir, Streets, and wrote the afterword.
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