Dorothy May Rafilson, 92, a former Chicago character actress whose stage name was Dorothy Bernard, died Sunday, Sept. 16, in her home in Hoffman Estates after a long illness.
Born and raised in Danville, Ill., Mrs. Rafilson worked in Chicago and performed roles in theater, television, films and radio, working until late in her life. One of her most memorable roles was as a bag lady in the television series “Lady Blue,” which aired in the 1980s, said her daughter-in-law, Donna Rafilson.
At age 85, Mrs. Rafilson tap-danced in a production of “The Last Yankee,” and at 89 she played her last role in “The Cemetery Club,” a production by Chicago’s Primus Theater group.
“Her philosophy was to be true to the word and the character,” said Winifred O’Reilly, founder of the theater group. “She would take on whatever role she was given, and integrity was part of her makeup. She was also fastidious about herself and her life.”
Mrs. Rafilson came to Chicago to study at Columbia College and married Joseph Rafilson. He died in 1970.
“She fell in love with Chicago and married up here and never left,” her daughter-in-law said.
As an actress Mrs. Rafilson believed that cooperation with other actors was the key to a good performance–and without it, she preferred to work solo.
“She used to say that everybody had to work together in order to make a real picture of what was going on, so that it was totally believable to the audience,” her daughter-in-law said. “If somebody was off, the audience couldn’t totally live the production. She did a lot of one-woman things, especially because that way she could control the audience.”
Mrs. Rafilson was active in Chicago’s Jewish community, serving as president of the Women’s Council of the Greater Chicago B’nai B’rith and as vice president and chairwoman of the Anti-Defamation League. Mrs. Rafilson also developed dialogue for B’nai B’rith’s Dolls for Democracy program, which began in the mid-1960s and involved one-person monologues presented to schoolchildren about important figures in history.
Physically fit and an avid golfer, Mrs. Rafilson spent winters in Florida in her later years so she could golf year-round.
“She was a very modern, very spry woman,” her daughter-in-law said. “Two years ago she could walk from her apartment at Division and Dearborn all the way down to the main library downtown.”
Other survivors include a son, Bernard; three grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren. Services have been held.
