Kay Cummings' Obituary
Kay Cummings, of Lewes, DE and formerly of New York City passed away peacefully with her beloved wife Ellen McKeon at her side on Tuesday, June 14, 2022, in Lewes, DE. She was born in New York City on December 15, 1940.
Kay attended the preparatory division of the Juilliard School, graduated Phi Beta Kappa, summa cum laude from Elmira College, and had a Master’s degree in Performance from New York University. She played leading roles off-Broadway, in national tours, stock, theater, television soaps, series and commercials and appeared in major motion pictures as well as writing and performing in series of highly acclaimed one-woman cabaret shows.
Kay was the recipient of grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, a Fulbright Panelist, and the dance curator for Symphony Space. For all her success in the theater, it was as a teacher and mentor that Kay made her greatest impact. Kay served from 1992 through 2002 as the Chair of the Department of Dance of New York University's Tisch School of the Arts and continued to teach choreography and acting until her retirement in 2016.
In 1992, Kay founded the Tisch Dance Summer Residency Festival. In 1996, Kay was awarded the NYU Distinguished Teaching Medal and in 2016 she received the David Payne Carter Teaching Award. Since moving to Delaware, she enjoyed working in theatre again, directing Three Tall Women and appearing in Stop Kiss, as Dr. Kitty Cochran in Last Summer at Bluefish Cove, and as Rosie in The Wedding Singer. Her most recent collaborations include a two woman show, The Other Shoe, with Beth Corning, performed in Pittsburgh, and The Home Project with Tiffany Mills in NYC.
Kay nurtured her students and changed the course of entire lives for the better. She will be missed by many, but her bright spirit and brilliant legacy will live on.
In addition to her devoted wife Ellen McKeon, Kay is survived by cherished family, her sister, Janie Messina; her nephew Vicente; her brother and sister-in-law William and Jennifer Feinberg; her niece Meira and nephew Noah; and her brother, Jeffrey Feinberg.
Celebration of Life will be held on Monday, June 27, 2022, at 11:00 AM at Parsell Funeral Homes & Crematorium Atkins-Lodge Chapel, 16961 Kings Highway, Lewes, DE, where friends may visit beginning at 10:30 AM. Friends and family are invited to a gathering after service in the banquet room at Irish Eyes, 213 Anglers Rd, Lewes, DE 19958.
All who cannot attend in person are invited to join the services via live streaming by visiting the following link: http://www.parsellfuneralhomes.com/obituaries/permalink/10550102/LTWebcast.
Please sign the virtual guestbooks located on the tribute page.
FLORIST NOTE: PLEASE DELIVER ALL ARRANGEMENTS BY 5:00 PM ON SATURDAY, JUNE 25, 2022 AT OUR LEWES LOCATION.
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