Ruby Lynn Reyner

Ruby Lynn Reyner (January 27, 1948 – March 10, 2024) was an American actress, singer, songwriter, and musical playwright born Lynn Reyner in Brooklyn, New York City to Dr. Franklin Cooper Reyner, an obstetrician and gynecologist, and actress Rubye Reyner, née Rubye Meyers. She spent her early childhood in Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn under the care of her maternal grandmother before her father relocated the family to Long Island. Reyner graduated from South Side Senior High School in Rockville Centre and subsequently attended Emerson College. She pursued modeling before her introduction to the theater world came through attending a rehearsal of the Playhouse of the Ridiculous, where director John Vacarro placed her immediately in the chorus of Conquest of the Universe. She advanced to the featured role of Alice, the conqueror's wife, and went on to appear in approximately 40 Vacarro productions, among them Lady Godiva, Heaven Grand in Amber Orbit, Cock Strong, Son of Cock Strong, and Pineapple Face.

Reyner became a central figure at the Playhouse of the Ridiculous, performing alongside drag queens and Warhol superstars throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Her stage work there included Heaven Grand in Amber Orbit by Jackie Curtis, Sissy by Seth Allan, and La Bohemia, written and directed by John Vacarro, for which she received the Drama Desk Award for outstanding performance. Her Broadway career brought her to the role of Mary, Queen of Scots in Paul Foster's Elizabeth I in 1972. Working alongside co-writer Gordon Bressac, Reyner created and produced several musical variety shows at Crystal Fields Theater for the New City, including Voidville 1 and Vandals of 1981, and made appearances in productions such as Jimmy Camecia's Hot Peaches. During the 1990s she wrote, directed, and starred in Singin' in the Islands and Christmas in the Islands. Her final production as writer, director, and performer was Singin' in the ER, a satirical play drawn from her own hospital experiences, staged at the Theater for the New City in the fall of 2019.

As a musician, Reyner formed and led the glam rock band Ruby and the Rednecks, collaborating on satirical songs with partner John Madera, many of which originated in Playhouse productions. The band made its debut at the Mercer Arts Center, where Reyner opened for the New York Dolls, establishing her place in the glam rock movement. Throughout the 1970s, Ruby and the Rednecks performed regularly on the downtown New York club circuit, including engagements at Max's Kansas City and CBGB's. The band produced two albums: From the Wrong Side of Town, produced with Peter Crowley, and the live recording Live Again! at CBGB's, narrated by Jayne County. The band also appeared on the compilation Max's Kansas City 1976 & Beyond, released in 2017. A serious illness in 1982 suspended Reyner's career for several years, and it was not until the 1990s that she returned to music and performance.

Reyner's film work began with Heaven Wants Out in 1970, directed by Robert Feinberg and featuring Holly Woodlawn, Mary Woronov, Ondine, and Francesco Scavullo. The film remained unfinished until the 2000s, and its history was documented in the HBO documentary Finishing Heaven in 2008. She also held the lead role in Robert Frank's 1971 film About Me: A Musical, and appeared in Beautiful Darling and Generation Um. Beyond performance, Reyner was counted among the denizens of the Warhol Factory and modeled for photographer Francesco Scavullo, whose work appeared in the photo book Scavullo: Francesco Scavullo Photographs 1948–1984. She was also photographed by Leee Black Childers, who included her among the subjects of his 130 Fabulous Faces. Reyner died in New York City on March 10, 2024, at the age of 76.