Bryna Raeburn

Bryna Raeburn (born Bertha Sinai; March 14, 1915 – January 3, 1985) was an American radio and voice actress, known for her versatility, in particular her command of a wide range of accents and dialects.

Born and raised in Jersey City, New Jersey, Raeburn was the youngest of three children born to Russian-born Julius Sinai and Dora Hanna Blumenthal.

Although little is known of her formal education, she spoke many years later with Bergen Record entertainment writer Virginia Lambert.

I majored in drama in college and knew how to use movement and facial expression, but I never really wanted to do anything except radio acting. I'm in love with speech and language. [...] I love radio drama. I've never been a raving beauty, but radio lets me play glamorous ladies.

To which her interviewer immediately appended, "or Scottish crones, French maids, Spanish dancers, Italian opera singers, British royalty, or whatever else a scriptwriter may dream up." As Raeburn's colleague Mary Jane Higby later recalled, "Most of us could imitate some of our fellows, but some, like Art Carney, Bryna Raeburn and Billy Mack, could imitate anybody."

On radio, aside from recurring roles such as Mrs. Graham—opposite Bob Griffin—on Mutual's Dr. Graham and Family, she was a frequent guest performer on NBC's Dimension X and CBS Radio Mystery Theater. The latter, 1974's nearly decade-long revival of radio's "golden age," was especially gratifying for Raeburn, who recalled, "I was in the last episode of so many of the old radio shows, it was really depressing."

By 1950, Raeburn had married fellow Jersey City native Dr. Meyer Smith. They had one child, a daughter, born on New Year's Day, 1956.

On January 3, 1985, at age 69, Raeburn died of undisclosed causes in Jersey City. She was survived by her husband and daughter. Her remains are interred at Riverside Cemetery in Rochelle Park, New Jersey.