Rita Lynn; TV Actress, Pioneer in Theatrical Psychotherapy

Rita Lynn, 74, television actress and pioneer in using acting as therapy for psychiatric patients. Over her long career, which began at the Pasadena Playhouse in 1941, Lynn appeared in a score of stage productions, several films such as “A Bell for Adano” and “Madigan,” dozens of radio shows and more than 400 television programs. Beginning in the 1950s, she had major roles in highly praised series such as “Omnibus,” Playhouse 90” and “Kraft Theatre.” She appeared on variety shows with Phil Silvers, Red Buttons and Danny Thomas, and in such series as “Perry Mason,” “The Untouchables,” “Big Valley,” “Bonanza” and “Maverick.” She also had recurring roles on the soap operas “Search for Tomorrow” and “General Hospital.” As a civil rights activist in the 1960s, Lynn marched with Martin Luther King Jr. in Alabama and organized hundreds of Hollywood friends to accompany her. As a volunteer at the Neuropsychiatric Institute at UCLA, Lynn began producing plays with patients in the 1950s. On Sunday in Santa Monica of cancer.