Geraldine Dreyfuss; Civil Rights Activist

Geraldine “Gerry” Dreyfuss, 79, peace and civil rights activist who appeared briefly in two of her son Richard’s motion pictures. Born in New York City, Dreyfuss attended Brooklyn College and had lived in Los Angeles since 1956. In 1961, she was a major Los Angeles organizer of the nationwide Women’s Strike for Peace. The movement staged protests across the country to champion worldwide disarmament and urge an end to stockpiling and testing of nuclear weapons. Dreyfuss also worked in several civil rights organizations. She had bit parts in the 1986 film “Down and Out in Beverly Hills” and the 1989 “Let It Ride,” both starring her Academy Award-winning son, Richard Dreyfuss. On Thursday in Los Angeles.