Obituary of Elizabeth Fox

Elizabeth (Lisa) Fox Elizabeth Amelia (Lisa) Fox, a lead dancer with Merce Cunningham from 1976 to 1980 and an independent choreographer until she was stricken with rheumatoid arthritis in 1988, died of cancer at the home of her brother, Harry Fox, in Santa Cruz, CA, on August 1, 2011. Lisa and her former husband, Curtis Royston, left a formidable archive of their artistic work at the Fales Library of NYU, including Curt's video In Artificial Light (1983.) This work culminated with a joint exhibition at the Whitney Museum in 1987, featuring a walk-in installation titled High Noon. After being incapacitated, Lisa took a course in Library Science at the Pratt Institute and did archival work on dance companies. Lisa received critical acclaim for her dancing in 1978 Cunningham productions Fractions and Summerspace. Her choreographic work included the production of Floored at The Kitchen in New York, in collaboration with sculptor Margaret Cogswell. Born August 29, 1950, in Elizabeth, NJ, Lisa attended Acalanes High School in Lafayette, CA, and graduated from the David and Marni Wood Dance Program at UC Berkeley in 1974. She then went into the Margaret Jenkins Dance Company before joining the Merce Cunningham Company. Lisa's son, Samuel Fox Royston, a senior at Lewis and Clark College, was with her when she died. Her mother, born Elizabeth Larkin in Rock Island, IL, died August 5, 1992 but she is survived by her father, Joseph M. Fox, III, of Lafayette, CA, by a sister, Martha Hofmann of Bainbridge Island, WA, and by four brothers, Joseph Fox of Lake City, CO, Thomas Fox of Lompoc, CA, Harry Fox of Santa Cruz, CA and Justin Fox of Cambridge, MA. A private memorial at home in Lafayette is planned for September 18th. Suggestions for contributions are: WomenCARE, 2901 Park Avenue, Ste. A1, Soquel, CA 95073 or the Breast Cancer Fund, 1388 Sutter Street, Suite 400, San Francisco, CA 94109-5400.