Kenny Goodman, Fire Island legend and artist known for Kennys, dies at 80

Kenny Goodman was a Fire Island legend for six decades. Known for his artistry, he handcrafted silver jewelry, affectionately known as Kennys, and wooden sculptures. But he was more than that, family and friends say.

He was a man of immense kindness, one who was truly interested in knowing and talking to people. He was, many said, an inspiration.

"His credo was to follow the golden rule in life: Treat people the way you want to be treated," said his sister Marjorie Goodman, of Manhattan. "He believed in kindness. He was a well-wisher. He was compassionate, caring, empathetic. He was a lovely man and a major schmoozer. ... He was fun and he was just a genuine, authentic person who loved, loved, loved his family."

Marjorie Goodman said her brother's death last Saturday, following a fall on Nov. 3  that led to a "brain bleed," shocked and devastated the family.

"This was a man who was perfectly fine," Marjorie Goodman said. "He fell and hit his head on the street. I believe somebody helped him up. He hobbled his way to his daughter’s house, which was a block away. Then he was taken to the emergency room at New York University Hospital," she said, where he later died.

Kenny Goodman, who lived in Manhattan and spent summers on Fire Island, was 80.

The news spread across the Fire Island community and beyond. Scores of people came this week to the home of Goodman's daughter, Emily Brafman, one of his three children, to reminisce about him, his sister said.

"Last night in Emily’s apartment, when the period of visitation began," Marjorie Goodman said on Wednesday, "I would say there was a minimum of 80 people. Four out of five people that came in was wearing some piece of Kenny’s jewelry." 

Many shared their remembrances on social media.

Shoshanna McCollum, editor-in-chief of Fire Island News, said of Goodman: "We wrote about him often." 

McCollum, the owner of many Kennys, said, "Mr. Goodman was much loved." She said his surname embodied his spirit.

"He was a good man," McCollum told Newsday. "He was a person who reached out to other people. ... Years before I was even involved in the Fire Island News, he just wanted to make conversation. It wasn’t about selling his jewelry, he wanted to talk about life."

McCollum said Goodman regularly donated jewelry for auction to raise funds for local charities.

Ocean Beach Village Trustee Ian Levine recalled such efforts. "He made different things for organizations. He had one for breast cancer. He had one for fire departments," said Levine, during an interview with Newsday earlier this week.

One of those who came to Brafman's Manhattan apartment to reminisce about Goodman was Heather Fitzpatrick, formerly of Babylon Village, whose family summered on Fire Island for many years.

Fitzpatrick, who now lives in San Diego, told Newsday: "I have known Kenny since I was 5 years old." She’s 40 now. She recalled the excitement of acquiring her first Kenny, "a rite of passage" for youngsters who visited the island. Hers was a silver ankle bracelet that had letters spelling out the word "love."

"It’s not just getting the jewelry," Fitzpatrick said, "but it’s the whole process. How he made you feel when you picked it out. ... Like you were the only person in the room."

Kenneth John Goodman was born in Brooklyn to Fritzie and Joe Goodman. He graduated from Abraham Lincoln High School in Brooklyn, and earned his bachelor's degree in the late 1960s from Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois, his sister said. She believes he studied sociology. Goodman himself told interviewers he didn't study art.

He was a special-education art teacher for 25 years for the New York City Board of Education, his sister said. She said he taught from about 1970 to 1995. 

And all the while he was creating his own art, Marjorie Goodman said. He did that in various places on Fire Island, even though numerous stories noted he didn't like the beach. He had shops, which were just his rented summer homes, in Fair Harbor, then Ocean Beach, and lastly in Ocean Bay Park. 

Goodman told Fireisland.com, the travel guide website, in 2007: "Fire Island turned out to be this spectacular environment to just be who I was. I walked around and saw sticks that I turned into art, pieces of wood that I could see things in. ... It allowed me to be creative, in the way that I wanted to be creative."

In addition to his sister and daughter Emily Brafman, survivors include daughter Amanda Goodman of Manhattan; son Andrew Goodman, of Manhattan; daughter-in-law Danielle Goodman; son-in-law Michael Brafman; and four grandchildren. He was divorced from Pamela Goodman, with whom he had three children. She survives him.

A memorial service is planned for the spring, probably on Fire Island, his sister said.

By Olivia Winslow

olivia.winslow@newsday.com@newsollie