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person_profile-Joanna Merlin

Joanna Merlin Died at age: 92

Actor | Producer

Fullname:

Joanna Merlin

Date of Birth:

Jul 16, 1931

Country of birth:

USA

Died:

Oct 15, 2023

Biography of

Joanna Merlin

    Joanna Merlin (born Joann Ratner; July 15, 1931) was an American actress and casting director who has worked with Stephen Sondheim and starred in the original Broadway production of Fiddler on the Roof. She has written two acting guides and is a faculty member of New York University's graduate acting program. In recent years, she has become known for her recurring role on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit as Judge Lena Petrovsky.

    Joann Ratner, who later took her mother's maiden name, was born in Chicago, Illinois, to Toni Merlin and Harry Ratner, a Jewish grocer. Her family also included her older sister Harriet Glickman (1926-2020) who would go on to gain recognition for having helped persuade Charles Schulz to add a black character to his Peanuts strip. Merlin first acted on stage at age 11, joining a community theatre production, Too Many Marys. Merlin graduated from UCLA and later studied under Michael Chekhov, learning his world-renowned acting technique. She has been described as the last student of Michael Chekhov who is still alive and teaching.

    Merlin made her first screen appearance in Cecil B. DeMille's film The Ten Commandments in 1956. Five years later, she made her Broadway debut in Becket before playing Tzeitel in Harold Prince's production of Fiddler on the Roof. She left the cast of Fiddler on the Roof before the end of its tour to take care of her two small children but Harold Prince gave her the opportunity to become involved in casting with a more flexible schedule. Company was the first musical for which Merlin served as the casting director. She was also in charge of casting for such plays as Follies, Evita and Sweeney Todd.

    In 1986, she served as casting director for the John Carpenter film, Big Trouble in Little China.

    After making appearances in several feature films, including the movie Fame, in which she played Miss Olivia Berg, a classical dance teacher; Merlin appeared in the NBC crime drama Law & Order in 1992 as a defense attorney. Like many actors from that show, she went on to play other characters in the Law & Order franchise - another defense attorney in the original show and a more recurring role as Judge Lena Petrovsky, a judge who was very stern, by-the-book, and has scolded or sanctioned, at various times, ADAs Casey Novak (Diane Neal) and Alexandra Cabot (Stephanie March) and Detective (now Lieutenant) Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay), in its first spin-off Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. In the latter role, she appeared in every season between the years 2000 and 2011.

    In 2001, Joanna Merlin wrote Auditioning: An Actor-Friendly Guide and in 2007, shared her knowledge of the theatre industry in the instructional video Master Classes in the Michael Chekhov Technique. She teaches in New York University's graduate acting program at the Tisch School of the Arts and in 1999, founded the Michael Chekhov Association where she teaches acting workshops.

    Source: Article "Joanna Merlin" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.

Photos of

Joanna Merlin

Photos ( 2 Photos

Filmography of

Joanna Merlin

Found 29 Movies in total

MURDER and murder

Doris ( Actor )

... 2024

Active Adults

Miriam ( Actor )

... 2017

Sarah's Key

Mrs. Rainsferd ( Actor )

... 2010

The Wackness

Grandma Shapiro ( Actor )

... 2008

The Invasion

Joan Kaufman ( Actor )

... 2007

The Jimmy Show

Emily ( Actor )

... 2002

Witness Protection

Cindy's Mother ( Actor )

... 1999

City of Angels

Teresa Messinger ( Actor )

... 1998

The Prosecutors

Jewel ( Actor )

... 1996

Two Bits

Guendolina ( Actor )

... 1995

Mr. Wonderful

Loretta ( Actor )

... 1993

... 1993

Class Action

Estelle Ward ( Actor )

... 1991

Murder in Black and White

Dr. Bromberg ( Actor )

... 1990

Mystic Pizza

Mrs. Arujo ( Actor )

... 1988

Prince of Darkness

Bag Lady ( Actor )

... 1987

The Killing Fields

Schanberg's Sister ( Actor )

... 1984

... 1983

Baby It's You

Mrs. Rosen ( Actor )

... 1983

Love Child

Mrs. Sturgis ( Actor )

... 1982

Starstruck

Inez Marin ( Actor )

... 1981

Fame

Miss Berg ( Actor )

... 1980

Nurse

Nan Riley ( Actor )

... 1980

All That Jazz

Nurse Pierce ( Actor )

... 1979

The Last Tenant

Mrs. Farelli ( Actor )

... 1978

Hester Street

Jake's Landlady ( Actor )

... 1975

... 1963

Weddings and Babies

Josie ( Actor )

... 1960

The Ten Commandments

Jethro's Daughter ( Actor )

... 1956