Joanna Merlin
Joanna Merlin (born Joann Ratner; July 15, 1931) is 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.[1] In recent years, she has become known for her recurring role on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit as Judge Lena Petrovsky.
Joanna Merlin | |
---|---|
Born | Joann Ratner July 15, 1931 |
Occupation | Actor, teacher, author, casting director |
Years active | 1956–present |
Spouse(s) | Martin Lubner (m. 1950–1955)David Dretzin (m. 1965) |
Children | 2 |
Early life
Joann Ratner, who later took her mother's maiden name, was born in Chicago, Illinois, to Toni Merlin and Harry Ratner, a Jewish grocer.[2][3] 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.[4] Merlin first acted on stage at age 11, joining a community theatre production, Too Many Marys.[5] Merlin graduated from UCLA[6] 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.[1]
Career
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[2] 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[5] 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[1] and in 1999, founded the Michael Chekhov Association where she teaches acting workshops.[7]
Filmography
Film
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1956 | The Ten Commandments | Jethro's daughter | |
1958 | Weddings and Babies | Josie | |
1975 | Hester Street | Jake's landlady | |
1979 | All That Jazz | Nurse Pierce | |
1980 | Fame | Miss Berg | |
1982 | Soup for One | Allan's Mother | |
1982 | Love Child | Mrs. Sturgis | |
1983 | Baby It's You | Mrs. Rosen | |
1984 | The Killing Fields | Sydney Schanberg's Sister | |
1985 | Year of the Dragon | Casting director | |
1986 | Big Trouble in Little China | Casting director | |
1987 | Prince of Darkness | Bag lady | |
1987 | The Last Emperor | Casting director | |
1988 | Mystic Pizza | Mrs. Arujo | |
1990 | Mr. and Mrs. Bridge | Casting director | |
1991 | Class Action | Estelle Ward | |
1992 | The Lover | Casting director | |
1993 | Little Buddha | Tibetian casting: New York | |
1993 | M. Butterfly | Casting consultant | |
1993 | Mr. Wonderful | Loretta | |
1995 | Jefferson in Paris | Casting director | |
1995 | Two Bits | Guendolina | |
1996 | MURDER and Murder | Doris | |
1998 | City of Angels | Teresa Messinger | |
2001 | The Jimmy Show | Emily | |
2003 | Just Another Story | Sadie | |
2007 | The Invasion | Joan Kaufman | |
2008 | Beautiful Hills of Brooklyn | Producer, co-writer and the role of Jesse Sylvester | |
2008 | The Wackness | Grandma Shapiro | |
2010 | Sarah's Key | Mme. Rainsferd | |
2017 | Active Adults | Miriam |
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1960 | CBS Repertoire Workshop | Musya | Episode: "The Seven Who Were Hanged" |
1962 | Naked City | Gloria Werminski | Episode: "King Stanislaus and the Knights of the Round Stable" |
1963 | The Defenders | Katy Martinez | Episode: "The Bagman" |
1964 | East Side/West Side | Lucia Lopez | Episode: "It's War, Man" |
1967 | The Winter's Tale | Paulina | TV Movie |
1978 | The Last Tenant | Mrs. Farelli | TV Movie |
1980 | Nurse | Nan Riley | TV Movie |
1981 | ABC Afterschool Specials | Inez Marin | Episode: "Starstruck" |
1982 | Another World | Dr. Emily Cole | Soap Opera Unknown episodes |
1983 | Jacobo Timerman: Prisoner Without a Name, Cell Without a Number | TV Movie | |
1986 | Amazing Stories | Marie / Wealthy Lady | Episode: "Gather Ye Acorns" |
1989 | CBS Schoolbreak Special | Marian Rosenberg | Episode: "A Matter of Conscience" |
1990 | Murder in Black and White | Dr. Bromberg | TV Movie |
1991 | L.A. Law | Assistant DA Ellen Kennedy | Episode: "Pump it up" |
1991 | A Marriage: Georgia O'Keeffe and Alfred Stieglitz | Dolly Stieglitz | TV Movie |
1991 | In a Child's Name | Frances Silvano | TV Movie |
1992 | Baby Talk | Episodes: "Scenes from a Marriage" | |
1992-1993 | Law & Order | Carla Bowman | 2 episodes |
1993 | Love, Honor & Obey: The Last Mafia Marriage | Rose Profaci | TV movie |
1993 | Northern Exposure | Nadine Fleischman | Episode: "Birds of a Feather" |
1995 | Everyman | Casting advisor | |
1996 | The Prosecutors | TV movie | |
1996-1997 | New York Undercover | Carmella McNamara | 4 episodes |
1997 | All My Children | Judge Brauer | Soap Opera Unknown episodes |
1994-1998 | Law & Order | Deirdre Powell | 3 episodes |
1999 | Black and Blue | Ann Benedetto | TV movie |
1999 | Witness Protection | Cindy's mother | TV movie |
2004 | The Jury | Jackie Ochs | Episode: "Too Jung to Die" |
2008 | The American Experience | Family member | |
2010 | Frontline | Herself | Episode: Digital Nation" |
2011 | The Good Wife | Loni Goslin | Episode: "In Sickness" |
2000-2011 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Judge Lena Petrovsky | 43 episodes |
2013 | Homeland | Grandma Lois | Episode: "Tin Man Is Down" |
Stage
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1961 | Becket | Gwendolyn | |
1961 | A Far Country | Replacement performer | |
1964 | Fiddler on the Roof | Tzeitel | |
1970 | Company | Casting director | |
1971 | Follies | Casting director | |
1973 | A Little Night Music | Casting director | |
1976 | Pacific Overtures | Casting director | |
1978 | On the Twentieth Century | Casting director | |
1979 | Evita | Casting director | |
1979 | Sweeney Todd | Casting director | |
1981 | Merrily We Roll Along | Casting director | |
1982 | A Doll's Life | Casting director | |
1987 | Into The Woods | Casting director | |
2014 | "Absence" | Helen Bastion |
Awards and nominations
Year | Award | Category | Film or series | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
1988 | Casting Society of America Artios Award | Best Casting for a Feature Film, Drama | The Last Emperor | Won |
2009 | Strasbourg International Film Festival Award | Best Actress | Beautiful Hills of Brooklyn | Won |
References
- "Graduate Acting Faculty Directory". New York University. Retrieved 2012-06-20.
- "Joanna Merlin Biography". Film Reference. Retrieved 2012-06-20.
- "Joanna Merlin" Profile. Memim.com. Accessed October 2015.
- David E. Slotnik, "Harriet Glickman, Who Pushed 'Peanuts' to Add a Black Character, Dies at 93," New York Times, April 3, 2020, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/03/arts/harriet-glickman-dead-peanuts.html.
- Eaker, Sherry (2000-11-10). "Audition Advice From an Industry Vet: Joanna Merlin". Back Stage. Retrieved 2012-06-20.
- Erickson, Hal. "Joanna Merlin - Movie and Film Biography". All Movie. Retrieved 2012-06-20.
- "Joanna Merlin". The Michael Chekhov Association. Retrieved 2012-06-20.