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Joanna Merlin Biography (1931-)

Original name, Joann Ratner; born July 15, 1931, in Chicago, IL; daughter ofHarry (a grocer) and Toni (maiden name, Merlin) Ratner; married Martin Lubner(an artist and teacher), December 17, 1950 (divorced, 1955); married David Dretzin (an attorney), March 1, 1964. Addresses: Agent: Susan Smith andAssociates, 121 North San Vicente Blvd., Beverly Hills, CA 90211.

Gender

Female

Occupation

Actress, casting director

Birth Details

July 15, 1931

Chicago, Illinois

Famous Works

• CREDITS
• Stage Appearances
• Too Many Marys, Chicago, IL, 1942
• Pilar, Bullfight, New Hampshire Playhouse, Hollywood, CA, 1956
• Athenian Girl and Myrrhina understudy, Lysistrata, Lenox Hill Playhouse, New York City, 1956
• Gina, The Pidgeon, Temple Theatre, New York City, 1957
• Hamlet, American Shakespeare Festival (ASF), Stratford, CT, 1958
• A Midsummer Night's Dream, ASF, Stratford, 1958
• Emilia, A Winter's Tale, ASF, Stratford, 1958
• Isolde, Tunnel of Love, Rockland County Playhouse, NY, 1959
• Mrs. Frank, The Diary of Anne Frank, Rockland County Playhouse, 1959
• Helena, Look Back in Anger, Rockland County Playhouse, 1959
• Esther, The Flowering Peach, Rockland County Playhouse, 1959
• Rosetta, No Trifling with Love, St. Marks Playhouse, New York City, 1959
• Title role, Major Barbara, Murray Dodge Theatre, Princeton, NJ, 1960
• Catherine, The Winslow Boy, Tenthouse, Highland Park, IL, 1960
• Gina, Right You Are, McCarter Theatre, Princeton, 1960
• Anita di Speranza, The Breaking Wall, St. Marks Playhouse, 1960
• Silia Gala, The Rules of the Game, Gramercy Arts, 1960
• (Broadway debut) Gwendolyn, Becket, St. James Theatre, New York City, 1961 then Hudson Theatre, New York City, 1961
• Martha Freud, A Far Country, Music Box, New York City, 1961
• Poppea Sabina, The Emperor, Maidman Theatre, New York City, 1963 Stepdaughter, Six Characters in Search of an Author, Martinique Theatre, 1963
• Dawnthea, Thistle in My Bed, Gramercy Arts, 1963
• Rachel Apt, The Wall, Arena Stage, Washington, DC, 1964
• Tzeitl, Fiddler on the Roof, Imperial Theatre, New York City, 1964
• Gertrude Glass, The Bird, the Bear and the Actress, Eugene O'NeillMemorial Theatre, Waterford, CT, 1966
• Gloria, Shelter, John Golden Theatre, New York City, 1973
• Uncle Vanya, Circle in the Square, Joseph E. Levine Theatre, New York City, 1973
• Title role, Clytemnestra, The Cubiculo, New York City, 1976
• Pat, Canadian Gothic/American Modern, The Phoenix Theatre Company,Marymount Manhattan Theatre, New York City, 1976
• Anna Colonna, The Grinding Machine, American Place Theatre, New York City, 1978
• Leslie Nathan, The Beach House, Long Wharf Theatre, New Haven, CT,1980 Zlatke, The Survivor, Morosco Theatre, New York City, 1981
• Liz, Solomon's Child, Little Theatre, New York City, 1982
• Also appeared as Madame Ranevskaya in The Cherry Orchard and as Mrs. Patrick Campbell in Dear Liar, both John Drew Theatre, Long Island,New York.
• Major Tours
• Gwendolyn, Becket, U.S. Cities, 1960
• Martha Freud, A Far Country, 1961
• Film Appearances
• Myra, The Key (documentary), Campus, 1957
• The Pusher, United Artists, 1960
• Josie, Weddings and Babies, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1960
• Anatomy of a Disease (documentary), Vision Association, 1962
• Jake's landlady, Hester Street, 1975
• Nurse Pierce, All That Jazz, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1979
• Miss Berg, Fame, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/United Artist, 1980
• Superintendent Sturgis, Love Child, Warner Bros., 1982
• Allan's mother, Soup for One, Warner Bros., 1982
• Mrs. Rosen, Baby, It's You, Paramount, 1983
• Schanberg's sister, The Killing Fields, Warner Brothers, 1984
• Bag lady, Prince of Darkness, Universal, 1987
• Margaret, Mystic Pizza, Samuel Goldwyn Productions, 1988
• Estelle Ward, Class Action, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1991
• Loretta, Mr. Wonderful, Warner Bros., 1993
• Guendolina, Two Bits (also known as A Day to Remember), Miramax, 1995
• Teresa, City of Angels (also known as Stadt der Engel), Warner Bros., 1998
• Film Work
• Casting, Year of the Dragon, 1985
• Casting director, Big Trouble in Little China (also known as John Carpenter's Big Trouble in Little China), 1986
• Casting supervisor, The Last Emperor (also known as Le dernierempereur and L'ultimo imperatore), 1987
• Casting director, Mr. & Mrs. Bridge, 1990
• Casting director, L'amant (also known as The Lover), Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1991
• Casting, Impromptu, Hemdale Film, 1991
• Casting consultant, M. Butterfly, Warner Bros., 1993
• Casting, Little Buddha, 1993
• Casting director, Jefferson in Paris, Buena Vista, 1995
• Casting, Surviving Picasso, Warner Bros., 1996
• Television Appearances
• Movies
• Mrs. Farelli, The Last Tenant, ABC, 1978
• Jacobo Timerman: Prisoner without a Name, Cell without a Number, NBC, 1983
• Dr. Bromberg, Murder in Black and White (also known as Janek: Cause of Death), CBS, 1990
• Frances Silvano, In a Child's Name, CBS, 1991
• The Prosecutors, NBC, 1996
• Ann Benedetto, Black and Blue, CBS, 1999
• Cindy's mother, Witness Protection, HBO, 1999
• Series
• Judge Braver, All My Children, ABC, 1997
• Also appeared as Emily Cory on Another World, NBC.
• Miniseries
• Love, Honor and Obey: The Last Mafia Marriage, NBC, 1993
• Specials
• Inez Martin, "Starstruck," ABC Afterschool Specials, ABC, 1981
• Marian Rosenberg, "A Matter of Conscience" (also known as "Silent Witness"), CBS Schoolbreak Specials, CBS, 1989
• Emmy Stieglitz, "Marriage: Georgia OKeefe and Alfred Stieglitz" (also known as "An American Place, OKeefe and Stieglitz" and "The Eleventh Hour"), American Playhouse, PBS, 1991
• Episodic
• Great Jewish Stories, WOR, 1957
• "The Oresteia," Omnibus, NBC, 1960
• Seven Who Were Hanged, CBS, 1960
• Delgado's wife, The Power and the Glory, CBS, 1961
• Gloria, "King Stanislaus and the Knights of the Round Table," Naked City, ABC, 1962
• Lucia Lopez, "Pilot Episode," East Side/West Side, CBS, 1962
• Mrs. Martinez, "The Bagman," The Defenders, CBS, 1963
• Nan Riley, Nurse, CBS, 1980
• Mariel, Amazing Stories, 1986
• Ellen Kennedy, L.A. Law, NBC, 1991
• Carla Bowman, "Silence," Law & Order, NBC, 1992
• Carla Bowman, "Virus," Law & Order, NBC, 1992
• Gina Halbrook, Baby Talk, ABC, 1992
• Nadine, "Birds of a Feather," Northern Exposure, CBS, 1993
• Deirdre Powell, "Virtue," Law & Order, NBC, 1994
• Deirdre Powell, "Atonement," Law & Order, NBC, 1996
• "Expert," Law & Order, NBC, 1998
• Lois Huntingdon, "Legacy," Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,NBC, 2000
• Judge, "Asunder," Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, NBC, 2000
• Judge, "Secrets," Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, NBC, 2001
• Judge, "Countdown," Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, NBC, 2001
• Television Work
• Movies
• Casting director, Into the Woods, 1990
• Casting advisor, Prisoners in Time, BBC, 1995