Joanna Merlin, Acting - KorPlix:Korean Person Archives

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Joanna Merlin
Acting

Joanna Merlin
Known For
Acting
Birthday
1931-07-16,Chicago, Illinois, USA
Gender
Female
Biography
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.

Filmography

0

Starstruck
1981-10-14

6.816

City of Angels
1998-04-10

6.029

The Invasion
2007-08-17

The Power and the Glory

0

The Power and the Glory
1963-05-31

Prince of Darkness

6.8

Prince of Darkness
1987-10-23

The Last Tenant

0

The Last Tenant
1978-06-25

Jacobo Timerman: Prisoner Without a Name, Cell Without a Number

0

Jacobo Timerman: Prisoner Without a Name, Cell Without a Number
1983-05-22

6.217

Hester Street
1975-10-19

5.9

Baby It's You
1983-03-04

7.506

All That Jazz
1979-12-16

5.8

Love Child
1982-10-15

Love, Honor & Obey: The Last Mafia Marriage

4

Love, Honor & Obey: The Last Mafia Marriage
1993-05-23

6.41

The Wackness
2008-07-03

The Prosecutors

0

The Prosecutors
1996-12-02

6.314

Class Action
1991-03-15

MURDER and murder

5.1

MURDER and murder
1996-09-10

0

Active Adults
2017-11-21

The Killing Fields

7.5

The Killing Fields
1984-11-23

The Ten Commandments

7.769

The Ten Commandments
1956-10-05

6.322

Mystic Pizza
1988-10-13

6.4

Fame
1980-05-16

5.7

Two Bits
1995-10-22

Weddings and Babies

5.8

Weddings and Babies
1960-10-05

Witness Protection

6.389

Witness Protection
1999-12-11

7.283

Sarah's Key
2010-09-16

5.9

The Jimmy Show
2002-01-16

5.663

Mr. Wonderful
1993-10-15

Murder in Black and White

0

Murder in Black and White
1990-01-07

0

Nurse
1980-04-09

7.406

Law & Order
1990-09-13

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

7.9

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
1999-09-20

5.5

Naked City
1958-09-30

New York Undercover

7.2

New York Undercover
1994-09-08

5.636

Another World
1964-05-04

Northern Exposure

7.871

Northern Exposure
1990-07-12

7

The Jury
2004-06-08

6.8

Baby Talk
1991-03-08

Amazing Stories

7.471

Amazing Stories
1985-09-29

7.589

The Good Wife
2009-09-22

American Experience

7.4

American Experience
1988-10-04

7.1

L.A. Law
1986-09-15

7.406

Law & Order
1990-09-13

In a Child's Name

7.7

In a Child's Name
1991-11-17