Joanna Merlin has sadly died at the age of 92.
The actress was best known for originating the role of Tzeitel in the 1964 Broadway production of Fiddler on the Roof. She has also starred in the likes of Law and Order and Law and Order: SVU.
Joanna is said to have died Sunday in Los Angeles from complications of myelodysplastic syndrome, a bone marrow disorder. Joanna’s heartbroken daughters, Rachel Dretzin and Julie Dretzin announced her death. Rachel is a documentary maker and Julie is an actress like her like mother.
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The news of her death was also confirmed by New York University’s Tisch Graduate School of Acting’s Instagram page. Joanna was a member of the school’s faculty since 1998.
(Image: Getty Images)
The caption on the post says how Joanna “taught Michael Chekhov’s Psychological Gesture work as well as Career and Camera classes to generations of our actors.” She had also founded The Michael Chekhov Association and was the president emeritus.
On its website, a post read: “Joanna was an actress, master Chekhov teacher, and former casting director for Harold Prince, Stephen Sondheim, Bernardo Bertolucci, and James Ivory. She cast the original Broadway productions of Sondheim’s Company, Follies, A Little Night Music, Pacific Overtures, Sweeney Todd, and Merrily We Roll Along.
“As well as Evita, Candide, and On the Twentieth Century. Joanna will be deeply missed at Grad Acting, by the Che khov community, and by the many people she touched through her artistry.”
Joanna got her start on the screen in The Ten Commandments in 1956 where she played Jethro’s (Eduard Franz) daughter. She also had small roles in Hester Street and All That Jazz.
(Image: NBCUniversal via Getty Images)
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In 1960, she appeared in the Broadway show of A Far Country. She then landed her breakthrough role as Tzeitel in Fiddler Of The Roof – where she performed one of the show’s most famous songs. In 1980, she also played Miss Berg, a dance teacher, in the iconic film Fame.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
