How did Joanna Merlin die? Broadway star and 'Law & Order' actress was 92
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Joanna Merlin died at the age of 92 after suffering from complications of myelodysplastic syndrome, a bone marrow disorder, on October 15.
She was best known for her work in the Broadway production 'The Fiddler on the Roof', and for starring in 'Law & Order' and 'Law & Order: SVU.'
Merlin also worked as a casting director for Stephen Sondheim, Harold Prince, and Bernardo Bertolucci, and had cast many original Broadway productions.
Joanna Merlin's work as an actress
Debuting as Jethro's daughter in 'The Ten Commandments' in 1956, Merlin claimed her fame after she starred as Tzeitzel, one of Tevye's daughters, in Broadway's 'Fiddler on the Roof' in 1965.
In the production, she sang the popular song, Matchmaker. After that, Merlin landed a ton of Broadway as well as on-screen roles.
Films starring Merlin included 'Hester Street' (1975), 'All That Jazz' (1979), 'Baby It’s You' (1983), 'The Killing Fields' (1984), 'Mystic Pizza' (1988), ;Class Action' (1991) and 'City of Angels' (1998).
She also appeared in television shows such as 'Naked City', 'The Defenders', 'East Side/West Side', 'Homeland', and 'The Good Wife.' Merlin held the recurring role of Judge Lena Petrovsky on 'Law & Order: Special Victims Unit' from 2000 to 2011.
Her final onscreen credit was in the series 'Smartphone Theatre' in 2020, according to The Sun.
Joanna Merlin's turn as a casting director
Merlin cast Broadway productions as well as films.
For Broadway, she cast Sondheim’s productions of Company, Follies, A Little Night Music, Pacific Overtures, Sweeney Todd, Into the Woods, and Merrily We Roll Along. Mrlin also cast Lilian Hellman’s Candide, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Evita, and Prince’s On the Twentieth Century.
As a casting director for movies, she cast John Carpenter’s 'Big Trouble in Little China' (1986), and James Ivory’s 'Jefferson in Paris' (1995). Merlin won the Artios Award from the Casting Society of America for her work in the Bertolucci-directed Oscar Best Picture winner 'The Last Emperor' (1987).
Joanna Merlin taught future acting stars
Merlin has been a faculty member of the Grad Acting program at the NYU Tisch School of the Arts since 1998.
In an Instagram post, the school announced Merlin's death, sharing, "Joanna will be deeply missed at Grad Acting, by the Chekhov community, and by the many people she touched through her artistry. Our thoughts are with her family, we send them love from the Grad Acting community."
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Merlin co-founded the Non-Traditional Casting Project in the 1980s, which became the Alliance for Inclusion in the Arts. She launched the Michael Chekhov Association (MICHA) in 1999, which has trained more than 2,000 actors, directors, and teachers around the world.
The author of 'Auditioning: An Actor-Friendly Guide', Mrlin was honored at the Tony Awards in 2011.