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Who is Joan Copeland's husband? Actress who died at 99 was sister-in-law to Marilyn Monroe

Joan Copeland kickstarted her Broadway career in 1948 whereas, her debut on the small screen came two years later

Veteran Broadway and soap actress Joan Copeland died on Tuesday, January 4, 2022. The renowned star, who was best known for her work in ‘Detective Story’ and ‘Pal Joey’, passed away in her sleep at her Manhattan home. She was 99.

Iconic Hollywood star Betty White was another actress whom we recently lost at the same age. The unfortunate news of Joan Copeland’s death was shared by her son Eric, as published by The Hollywood Reporter.
 
Joan Copeland kickstarted her Broadway career in 1948 whereas, her debut on the small screen came two years later with the series ‘Suspense’. Joan was the younger sister of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Arthur Miller and briefly sister-in-law to Hollywood legend Marilyn Monroe. Speaking of celebrity deaths, iconic comedian Mort Sahl, rapper Lil Meri, acclaimed hip-hop producer Traxamillion, and ‘Comic Book Men’ star Robert Bruce were other public figures that left for heavenly abode.
 
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Who is Joan Copeland's husband?

Joan Copeland was born in June 1922 in New York City. The prolific star perfectly juggled her successful career between stage and television. She was one of the first members of The Actors Studio that helped her bag several soap operas. Some of her best work in Broadway include ‘Not For Children’ (1951), ‘Handful of Fire’ (1958), ‘Tovarich’ (1963), ‘Something More!’ (1964), ‘The Price’ (1968), and ‘Coco’ (1969) among others. On television, the Drama Desk Award winner’s best work came in the form of ‘Law & Order’, ‘The Patty Duke Show’, ‘Chicago Hope’, ‘ER’, ‘All in the Family’, and ‘Naked City’ among others. Joan also dabbled into films founding equal success.
 
Speaking about her personal life, Joan was married to bacteriologist George Kupchik. The two got married in the year 1946 and stayed together until his death in 1989. George hailed from Manhattan and graduated from Brooklyn College. He earned two master's degrees and a doctorate in engineering science from New York University and also served as a lieutenant in the Army Sanitary Corps during the second world war. The late icon is also survived by her niece, actress Rebecca Miller. Speaking in an interview with the New York Times in 1981 about her love for the stage, she said, “From the time I was a little girl I had the stage bug. It was like a big dream, like kids who want to fly to the moon today.” She added, “Perhaps I was unconsciously influenced by my brother. He had made it. I was desperate to get out of the dreariness I was living in.”

‘She brightened every room she entered’, says Twitter

The internet mourned the death of the renowned actress as they bid her an emotional farewell on Twitter. “Sad to read of the passing of Joan Copeland, whose extensive theatre, film and TV credits included more than dozen Broadway shows ranging from “Detective Story” to “The American Clock” and “45 Seconds from Broadway.” She was Katharine Hepburn's standby for “Coco”, said one user as another chimed in, “I met Joan Copeland, who has died at 99, five or six years ago when I was working on a radio show about her brother, Arthur Miller. I said I was sorry never to have seen her do "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered" in "Pal Joey." So she performed it for me.”
 
The next one posted, “Oh I’m so sorry to hear this. RIP lovely Joan, who I knew since I was a young girl. She brightened every room she entered. Another hard goodbye.” Another individual asserted, “Sorry to hear of dear Joan Copeland's passing. Sweet, fun and very talented lady. Fly with the angels Joan. Xo.” Meanwhile, one tweeted, “I had the great honour of sitting with Joan Copeland at the @PublicTheaterNY for a reading of ‘No Villain’, the play her brother Arthur Miller wrote about their childhood together. She was a delight and so excited by the play’s rediscovery. A sad loss.”