Joanna Merlin

Joanna Merlin

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.

  • Title : Joanna Merlin
  • Popularity : 5.95
  • Known For : Acting
  • Birthday : 1931-07-16
  • Place of Birth : Chicago, Illinois, USA
  • Homepage :
  • Also Known As : Joann Ratner
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Joanna Merlin Movies

  • 1981
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    Starstruck

    Starstruck

    1 1981 HD

    Aspiring teen folk singer is torn whether to continue her singing or to accept an educational scholarship.

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  • 1998
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    City of Angels

    City of Angels

    6.797 1998 HD

    When a guardian angel – who invisibly watches over the citizens of Los Angeles – becomes captivated by a strong-willed heart surgeon, he...

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  • 2007
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    The Invasion

    The Invasion

    6.013 2007 HD

    Washington, D.C. psychologist Carol Bennell and her colleague Dr. Ben Driscoll are the only two people on Earth who are aware of an epidemic running...

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  • 1963
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    The Power and the Glory

    The Power and the Glory

    1 1963 HD

    Based on Graham Greene's novel about a flawed but devoted priest in 1930s Mexico who attempts to perform his duties while eluding a police lieutenant...

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  • 1987
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    Prince of Darkness

    Prince of Darkness

    6.774 1987 HD

    A group of graduate students and scientists uncover an ancient canister in an abandoned church, but when they open it, they inadvertently unleash a...

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  • 1978
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    The Last Tenant

    The Last Tenant

    1 1978 HD

    Family members face hard decisions about the care of their elderly father who needs constant care and can no longer safely live alone, which...

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  • 1983
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    Jacobo Timerman: Prisoner Without a Name, Cell Without a Number

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

    1 1983 HD

    An Argentinian newspaper publisher is imprisoned by his government for dissent.

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  • 1975
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    Hester Street

    Hester Street

    6.2 1975 HD

    A Russian emigre prides himself on the way he's molded himself into a real Yankee in the USA, though the world he lives in, New York's Lower East...

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  • 1983
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    Baby It's You

    Baby It's You

    5.8 1983 HD

    In a 1966 New Jersey high school, Jill and new student Sheik from the other side of the tracks make their way in a first love romance.

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  • 1979
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    All That Jazz

    All That Jazz

    7.449 1979 HD

    Joe Gideon is at the top of the heap, one of the most successful directors and choreographers in musical theater. But he can feel his world slowly...

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  • 1982
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    Love Child

    Love Child

    5.8 1982 HD

    It's an extraordinarily touching true-story about Terry Jean Moore, the determined, independent and young woman who is imprisoned for 7 years on...

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  • 1993
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    Love, Honor & Obey: The Last Mafia Marriage

    Love, Honor & Obey: The Last Mafia Marriage

    4 1993 HD

    The story of Rosalie Bonnano, the daughter of a powerful New York Mafia boss who married the son of her father's rival, another powerful New York...

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  • 2008
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    The Wackness

    The Wackness

    6.381 2008 HD

    Set in New York City in the sweltering summer, The Wackness tells the story of a troubled teenage drug dealer, who trades pot for therapy sessions...

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  • 1996
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    The Prosecutors

    The Prosecutors

    1 1996 HD

    Drama (and prospective pilot) about the lives of three women who work in the New York City DA's office: one a brilliant prosecutor of high-profile...

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  • 1991
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    Class Action

    Class Action

    6.3 1991 HD

    A liberal activist lawyer alienated his daughter Maggie years ago when she discovered his many affairs. Now a conservative corporate lawyer, Maggie...

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  • 1996
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    MURDER and murder

    MURDER and murder

    5.1 1996 HD

    Mildred and Doris are two middle-aged white women, from very different backgrounds, who become lovers and set up house together. Film explores the...

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  • 2017
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    Active Adults

    Active Adults

    1 2017 HD

    Malcolm and Lily try to start their lives as they watch Malcolm's grandparents' fall apart.

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  • 1984
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    The Killing Fields

    The Killing Fields

    7.481 1984 HD

    New York Times reporter Sydney Schanberg is on assignment covering the Cambodian Civil War, with the help of local interpreter Dith Pran and American...

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  • 1956
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    The Ten Commandments

    The Ten Commandments

    7.8 1956 HD

    Escaping death, a Hebrew infant is raised in a royal household to become a prince. Upon discovery of his true heritage, Moses embarks on a personal...

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  • 1988
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    Mystic Pizza

    Mystic Pizza

    6.3 1988 HD

    Three teenage girls come of age while working at a pizza parlor in Mystic, Connecticut.

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  • 1980
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    Fame

    Fame

    6.4 1980 HD

    A chronicle of the lives of several teenagers who attend a New York high school for students gifted in the performing arts.

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  • 1995
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    Two Bits

    Two Bits

    5.7 1995 HD

    It's a hot summer day in 1933 in South Philly, where 12-year old Gennaro lives with his widowed mom and his ailing grandpa, who sits outside holding...

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  • 1960
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    Weddings and Babies

    Weddings and Babies

    5.8 1960 HD

    A photographer struggles to make enough money to marry his fiancee, who is starting to believe he's delaying their marriage deliberately.

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  • 1999
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    Witness Protection

    Witness Protection

    6.4 1999 HD

    Would you be willing to walk away from everyone and everything you've ever known in exchange for your safety? This is the question facing career...

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  • 2010
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    Sarah's Key

    Sarah's Key

    7.29 2010 HD

    On the night of 16 July 1942, ten year old Sarah and her parents are being arrested and transported to the Velodrome d'Hiver in Paris where thousands...

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  • 2002
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    The Jimmy Show

    The Jimmy Show

    6 2002 HD

    A failed New Jersey inventor embarks on a career as a standup comic, turns to drink, and labors to keep his family together.

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  • 1993
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    Mr. Wonderful

    Mr. Wonderful

    5.688 1993 HD

    Electrician Gus gets the chance to fulfil a childhood dream by buying an old bowling-alley with some of his friends, but first he must find his...

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  • 1990
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    Murder in Black and White

    Murder in Black and White

    1 1990 HD

    A recently appointed black police commissioner is killed. So, Frank Janek is assigned to investigate.

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  • 1980
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    Nurse

    Nurse

    1 1980 HD

    Michael Learned plays Mary Benjamin, a recently widowed woman who, confronted with her son's departure for college, decides to resume her career as a...

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  • 1991
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    Into the Woods

    Into the Woods

    8.012 1991 HD

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  • 1986
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    Big Trouble in Little China

    Big Trouble in Little China

    7.216 1986 HD

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  • 1990
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    Mr. & Mrs. Bridge

    Mr. & Mrs. Bridge

    6 1990 HD

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  • 1987
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    The Last Emperor

    The Last Emperor

    7.6 1987 HD

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  • 1995
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    Jefferson in Paris

    Jefferson in Paris

    5.1 1995 HD

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  • 1993
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    Little Buddha

    Little Buddha

    6.268 1993 HD

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  • 1990
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    Law & Order

    Law & Order

    7.4 1990 HD

    In cases ripped from the headlines, police investigate serious and often deadly crimes, weighing the evidence and questioning the suspects until...

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  • 1999
    imgS26 E8

    Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

    Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

    7.9 1999 HD

    In the criminal justice system, sexually-based offenses are considered especially heinous. In New York City, the dedicated detectives who investigate...

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  • 1958
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    Naked City

    Naked City

    5.3 1958 HD

    Naked City is a police drama series which aired from 1958 to 1963 on the ABC television network. It was inspired by the 1948 motion picture of the...

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  • 1994
    imgS4 E13

    New York Undercover

    New York Undercover

    7.156 1994 HD

    New York Undercover is an American police drama The series stars Detective J.C. Williams and Detective Eddie Torres, two undercover detectives in New...

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  • 1964
    imgS36 E38

    Another World

    Another World

    5.2 1964 HD

    Another World is an American television soap opera that ran on NBC for 35 years from May 4, 1964 to June 25, 1999. Set in the fictional town of Bay...

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  • 1990
    imgS6 E23

    Northern Exposure

    Northern Exposure

    7.8 1990 HD

    After receiving a scholarship from the state, a recent Columbia University medical school graduate is required to set up his practice in an eccentric...

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  • 2004
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    The Jury

    The Jury

    7 2004 HD

    Set in New York City, the series brings the viewer into the jury room to watch the deliberators try to answer the many questions posed during a...

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  • 1991
    imgS2 E23

    Baby Talk

    Baby Talk

    6.8 1991 HD

    Baby Talk is an American sitcom that aired on ABC from March 8, 1991 until May 8, 1992 as part of ABC's TGIF lineup. The show was loosely based on...

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  • 1985
    imgS2 E21

    Amazing Stories

    Amazing Stories

    7.454 1985 HD

    A truly amazing, fantastical, science fiction, funny and odd, and sometimes scary, sad and endearing anthology series presented by Steven Spielberg...

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  • 2009
    imgS7 E22

    The Good Wife

    The Good Wife

    7.6 2009 HD

    Alicia Florrick boldly assumes full responsibility for her family and re-enters the workforce after her husband's very public sex and political...

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  • 1988
    imgS36 E7

    American Experience

    American Experience

    7.5 1988 HD

    TV's most-watched history series brings to life the compelling stories from our past that inform our understanding of the world today.

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  • 1986
    imgS8 E22

    L.A. Law

    L.A. Law

    7 1986 HD

    L.A. Law is an American television legal drama series that ran for eight seasons on NBC from September 15, 1986, to May 19, 1994. Created by Steven...

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  • 1990
    imgS24 E8

    Law & Order

    Law & Order

    7.4 1990 HD

    In cases ripped from the headlines, police investigate serious and often deadly crimes, weighing the evidence and questioning the suspects until...

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  • 1991
    imgS1 E2

    In a Child's Name

    In a Child's Name

    7.7 1991 HD

    A true story about a woman who fights her brother-in-law's parents for custody of her deceased sister's baby upon learning that her brother-in-law...

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