‘Law & Order: SVU’ Actress Joanna Merlin Dies at 92

Joanna Merlin, known for her roles on Broadway in the film Fame and as non-nonsense Judge Lena Petrovsky in TV’s Law & Order: SVU, has passed away at 92. Her death was announced by the New York University Tisch Graduate Acting Program, where she had been a faculty member since 1998.

“Joanna was an actress, master Chekhov teacher, and former casting director for Harold Prince, Stephen Sondheim, Bernardo Bertolucci, and James Ivory,” the NYU statement said. “Joanna will be deeply missed at Grad Acting, by the Chekhov community, and by the many people she touched through her artistry.”

Merlin, renowned for her work as a casting director, played a pivotal role in casting for several iconic Broadway productions by Stephen Sondheim. She served as the trusted casting director for Harold Prince for many years.

A specific cause of death has yet to be disclosed.

Born Joann Ratner in Chicago on July 15, 1931, she adopted a stage name as she embarked on her show business journey. According to her obituary, she is the second child of Russian Jewish immigrants Toni and Harry Ratner, and her family relocated to Los Angeles where she graduated from Fairfax High School and attended UCLA.

Her career led her to the Broadway stage, where she performed in three noteworthy productions, including the original 1960 rendition of “Becket” featuring Laurence Olivier and Anthony Quinn and the original 1961 production of “A Far Country” starring Kim Stanley.

Merlin’s breakthrough on stage occurred in 1964 when she portrayed Tzeitel, the eldest daughter of milkman Tevye, in the hit musical Fiddler on the Roof. Her character’s desire to marry the poor tailor Motel was a pivotal element in the story, and she was part of the memorable musical number “Matchmaker, Matchmaker.”

(Photo by United Artists/Archive Photos/Getty Images)

Following her role in Fiddler, Merlin shifted her focus to casting, particularly on Broadway. She cast crucial roles in some of Stephen Sondheim’s most significant musicals, including Company, Follies, A Little Night Music, Pacific Overtures, Sweeney Todd, and more.

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Merlin’s screen career began with her role as Jethro’s Daughter in Cecil B. DeMille’s The Ten Commandments (1956), followed by more minor roles in television and film during the 1960s and ’70s, such as Naked City and Bob Fosse‘s All That Jazz.

Merlin had guest or small roles in films like Mr. Wonderful and The Wackness and appeared in later television series such as New York Undercover, All My Children, The Good Wife, and Homeland.

According to her obituary, she co-founded the Non-Traditional Casting Project in the 1980s, which evolved to become the Alliance for Inclusion in the Arts. The organization was honored for excellence at the 2011 Tony Awards. A longtime faculty member of the Grad Acting program at the NYU Tisch School of the Arts, Merlin is the author of the definitive text, Auditioning: An Actor Friendly Guide, which was recently translated into Spanish and has been continuously in print since its publication in 2001.

For TV fans, she will forever be remembered for her role within the Law & Order franchise. While she appeared in the original Law & Order series in the mid-1990s, her portrayal of the no-nonsense and formidable Judge Lena Petrovsky in over 40 episodes of Law & Order: SVU from 2000 to 2011 became the defining role of her later career.

Merlin was pre-deceased by her husband of 42 years, the attorney David Dretzin, and her sister Harriet Glickman. She is survived by her daughters, actress Julie Dretzin (Sam Catlin) and documentary filmmaker Rachel Dretzin (Barak Goodman), and her five grandchildren, Noah, Jesse, and Ruby Goodman and Ben and Eli Catlin.

Plans for her memorial will be announced at a later date, as per her obituary.