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Joan Hotchkis

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Joan Hotchkis
Hotchkis in a trailer for Breezy (1973)
Born(1927-09-21)September 21, 1927
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
DiedSeptember 27, 2022(2022-09-27) (aged 95)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation(s)Actor, writer, performance artist
Years activec. 1954–1997
Spouse
Robert Foster
​
​
(m. 1958; div. 1967)​
Children1

Joan Hotchkis (September 21, 1927 – September 27, 2022) was an American stage, screen and television actress, writer and performance artist. A lifetime member of the Actors Studio[1] and the Dramatists Guild, Hotchkis was best known for playing Dr. Nancy Cunningham for several seasons on The Odd Couple, for co-writing with Eric Morris the seminal acting manual "No Acting Please" (1977),[2] which is still used in colleges and conservatories,[3][4][5] and for her groundbreaking performance art works in the 1990s.

Early life

Hotchkis was born in Los Angeles on September 21, 1927.[6][7] Her father, Preston, worked in insurance and investment;[7] her mother, Katharine (Bixby), hailed from a family of cattle ranchers in Orange County that turned Rancho Los Alamitos into a 26,000-acre cattle ranch.[6][8] Hotchkis was raised in San Marino,[9] and attended Westridge School in nearby Pasadena.[10] She studied at Smith College, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in 1949. She then obtained a master's degree in Early Childhood Education from Bank Street Teachers College three years later,[7] before teaching nursery school and kindergarten for three years.[8][11]

Career

At the age of 26, Hotchkis switched from teaching to acting,[11] joining the Actors Studio and studying acting in New York City.[8] She made her Broadway debut in Advise and Consent, adapted from the novel by the same name.[8] From the 1950s through the 1990s, Hotchkis played various roles in television, film and theater (summer stock and Broadway). She was featured in Broadway productions of It's a Bird It's a Plane It's Superman (Philadelphia previews),[12] and Write Me A Murder,[13] before playing Myra on the soap opera The Secret Storm for several years in the early 1960s.[14] She moved back to Los Angeles in 1967 and worked steadily in television through the 1970s.[15] Most notably, Hotchkis played Dr. Nancy Cunningham, sometime girlfriend of Oscar Madison on the television version of The Odd Couple and Ellen in the Emmy-winning series My World and Welcome to It.[16]

Scene from The Odd Couple with (from left): Hotchkis and fellow actors Fred Beir, Jack Klugman, and Janis Hansen.

Hotchkis also made many guest appearances on TV shows such as Bewitched,[16] St. Elsewhere,[7] Lou Grant,[17] Charlie's Angels, Mannix,[16] Marcus Welby,[18] Barnaby Jones,[16] and more. On the big screen, she co-starred as Mama Hartley in the feature film Ode to Billy Joe (1976).[16]

Hotchkis began writing original material in the 70s, beginning with a one-woman play, Legacy depicting an upper-class housewife having a mental and emotional breakdown. Eric Morris directed the play on stage; director Karen Arthur saw the play and approached Hotchkis proposing to make a film version, with Arthur as director and Hotchkis as writer, producer and star.[19][20] The resulting film, Legacy (1975), won Best Newcomer at the Tehran Film Festival.[15]

During the early 1980s, Hotchkis returned to the stage, performing for several years in regional theaters such as the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and Milwaukee Repertory Theater.[21] She subsequently starred in The Glass Menagerie at Los Angeles Theater Center and did occasional television roles.[15][22]

Tearsheets Productions

Beginning in the late 1980s, Hotchkis resumed writing original material, this time moving beyond legitimate theater into the performance art world. She founded the Santa Monica-based Tearsheets Productions[23] and wrote, produced and performed two solo performance pieces.[8] The first, Tearsheets: Rude Tales from the Ranch,[11][24] toured the United States in the early 1990s [25] and went abroad to the Edinburgh International Festival Fringe,[26] where it was the only U.S. production to win a Fringe First Award.[27] Her second solo work was Elements of Flesh: Or Screwing Saved My Ass (1996), about aging and sexuality.[28][29][30]

Personal life

Hotchkis married Robert Foster in June 1958.[10] They met while filming a live commercial.[15] Together, they had one child, Paula. They eventually divorced in 1967, and Hotchkis consequently returned to Los Angeles with Paula.[11][15] Hotchkis' lifelong interest in psychology led her to eventually become a part-time paraprofessional in aggression training at the Institute of Group Psychotherapy (mentored by George Bach).[6][31]

Hotchkis died on September 27, 2022, in Los Angeles. She was 95, and suffered from congestive heart failure prior to her death.[15][32]

Filmography

Joan Hotchkis's Filmography[33][16]
Year Title Role
1971 The Late Liz Sally Pearson
1973 Breezy Paula Harmon
1975 Legacy Bissie Hapgood
1976 Ode to Billy Joe Anna 'Mama' Hartley
1979 Old Boyfriends Pamela Shaw
1984 The Last Game Cory's Mother

References

  1. ^ Garfield, David (1980). "Appendix: Life Members of The Actors Studio as of January 1980". A Player's Place: The Story of The Actors Studio. New York: MacMillan Publishing Co., Inc. p. 278. ISBN 0-02-542650-8.
  2. ^ Complete results for "No Acting Please" in year 1977. WorldCat. Retrieved December 13, 2012.
  3. ^ Elston, Ken (Approved September 19, 2012). George Mason University Course Approval Form. George Mason University College of Visual and Performing Arts; retrieved 2012-12-13 (Scroll to "Professional Perspectives on Performance: Recommended Reading").
  4. ^ Heinlein, Kurt Gerard; Parker, Stacy Parker (2009, 2012). Missouri State Theatre & Dance: BFA in Acting Program Guidelines; retrieved December 13, 2012 (Scroll to "Additional Information and Resources: 13. Publications for the Actor').
  5. ^ St. Clair, Charles (Spring 2011). 'Acting for the Camera' Course Guide. The New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences at Arizona State University; retrieved 2012-12-13 (Scroll to "Suggested Reading" on page 3).
  6. ^ a b c Leszczak, Bob (August 23, 2014). The Odd Couple on Stage and Screen: A History with Cast and Crew Profiles and an Episode Guide. McFarland. p. 67. ISBN 9781476615394.
  7. ^ a b c d Hubbard, Linda S.; Steen, Sara J. (1989). Contemporary Theatre, Film and Television. Cengage Gale. p. 184. ISBN 9780810320703. Personal: Born September 21, 1927, in Los Angeles, CA; daughter of Preston (in the insurance and investment business) and Katharine (Bixby) Hotchkis; married Robert Foster (a film director and writer) … Education: Smith College, B.A., 1949; Bank Street College of Education, M.S., 1952, studied acting with Lee Strasberg, Sanford Meisner, Kristen Linklater, Eric Morris …
  8. ^ a b c d e Curtis, Cathy (October 18, 1996). "Acting Her Age". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 5, 2022.
  9. ^ Ransom, Franki V. (July 12, 1992). "Joan Hotchkis will be the sole performer…". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 5, 2022.
  10. ^ a b "Joan Hotchkis, Robert Foster To Marry June 7". The New York Times. April 25, 1958. p. 23. ProQuest 114596953. Retrieved October 5, 2022 – via ProQuest.
  11. ^ a b c d Churnin, Nancy (October 17, 1991). "Women's Family Secrets Go Public in 'Tearsheets'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 5, 2022.
  12. ^ Eury, Michael (April 19, 2017). Hero-A-Go-Go: Campy Comic Books, Crimefighters, & Culture of the Swinging Sixties. TwoMorrows Publishing. p. 199. ISBN 9781605490731.
  13. ^ Crowther, Linnea (October 4, 2022). "Joan Hotchkis Obituary". Retrieved October 5, 2022 – via Legacy.com.
  14. ^ "Joan Hotchkis – Biography". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved October 5, 2022.
  15. ^ a b c d e f Zee, Michaela (October 4, 2022). "Joan Hotchkis, 'The Odd Couple' and 'Legacy' Star, Dies at 95". Variety. Retrieved October 5, 2022.
  16. ^ a b c d e f "Joan Hotchkis". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  17. ^ Daniel, Douglass K. (January 1, 1996). Lou Grant: The Making of TV's Top Newspaper Drama. Syracuse University Press. p. 194. ISBN 9780815603634.
  18. ^ "Joan Hotchkis List of Movies and TV Shows". TV Guide. Retrieved October 5, 2022.
  19. ^ "Legacy (1975)". American Film Institute. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  20. ^ Canby, Vincent (May 3, 1976). "Film: Day in Life of Bissie Hapgood – Karen Arthur 'Legacy' at Cinema Studio". The New York Times. Retrieved October 5, 2022.
  21. ^ Barnes, Mike (October 4, 2022). "Joan Hotchkis, Actress in 'The Odd Couple' and 'Ode to Billie Joe,' Dies at 95". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 5, 2022.
  22. ^ Sullivan, Dan (January 19, 1987). "'Menagerie' Gets Passing Marks". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 5, 2022.
  23. ^ "Tearsheets Productions". Archived from the original on November 1, 2010. Retrieved November 14, 2009.
  24. ^ McCulloh, T. H. (November 16, 1990). "Shadow of a Gunman' Pulls Irish Trick; 'Going On' Gives Glimpse of Backstage; 'Tearsheets' Zeroes in on Family Revelations". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on May 2, 2021. Retrieved May 2, 2021.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  25. ^ "East Coast Premiere". Schenectady Daily Gazette. June 28, 1991. p. C1. Retrieved December 13, 2012.
  26. ^ Epstein, Robert (July 9, 1992). "Letters to the Past: Exploring Relationships of a California Dynasty". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 13, 2012.
  27. ^ "Odd Couple's Joan Hotchkis in the Flesh in CA". Playbill. February 27, 1997. Retrieved December 13, 2012.
  28. ^ Haithman, Diane (May 9, 1996). "Just Wait Until Sen. Jesse Helms Hears This One". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 13, 2012.
  29. ^ Foley, F. Kathleen (May 10, 1996). "'Elements of Flesh' Dares to Be Sensuous". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 13, 2012.
  30. ^ "Aging and Sexuality Just Might Be Compatible, After All". Los Angeles Times. February 12, 1997. Retrieved December 13, 2012.
  31. ^ TV Guide. Triangle Publications. 1970. p. 21.
  32. ^ Tinoco, Armando (October 3, 2022). "Joan Hotchkis Dies: 'The Odd Couple' & 'Legacy' Star Was 95". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 3, 2022.
  33. ^ "Joan Hotchkis". American Film Institute. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
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