Joan Hotchkis
Encyclopedia
Joan Hotchkis is an American
stage, screen and television actress, writer and performance artist.
She played Dr. Nancy Cunningham, sometime girlfriend of Oscar Madison
on the television version of The Odd Couple
. She also played Ellen, the wife, in the Emmy-winning series My World and Welcome to It
. She also made guest appearances on Bewitched
and Lou Grant
.
Her film work includes the role of Mama Hartley in Ode to Billy Joe
(1976), William Holden
's ex-wife Paula in Breezy
(1973), and Bissie Hapgood in Legacy (1975), which she also wrote. Her stage work includes Broadway and Off-Broadway productions in the 1950s and 60s. In the 1980s, she played lead roles at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival
, Milwaukee Repertory Theater
, Tennessee Repertory Theatre, The Cincinnati Playhouse
, and the Los Angeles Theater Center.
She worked as a part-time paraprofessional in aggression training at the Institute of Group Psychotherapy before founding the Santa Monica
-based Tearsheets Productions. Hotchkis has written and performed two solo performance pieces to date. The first, Tearsheets: Rude Tales from the Ranch, toured the United States in the early 1990s and went abroad to the Edinburgh International Festival Fringe
, where it was the only U.S. production to win a Fringe First Award. Her second solo work was Elements of Flesh: Or Screwing Saved My Ass (1996), about aging and sexuality.
Hotchkis co-wrote, with Eric Morris
, the acting manual, "No Acting Please" (1977), which is still used in colleges and conservatories.
and has one child, a daughter.
and the Dramatists Guild
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
stage, screen and television actress, writer and performance artist.
She played Dr. Nancy Cunningham, sometime girlfriend of Oscar Madison
Oscar Madison
Oscar Madison is a character in The Odd Couple, which began as a Broadway play, then was a film and then a television series.In The Odd Couple, Oscar Madison is the everyman, and is a sportswriter for the New York Herald...
on the television version of The Odd Couple
The Odd Couple (TV series)
The Odd Couple is a television situation comedy broadcast from September 24, 1970 to July 4, 1975 on ABC. It starred Tony Randall as Felix Unger and Jack Klugman as Oscar Madison. It was based upon the play of the same name, which was written by Neil Simon.Felix and Oscar are two divorced men....
. She also played Ellen, the wife, in the Emmy-winning series My World and Welcome to It
My World and Welcome to It
My World and Welcome to It was a US-made half-hour sitcom based on the humor and cartoons of James Thurber. It starred William Windom as John Monroe, a Thurber-like writer and cartoonist who works for a magazine that closely resembles The New Yorker, called The Manhattanite...
. She also made guest appearances on Bewitched
Bewitched
Bewitched is an American situation comedy originally broadcast for eight seasons on ABC from 1964 to 1972, starring Elizabeth Montgomery, Dick York and Dick Sargent , Agnes Moorehead, and David White. The show is about a witch who marries a mortal and tries to lead the life of a typical suburban...
and Lou Grant
Lou Grant (TV series)
Lou Grant is an American television drama series starring Ed Asner in the titular role as a newspaper editor. Unusual in American television, this drama series was a spinoff from a sitcom, The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Aired from 1977 to 1982, Lou Grant won 13 Emmy Awards, including "Outstanding Drama...
.
Her film work includes the role of Mama Hartley in Ode to Billy Joe
Ode to Billy Joe (film)
Ode to Billy Joe is a 1976 film with a screenplay by Herman Raucher, inspired by the 1967 hit song by Bobbie Gentry, titled "Ode to Billie Joe" ....
(1976), William Holden
William Holden
William Holden was an American actor. Holden won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1954 and the Emmy Award for Best Actor in 1974...
's ex-wife Paula in Breezy
Breezy
Breezy is a 1973 American romantic drama film, starring William Holden and Kay Lenz. It was written by Jo Heims, and was the third film directed by Clint Eastwood, who appears uncredited as a man in crowd on a pier.-Plot:...
(1973), and Bissie Hapgood in Legacy (1975), which she also wrote. Her stage work includes Broadway and Off-Broadway productions in the 1950s and 60s. In the 1980s, she played lead roles at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival
Oregon Shakespeare Festival
The Oregon Shakespeare Festival is a regional repertory theatre in Ashland, Oregon, United States. The festival annually produces eleven plays on three stages during a season that lasts from February to October...
, Milwaukee Repertory Theater
Milwaukee Repertory Theater
Milwaukee Repertory Theater, founded by Mary Widrig John in 1954, as the Fred Miller Theatre Company, is now located on the east bank of the Milwaukee River in the Patty and Jay Baker Theater Complex at 108 E Wells St, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is home to an eleven member Resident Acting Company...
, Tennessee Repertory Theatre, The Cincinnati Playhouse
Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park
The was founded in 1959 by college student Gerald Covell and was one of the first regional theatres in the United States. Located in Eden Park, the first play that premiered at the Playhouse on October 10, 1960, was Meyer Levin's Compulsion...
, and the Los Angeles Theater Center.
She worked as a part-time paraprofessional in aggression training at the Institute of Group Psychotherapy before founding the Santa Monica
Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica is a beachfront city in western Los Angeles County, California, US. Situated on Santa Monica Bay, it is surrounded on three sides by the city of Los Angeles — Pacific Palisades on the northwest, Brentwood on the north, West Los Angeles on the northeast, Mar Vista on the east, and...
-based Tearsheets Productions. Hotchkis has written and performed two solo performance pieces to date. The first, Tearsheets: Rude Tales from the Ranch, toured the United States in the early 1990s and went abroad to the Edinburgh International Festival Fringe
Edinburgh Fringe
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the world’s largest arts festival. Established in 1947 as an alternative to the Edinburgh International Festival, it takes place annually in Scotland's capital, in the month of August...
, where it was the only U.S. production to win a Fringe First Award. Her second solo work was Elements of Flesh: Or Screwing Saved My Ass (1996), about aging and sexuality.
Hotchkis co-wrote, with Eric Morris
Eric Morris (actor)
Eric Morris is an American acting teacher and actor who founded his own theory of acting based on the works of Lee Strasberg and Martin Landau...
, the acting manual, "No Acting Please" (1977), which is still used in colleges and conservatories.
Personal life
Joan Hotchkis is a 4th generation Californian, born to Preston Hotchkis and Katherine Bixby Hotchkis. She was raised in PasadenaPasadena, California
Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...
and has one child, a daughter.
Affiliations
She is a lifetime member of the Actors StudioActors Studio
The Actors Studio is a membership organization for professional actors, theatre directors and playwrights at 432 West 44th Street in the Clinton neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded October 5, 1947, by Elia Kazan, Cheryl Crawford, Robert Lewis and Anna Sokolow who provided...
and the Dramatists Guild
Dramatists Guild of America
The Dramatists Guild of America is a professional organization for playwrights, composers, and lyricists working in the U.S. theatre market.Membership as an Associate Member is open to any person having written at least one stage play. Active Members are playwrights who have had at least one play...
.