Joanna Merlin, Longtime Judge on ‘Law & Order: SVU’, Dead at 92

Joanna Merlin, the legendary Broadway casting director and actress who originated the role of Tzeitel in the 1964 Broadway production of Fiddler on the Roof and was a longtime Law & Order: SVU judge, has died. Merlin passed away in Los Angeles on Sunday at the age of 92, the New York University Tisch Graduate Acting Program, where she had been a faculty member since 1998, announced. Her cause of death was not immediately available.

“We are saddened to share news about the passing of our beloved Joanna Merlin,” the announcement, shared to Instagram, read. “Joanna was an actress, master Chekhov teacher, and former casting director for Harold Prince, Stephen Sondheim, Bernardo Bertolucci, and James Ivory…Joanna will be deeply missed at Grad Acting, by the Chekhov community, and by the many people she touched through her artistry.”

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Born Joann Ratner in Chicago in July 1931, per Deadline, Merlin changed her name for a show business career. After graduating from UCLA, Merlin studied acting under Michael Chekhov, going on to make her screen debut in Cecil B. DeMille’s 1956 hit The Ten Commandments. After appearing in Weddings and Babies, CBS Repertoire Workshop, and other titles, Merlin’s career led her to the Broadway stage, where she made her Broadway debut as Gwendolyn in Becket starring Laurence Olivier in 1961 and the original 1961 production of A Far Country starring Kim Stanley. Merlin had her breakthrough on the stage in 1964 when she portrayed Tzeitel, the oldest daughter of milkman Tevye, in Fiddler on the Roof. As Tzeitel, Merlin got to sing “Matchmaker, Matchmaker,” one of the most well-known musical numbers from the show.

Following her role in Fiddler, Merlin got into casting. She cast the original Broadway productions of Sondheim’s Company, Follies, A Little Night Music, Pacific Overtures, Sweeney Todd, and Merrily We Roll Along, as well as Evita, Candide, and On the Twentieth Century. Throughout the remainder of her career, Merlin remained active as both an actor and casting director in television and film. She had guest roles in films including The Killing Fields, Mr. Wonderful, and The Wackness, and TV series such as Northern Exposure, New York Undercover, All My Children, The Good Wife, and Homeland.

Merlin, however, was perhaps best recognized for her role as the non-nonsense Judge Lena Petrovsky in the Law & Order franchise. Merlin appeared in the role across several episodes of the original Law & Order in the mid-1990s. She also portrayed the beloved judge in over 40 episodes of Law & Order: SVU from 2000 to 2011.

Merlin began teaching graduate acting at New York University in 1998. She founded the Michael Chekhov Association the following year, teaching acting workshops. Merlin is survived by two daughters, the actor Julie Dretzin and documentary film director and producer Rachel Dretzin.