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
1971The Late LizSally Pearson
1973BreezyPaula Harmon
1975LegacyBissie Hapgood
1976Ode to Billy JoeAnna 'Mama' Hartley
1979Old BoyfriendsPamela Shaw
1984The Last GameCory'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. 1 2 3 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. 1 2 3 4 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. 1 2 3 4 5 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. 1 2 "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. 1 2 3 4 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. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Zee, Michaela (October 4, 2022). "Joan Hotchkis, 'The Odd Couple' and 'Legacy' Star, Dies at 95". Variety. Retrieved October 5, 2022.
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "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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