15 Facts About Joan Hotchkis

Joan Hotchkis was an American stage, screen and television actress, writer and performance artist.

Joan Hotchkis was born in Los Angeles on September 21,1927.

Joan Hotchkis was raised in San Marino, and attended Westridge School in nearby Pasadena.

Joan Hotchkis studied at Smith College, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in 1949.

Joan Hotchkis then obtained a master's degree in Early Childhood Education from Bank Street Teachers College three years later, before teaching nursery school and kindergarten for three years.

At the age of 26, Joan Hotchkis switched from teaching to acting, joining the Actors Studio and studying acting in New York City.

Joan Hotchkis made her Broadway debut in Advise and Consent, adapted from the novel by the same name.

Joan Hotchkis was featured in Broadway productions of It's a Bird It's a Plane It's Superman, and Write Me A Murder, before playing Myra on the soap opera The Secret Storm for several years in the early 1960s.

Joan Hotchkis moved back to Los Angeles in 1967 and worked steadily in television through the 1970s.

Joan Hotchkis made many guest appearances on TV shows such as Bewitched, St Elsewhere, Lou Grant, Charlie's Angels, Mannix, Marcus Welby, Barnaby Jones, and more.

Joan 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 Joan Hotchkis proposing to make a film version, with Arthur as director and Joan Hotchkis as writer, producer and star.

Joan Hotchkis subsequently starred in The Glass Menagerie at Los Angeles Theater Center and did occasional television roles.

Joan Hotchkis founded the Santa Monica-based Tearsheets Productions and wrote, produced and performed two solo performance pieces.

Joan Hotchkis was 95, and suffered from congestive heart failure prior to her death.