Joanna Gleason

Infobox actor
name = Joanna Gleason


imagesize =
caption =
birthname = Joanne Hall
birthdate = birth date and age|1950|06|2
birthplace = Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
occupation = Actress, singer
spouse = Chris Sarandon (1994-present)
Michael Bennahum (1984-1990)
Paul G. Gleason (1975-1981)
tonyawards = Best Leading Actress in a Musical
1988 "Into the Woods"

Joanna Gleason (born June 2 1950) is a Canadian actress and singer. She is a Tony Award-winning musical theatre actress and has also had a number of notable film and TV roles.

Biography

Early life

Gleason was born as Joanne Hall in Winnipeg, Manitoba, the daughter of Marilyn (née Plottel), a producer, writer, and actress, and television personality Monty Hall. [ [http://www.filmreference.com/film/74/Joanna-Gleason.html Joanna Gleason Biography (1950-) ] ] At the time, her father worked at the Canadian Wheat Board and had changed his name from Halprin to Hall to sound better on the radio. He later started his TV career and went on to fame as host of "Let's Make a Deal". Monty Hall's brother, Robert Halprin, also changed his name to Hall.

In May 1956 the Hall family moved to New York and, in the early 1960s, they again moved to Los Angeles, California. Gleason graduated from Beverly Hills High School in 1968. While attending BHHS she was in the school's productions of "The Music Man", "The Mikado", "The Grass Harp", and "The Madwoman of Chaillot". In high school Gleason received acting instruction from John Ingle, the soap-opera star, who taught at BHHS from 1955 to 1985. She continued her education at UCLA, then Occidental College, from which she graduated. Gleason has been a teacher herself, holding classes and workshops all over the country.

Career

Although Gleason has had an active film and TV career, she is probably best known for her stage work. Gleason made her Broadway debut in 1977 in "I Love My Wife", for which she was honored with a Theatre World Award. Additional Broadway credits include "The Real Thing", "A Day in the Death of Joe Egg", "Nick & Nora", "Into the Woods" (for which she won several awards including a Tony Award in the lead role of the Baker's Wife), "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels", and "The Cartells". In early 2002, she directed her first New York play.

Gleason's TV and film career also began in the late 1970s, first in the TV show "Hello, Larry". She next appeared as the host of a short lived cable talk show "Personal Side" in the early 1980s. This was followed by her first film roles in "Hannah and Her Sisters" and "Heartburn" in 1986. Gleason would collaborate again with Woody Allen in what many consider one of her best film roles in the 1989 movie "Crimes and Misdemeanors", this time playing Allen's character's wife.

Gleason appeared in several films in the 1990s, including "F/X2", "Mr. Holland's Opus", "Boogie Nights", and "Road Ends". More recently Gleason has appeared in "The Pleasure of Your Company", "Wild Blue Yonder", "Fathers and Sons", and "The Wedding Planner". On television, she played the role of Nadine Berkus on the show "Love & War" from 1992-95. In addition to acting, Gleason directed several episodes of this show. She also played the role of Joan Silver on the sort lived series "Temporarily Yours" in 1997. Gleason starred in the Lifetime series "Oh Baby" as Charlotte from 1998-2000 also directing episodes of this show. Shortly following this show, she starred opposite Bette Midler and Lindsay Lohan on the show "Bette" as agent Connie Randolph. Gleason also appeared in several made-for-TV movies, including "If These Walls Could Talk", "For the Love of Aaron", "Born Too Soon", and "For Richer, for Poorer". She also played the Baker's Wife in the PBS Great Performances broadcast of "Into the Woods". Gleason's numerous guest starring TV credits include episodes of "The West Wing", "The Practice", "King of the Hill", "Friends", "Tracey Takes On...", "Murphy Brown", "ER", and "Diff'rent Strokes".

In 2007, Gleason was honored by the New England Theatre Conference with a Special Award for her Achievement in Theatre.

Personal life

Gleason has been married to actor Chris Sarandon since 1994. The two met while performing in Broadway’s 1991 short-lived musical "Nick & Nora". They returned to the stage together in 1998's "Thorn and Bloom" and have also have collaborated together on several films including "Road Ends", "Edie and Pen", "Let the Devil Wear Black", and "American Perfekt".

Previously Joanna Gleason was married to acting coach Paul G. Gleason, whose last name she kept as her professional surname, and later to Michael Bennahum.

Gleason and Chris Sarandon have four children between them: Aaron David Gleason, from her first marriage, and Stephanie, Alexis, and Michael Sarandon, from Sarandon's second marriage.

Gleason's siblings are television writer/director, Sharon Hall Kessler, and Emmy-award winning television writer/director, Richard Hall.

Awards and nominations

;Awards
* 1977 Theatre World Award - "I Love My Wife"
* 1986 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play - "It's Only a Play"
* 1986 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play - "Social Security"
* 1988 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical - "Into the Woods"
* 1988 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical - "Into the Woods";Nominations
* 1985 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play - "Joe Egg"
* 1985 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play - "Joe Egg"
* 2005 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical - "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels"
* 2005 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical - "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels"

References

External links

*
*
* [http://www.americantheatrewing.org/downstagecenter/detail/joanna_gleason Joanna Gleason] - "Downstage Center" interview at American Theatre Wing.org
* [http://www.tonyawards.com/en_US/interactive/video/index.html#g TonyAwards.com Interview with Joanna Gleason]
* [http://www.broadwayworld.com/viewcolumn.cfm?colid=24136 BroadwayWorld: Holtzman's 'Something You Did' Premieres Off-Bway with Gleason]
* [http://www.joannagleason.com/ Fan website]

###@@@KEY@@@###succession box
title=Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical
years=1987-1988
for "Into the Woods"
before=Jane Summerhays
for "Me and My Girl"
after=Tovah Feldshuh
for "Lend Me a Tenor"