Joan Hotchkis
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.
Joan Hotchkis
September 21, 1927
September 27, 2022 (aged 95)
Actor, writer, performance artist
c. 1954–1997
1
Early life[edit]
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]
Personal life[edit]
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]