Joan Copeland

**Joan Maxine Kupchik** (née **Miller**; June 1, 1922 – January 4, 2022), known professionally as **Joan Copeland**, was an American actress. She was the younger sister of playwright Arthur Miller. She began her career during the mid-1940s, appearing in theatre in New York City, where, shortly thereafter, she would become one of the first members admitted to the newly formed Actors Studio. She moved into television and film during the 1950s while still maintaining an active stage career. She is best known for her performances in the 1977 Broadway revival of *Pal Joey* and her award-winning performance in the 1981 play *The American Clock*. She also played a number of prominent roles on various soap operas throughout her career, including Andrea Whiting on *Search for Tomorrow* and Gwendolyn Lord Abbott on *One Life to Live*. She voiced Tanana in *Brother Bear*.

## Joan Copeland

### Relatives

**Parents:** Augusta Miller, and Isidore Miller
**Husband:** George J. Kupchik
**Sisters-in-law:** Mary Slattery Marilyn Monroe, and Inge Morath,
**Brother:** Arthur Asher Miller
**Nieces/Nephews:** Jane Miller, Rebecca Miller, Daniel Miller, and Robert A Miller
**Nephews-in-law:** Daniel-Day-Lewis, and Tom Doyle
**Grandnephews:** Gabriel-Kane Day-Lewis, Ronan Day-Lewis
**Son:** Eric Kupchik

### Affiliation

Manhattan
Brother Bear
Search for Tomorrow
Gwendolyn Lord Abbott
One Life to Live

## Personal life

Miller was born to a middle-class Jewish family in New York City. Her father, Isidore, was a woman's clothes manufacturer, and her mother, Augusta (née Barnett), was a schoolteacher and a housewife. She was the younger sister of Kermit Miller and playwright Arthur Miller and was briefly sister-in-law to Marilyn Monroe, with whom she shared a birthday. She was married to George J. Kupchik, an engineer, from 1946 until his death in 1989. She had a son named Eric with him.

Copeland died at her home in Manhattan on January 4, 2022, at the age of 99.

## Career

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Copeland began her career in the theatre, making her professional debut as Juliet in William Shakespeare's *Romeo and Juliet* at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in 1945. She made her Broadway debut as Nadine in the original 1948 production of Bessie Breuer's *Sundown Beach*. Thereafter she maintained an active career in the theatre. Her other Broadway credits include *Detective Story* (1949), *Not for Children* (1951), *Handful of Fire* (1958), *Tovarich* (1963), *Something More!* (1964), *The Price* (1968), *Coco* (1969), *Two By Two* (1970), *Checking Out* (1976), *45 Seconds from Broadway* (2002), and *Wit & Wisdom* (2003), among others.

She worked extensively Off-Broadway in New York City. Her notable credits therein include Desdemona in *Othello* at the Equity Library Theatre (1946), Betty Shapiro in *The Grass is Greener* at the Downtown National Theatre (1955), Melanie in *Conversation Piece* at the Barbizon-Plaza Theatre (1957), Mrs. Erlynne in *Delightful Season* at the Gramercy Arts Theatre (1960), Leonie Frothingham in *End of Summer* at the Manhattan Theatre Club (1974), Lillian Hellman in *Are You Now or Have You Ever Been* at the Promenade Theatre (1978), the title role in *Candida* at the Roundabout Theatre (1979), Tasha Blumberg in *Isn't It Romantic?* at the Playwrights Horizons (1983), Mrs. Thompson in *Hunting Cockroaches* at the Manhattan Theatre Club (1987), Rose Brill in *The Rose Quartet* at the Circle Repertory Theatre (1991), Aida Gianelli in *Over the River and Through the Woods* at the John Houseman Theatre (1998), Nelly Fell in *The Torch-Bearers* at the Greenwich House Theatre (2000), and as part of a rotating cast in *Wit & Wisdom* at the Arclight Theatre (2003). She won an Obie Award in 1991 for her portrayal of Eva Adler in *The American Plan* at the Manhattan Theatre Club.
Copeland began working in television in the early 1950s as a guest actress on such shows as *Suspense* and *The Web* and on the live telecast of O'Neill's play *The Iceman Cometh* in 1960. She appeared on numerous soap operas. She portrayed Andrea Whiting (Joanne's daughter, Patti's malevolent former mother in-law) on *Search for Tomorrow*, twin sisters Maggie and Kay Logan on *Love of Life*, and roles on *The Edge of Night*, *How to Survive a Marriage*, and *As the World Turns*. She also portrayed Gwendolyn Lord Abbott on *One Life to Live* from 1978–1979, and later returned to the series to play Selma Hanen in 1995. Between 1993-1997 she portrayed the recurring character of Judge Rebecca Stein on *Law & Order*. Her other television credits include guest appearances on *The Patty Duke Show*, *Chicago Hope*, *ER*, *All in the Family*, and *Naked City*.

Copeland made her first film appearance as Alice Marie in *The Goddess* (1958). Her film career was sporadic and her appearances have been almost exclusively in prominent secondary roles. Her film credits include *Middle of the Night* (1959), *Roseland* (1977), *It's My Turn* (1980), *A Little Sex* (1982), *Happy New Year* (1987), *The Laser Man* (1988), *Her Alibi* (1989), *Jungle 2 Jungle* (1997), *The Peacemaker* (1997), *The Object of My Affection* (1998), *The Adventures of Sebastian Cole* (1998), *The Audrey Hepburn Story* (2000), *The Last Request* (2006), and *The Private Lives of Pippa Lee* (2009). She also voiced Tanana in Disney's *Brother Bear* (2003).

In December 2014, Copeland was invited, along with Broadway actor-singer Jamie Ross by The Noel Coward Society to lay flowers on the statue of Sir Noël Coward at The Gershwin Theatre in Manhattan to celebrate the 115th anniversary of Coward's birthday.[*citation needed*]

Copeland was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for the 1976 production of *Pal Joey* and won a Drama Desk Award in 1981 for *The American Clock*.[*citation needed*]

## References

1. ↑ Robert Lewis (1996) [1984]. "Actors Studio, 1947". *Slings and Arrows: Theater in My Life*. New York: Applause Books. p. 183. ISBN 1-55783-244-7. At the end of the summer, on Gadget's return from Hollywood, we settled the roster of actors for our two classes in what we called the Actors Studio - using the word 'studio' as we had when we named our workshop in the Group, the Group Theatre Studio. Kazan's people met twice a week and included, among others, Julie Harris, Jocelyn Brando, Cloris Leachman, James Whitmore, Joan Copeland, Steven Hill, Lou Gilbert, Rudy Bond, Anne Hegira, Peg Hillias, Lenka Peterson, Edward Binns, and Tom Avera.
2. ↑ Wahls, Robert (July 18, 1976). "Footlights: Perseverance Counts". *New York Daily News*. p. 216. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
3. ↑ "Joan Copeland, Stage Actress and Sister of Arthur Miller, Dies at 99". January 4, 2022.
4. ↑ "Wit & Wisdom - Off-Broadway - Tickets, Reviews, Info and More". Retrieved December 17, 2016.
5. ↑ Schemering, Christopher (September 1985). *The Soap Opera Encyclopedia* (1st ed.). pp. 158–166. ISBN 0-345-32459-5.

## External links

* Joan Copeland at IMDb

* Joan Copeland at the Internet Broadway Database Edit this at Wikidata

* Joan Copeland at the Internet Off-Broadway Database

* Joan Copeland discography at Discogs

* Joan Copeland at the University of Wisconsin's Actors Studio audio collection

* Times Square Online - Joan Copeland, talented sister of Arthur Miller has a lot to say at age 89 - interview by Sandi Durell, video by Magda Katz, posted August 20, 2011