Joanna Gleason
About
Biography
Filmography
Family & Companions
Biography
A wonderfully familiar face to movie audiences and TV viewers, and a hero to lovers of Broadway, Joanna Gleason was born in Toronto, Canada in 1950. Her father was TV game show host Monty Hall, and as Gleason's family relocated to New York and then to Los Angeles, Gleason had ample opportunity to become inspired by the entertainment industry. She graduated from Occidental College and began auditioning for roles on both the stage and screen, eventually landing her debut Broadway role in the play "I Love My Wife" in 1977. After a monumental 14 month run with the production, Gleason moved to the screen, co-starring on the sitcom "Hello, Larry" (NBC, 1979-1980). After returning to Broadway for "Joe Egg" in 1985 and appearing in the Woody Allen film "Hannah and Her Sisters" (1986), Gleason landed one of her most famous and celebrated roles, playing the baker's wife in the original Broadway cast of Steven Sondheim's acclaimed musical "Into the Woods." She would return to the screen for a period following the show's hugely successful run, co-starring on "Love & War" (CBS, 1992-95) and in the film "Boogie Nights" (1997), in addition to guest starring on shows like "The West Wing" (NBC, 1999-2006) and "Friends" (NBC, 1994-2004). When Gleason returned to the stage, it was to tremendous acclaim, starring in back-to-back Broadway and off-Broadway productions of "The Normal Heart," "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels," and "Sons of the Prophet" from 2004 to 2008. After mounting a well received autobiographical cabaret act at 54 Below in 2013, Gleason joined the cast of the Canadian-made HBO series "Sensitive Skin" (HBO, 2014-), alongside Kim Cattrall.
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Cast (Special)
Music (Special)
Cast (TV Mini-Series)
Life Events
1972
Made stage debut in productions of "Promises, Promises" with the Long Beach and San Francisco Light Opera companies
1974
Starred opposite Stacy Keach in "Hamlet" at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles
1977
Made Broadway debut in the musical "I Love My Wife"
1979
Made her TV acting debut playing Morgan Winslow on the sitcom "Hello, Larry."
1980
Regular on TV game show, "Chain Reaction"
1983
Made TV-movie debut in "Still the Beaver"
1985
Co-starred on Broadway in "Joe Egg."
1986
Made featurefilm debut as a group therapy member in "Heartburn"
1987
Memorably played the baker's wife in the original Broadway cast of Steven Sondheim's acclaimed musical "Into the Woods."
1991
Starred on Broadway opposite Barry Bostwick in the problem-plagued and ultimately short-lived musical, "Nick and Nora"
1992
Co-starred on the series "Love & War" and directed several episodes.
1996
Had a recurring role on "ER" (NBC)
1997
Co-starred with Debi Mazar in the short-lived CBS sitcom "Temporarily Yours"
1997
Had feature role as the mother of Mark Wahlberg in "Boogie Nights"
1998
Co-starred in the Lifetime sitcom "Oh Baby"
2000
Portrayed the manager and best friend of Bette Midler in the CBS fall sitcom "Bette"
2001
Had featured role in "The Wedding Planner" starring Jennifer Lopez
2005
Starred in the Broadway production of "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels."
2009
Cast as Roberta Finklestein in "The Rebound"
2014
Played Veronica on "Sensitive Skin"
Family
Companions
