Joanna Roos

Joanna Roos, born Dorothy Roos on January 11, 1901, in Brooklyn, New York, and died May 13, 1989, was an American actress and playwright whose career spanned Broadway, radio, television, and film. Her family relocated to Syracuse when she was ten years old, where she completed high school before earning a bachelor of arts degree from Syracuse University. To fund her college education, she worked as a stenographer at The Post-Standard, a Syracuse newspaper, and gave readings with touring Lyceum companies. Following her graduation, she pursued further training at Yvette Guilbert's School of the Theatre, which maintained locations in both New York and Paris.

Roos made her professional theatrical debut in May 1921 in a production of The Harlequinade at the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York City. Her Broadway career extended from 1921 to 1960 and encompassed a wide range of productions. Among her earlier credits were The Idle Inn (1921), The Green Ring (1922), The Player Queen (1923), This Fine-Pretty World (1923), Grand Street Follies [1924], Loggerheads (1925), Makropoulos Secret (1926), Lovers and Enemies (1927), Grand Street Follies [1928], and Veneer (1929). In 1930, she appeared in both Schoolgirl and a production of Anton Chekhov's Uncle Vanya at the Cort Theatre in New York City, in which she performed the role of Sofya Alexandrovna. That production ran for 71 performances. Little Women followed in 1931, and Life Begins in 1932.

Her subsequent Broadway appearances included Tight Britches (1934), Panic (1935), Black Widow (1936), Daughters of Atreus (1936), Abe Lincoln in Illinois (1938), The Trojan Women (1941), War President (1944), Joan of Lorraine (1946), Orpheus Descending (1957), and Peer Gynt (1960).

Beyond the stage, Roos built a substantial presence in broadcast media. On television, she starred as Elizabeth Stover in a 30-minute episode of the mystery anthology series The Web, titled "The House" and written by Art Wallace, which aired live on August 29, 1954. In 1958, she was part of the cast of Today Is Ours, a drama broadcast on NBC Television. On radio, she appeared on Joyce Jordan, M.D. and other soap operas. Her most sustained television role came on the daytime drama Love of Life, on which she appeared in two separate capacities. From 1955 to 1957, she played Althea Raven, and from 1968 to 1978, she portrayed Sarah Dale Caldwell McCauley, a role she held until her retirement from the series in 1978.

Roos was also active as a playwright and was a founding member of the New Dramatists Committee, an organization through which several of her plays earned awards. She was married to musician Edmund Rickett.