Actress joan van ark biography

Joan Van Ark, just out of high school, was the second youngest student to attend the Yale School of Drama on a scholarship.  The youngest was Julie Harris.  It was the beginning of a lifelong friendship.  Years later, they would co-star on the CBS Television series, "Knots Landing."  Van Ark began her professional career at the Minneapolis Guthrie Theater in Moliere's "The Miser," opposite Hume Cronyn and Zoe Caldwell. More here.  That was followed by "Death of a Salesman" at the Guthrie with both Cronyn and Jessica Tandy.  After a season at the Arena Stage in Washington, D.C., Joan was cast in the national touring company of "Barefoot in the Park" directed by Mike Nichols.  She recreated the role in the critically acclaimed London Company and later on Broadway.  She earned a Tony nomination for her performance in "The School for Wives," and she won the Theater World Award for "The Rules of the Game."

Van Ark also appeared off-Broadway opposite John Rubenstein in "Love Letters."  More recently, she co-starred in the New York production of Edward Albee's Pulitzer Prize winning play "Three Tall Women."  Her Los Angeles theater credits include "Cyrano de Bergerac," playing Roxanne opposite Richard Ch