Joanne Linville (January 15, 1928 – June 20, 2021) was an American actress. She later taught at theStella Adler Academy, Los Angeles.^[1]

Joanne Linville
Linville in 1960
Born	(1928-01-15)January 15, 1928 Bakersfield, California, U.S.
Died	June 20, 2021(2021-06-20) (aged 93) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1950–2005, 2016
Known for	The Enterprise Incident The Passersby
Spouse	Mark Rydell ​ ​ (m. 1962;div. 1973)​
Children	2, includingChristopher Rydell

Linville was born inBakersfield, California, on January 15, 1928.^[2][3][4] She attended high school inLong Beach, California, and worked as an oral surgeon's assistant before studying acting. While she studied withStella Adler, she danced professionally to pay her tuition.^[5]

Linville's motion-picture credits includeThe Goddess (1958),Scorpio (1973),Gable and Lombard (1976),A Star Is Born (1976),The Seduction (1982), andJames Dean (2001).

In 1959, Linville appeared on theCBSdaytime dramaThe Guiding Light as Amy Sinclair, a runaway drug addict whose daughter was nearly taken from her as part of an illegal adoption scam ring. Linville starred in two television presentations ofOne Step Beyond— as Aunt Mina in the episode "The Dead Part of the House" (1959) and as Karen Wadsworth in the episode "A Moment of Hate" (1960).

In 1961, she starred in theTwilight Zone episode "The Passersby".^[6] Also in 1961, she was in the second episode ofThe Defenders withWilliam Shatner.

In 1968, she guest-starred as aRomulan commander inStar Trek^[7] episode "The Enterprise Incident".This role earned Linville cult status, and remains her best-known performance.^[8]

Her other television appearances includeDecoy (in the premiere episode),Alfred Hitchcock Presents,Have Gun Will Travel,Coronado 9,Checkmate,Adventures in Paradise,Empire,Gunsmoke (three episodes),Dr. Kildare,Ben Casey,Gunsmoke,Route 66,The Eleventh Hour,I Spy,Bonanza,The Fugitive,The F.B.I. (two episodes),The Invaders (two episodes),Felony Squad,Hawaii Five-O (three episodes),Kojak,Columbo: Candidate for Crime,The Streets of San Francisco (two episodes),Barnaby Jones,Switch,Charlie's Angels,CHiPs,Mrs. Columbo,Dynasty, andL.A. Law.

She appeared in themade-for-TV moviesHouse on Greenapple Road (and the resulting seriesDan August) (1970),Secrets (1977),The Critical List (1978),The Users (1978), andThe Right of the People (1986).^[9] Linville played the mother ofJanine Turner's character inBehind the Screen.^[10] Linville andGeorge Grizzard starred in "I Kiss Your Shadow", the final episode of the television seriesBus Stop.

Linville portrayed Valeria in the Broadway productionDaughter of Silence (1961).^[11] Linville played gossip columnistHedda Hopper in thetelevision movieJames Dean (2001), directed by her former husbandMark Rydell, who also playedJack L. Warner.

Linville retired from acting in the 1980s to concentrate on teaching.^[8] She taught "The Power of Language" course at theStella Adler Academy inLos Angeles in 1985.^[7] One of her students wasMark Ruffalo, who wrote that she "does not theorise about great acting. She is great acting".^[8]

Linville was married to actor/directorMark Rydell from 1962 until their divorce in 1973. Linville had two children with Rydell: Amy andChristopher, both actors.^[8] Her daughter Amy Rydell reprised her mother's role as Romulan commander Charvanek on episodes 10 and 11 of fan productionStar Trek Continues.

Linville was also an amateur tennis player, and appeared at charity events where people were invited to pay $100 to challenge her in a game.^[8]

Linville died on June 20, 2021, aged 93.^[12]

• Joanne Linville atIMDb  
• Joanne Linville atRotten Tomatoes 
• Joanne Linville at theInternet Broadway Database 
• Joanne Linville at theInternet Off-Broadway Database