The Actors Fund lost a friend and colleague on New Year’s Day when Joan Lowell McMorrow passed away. Joan was predeceased in 2017 by her husband, writer Tom McMorrow, both of whom lived at The Actors Fund Home since 2011. Joan founded The Actors’ Work Program (AWP) in 1986, establishing offices in New York and California, and was its Executive Director until merging the services into The Actors Fund in 1998.
Joan was elected to serve three terms on the Actors’ Equity Council. As a Councilor, she formed a committee to help actors find meaningful employment when not performing. With the enthusiastic help of the Council and support from all entertainment unions, AWP developed into an entertainment industry Career Counseling and Training Center. In 1998, when the program merged with The Fund, Joan became our first Director of Entertainment Industry Relations, a position she held through 2000.
During her 31 year career as an actress, she appeared in theater, film and television. Along with Robert Moss, Joan was Co-Founder and Associate Producer of Playwrights Horizons/Queens. The two shared a special 1976 Drama Desk Award for bringing professional theater to the borough. She also served on the Board of Directors of The Queens Theatre in the Park, Equity Library Theater and The Joseph Jefferson Theatre. In addition, Joan created the Paiges Method, which uses acting techniques to teach creative communication skills to unemployed business people and new students entering the job market.
We honor Joan’s long service to our community, the legacy of which lives on in the lives thousands who benefit from our career services every year.