Joy Saunders, Actress on Stage, TV, Dies at 89
Joy Silver died at home in Scarborough, N.Y. on October 24, 2014, after a long battle with Alzheimer’s. She was 89.
Under the stage name Joy Saunders, she made her Broadway debut in the controversial and short-lived “A Pin to See the Peepshow” with Roger Moore, and appeared Off Broadway, in film, TV, and radio. Along with Tom Poston and Jason Robards, Joy was a founding member of the Greenwich Mews Theatre, a pioneer experiment in nontraditional casting. She was directed by Lloyd Richards and Morton da Costa.
She took a break from acting to raise her family.
Later television appearances included seven episodes of “Kate and Allie” and a role as a member of the cooking class on “Working It Out” with Jane Curtin and Stephen Collins. Staged readings included “Sisters of Sisters” by Cynthia L. Cooper, and a workshop production of “Waiting for Godot” under the direction of her son, Jonathan Silver, at the Actor’s Institute, where she worked in residence for many years.
She was born in Sioux City, Iowa. After the family moved to Milwaukee, Joy attended Shorewood High School, then spent a year at Lindenwood College in Missouri before moving to New York to pursue a career as an actress.
She was pre-deceased in 2012 by her husband of 57 years, newspaperman and Shubert executive Lee Silver.
Silver is survived by her sons Jonathan Silver and Matthew Silver, two grandchildren and two sisters.
Donations may be sent to the Actors Fund, 729 7th Avenue, New York, NY 10019.
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