Stage and Television Actress. Born Joy Silver, she attended Shorewood High School in Milwaukee, then spent a year at Lindenwood College in Missouri before moving to New York to pursue a career as an actress. 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. Other stage appearances include ‘Sisters of Sisters’ and ‘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 took a break from acting to raise her family, and became a political activist in the 1960’s and ‘70s, while also working at a local Montessori School. She was an early activist with NOW and Another Mother for Peace, and in reaction to the Vietnam War, became a member of the Ethical Culture Society. Later television appearances included several episodes of ‘Kate and Allie’ and ‘Working it Out’. Saunders, who along with Tom Poston and Jason Robards, was a founding member of the Greenwich Mews Theatre, died from complications of Alzheimer’s disease. (bio by: Louis M.)