Happy Birthday Joseph Cotten (1905-1994)

Joseph Cheshire Cotten was born into a well-to-do Southern family and at an early age he discovered a passion for story-telling, reciting, and performing acts for his family. Cotten studied acting at the Hickman School of Expression in Washington, D.C. and by 1924 tried to enter acting in New York. After a year of attempting stage work, he left with friends, heading for Miami.

Citizen Kane (1941) with Orson Welles

He found a variety of jobs: lifeguard, salesman, a stint as entrepreneur -- making and selling 'Tip Top Potato Salad' - but more significantly, drama critic for the Miami Herald. That evidently led to appearance in plays at the Miami Civic Theater. Through a connection at the Miami Herald he managed to land an assistant stage manager job in New York. In 1929 he was engaged for a season at the Copley Theatre in Boston, and there he was able to expand his acting experience, appearing in 30 plays in a wide variety of parts. By 1930 he made his Broadway debut. In 1931 Cotten married Lenore La Mont (usually known as Kipp), a pianist, divorced with a two-year-old daughter.

The Magnificent Ambersons (1942)


The Magnificent Ambersons (1942) with Dolores Costello and Tim Holt


The Magnificent Ambersons (1942) with Anne Baxter

To augment his income as an actor in the mid-30s, Cotten took on radio shows in addition to his theatre work. At one audition he met an ambitious, budding actor/writer/director/producer with a mission to make his name-Orson Welles. Cotten was 10 years his senior, but the two found a kindred spirit in one another. For Cotten, Welles association would completely redirect his serious acting life. Welles formed The Mercury Theatre Players. Coming on board were later Hollywood stalwarts: Everett Sloane, Agnes Moorehead, Ruth Warrick, and Ray Collins. In 1937, Cotten starred in Welles's Mercury productions of "Julius Caesar" and "Shoemaker's Holiday". And he made his film debut in the Welles-directed short Too Much Johnson (1938), a comedy based on William Gillette's 1890 play. The uproar over Welles's 1939 "War of the Worlds" radio broadcast, was rewarded with an impressive contract from RKO Pictures. The two-picture deal promised full creative control for the young director, and Welles brought his Mercury players on-board in feature roles in what he chose to bring to the screen.

Shadow of a Doubt (1943)


Shadow of a Doubt (1943)


Shadow of a Doubt (1943) with Hume Cronyn


Shadow of a Doubt (1943) with Theresa Wright and Macdonald Carey


Patricia Collinge, Henry Travers and Edna May Wonacott in
Shadow of a Doubt (1943)


Shadow of a Doubt (1943) with Theresa Wright


Shadow of a Doubt (1943)

Cotten's film noir resume includes some of the best of the genre: Shadow of a Doubt (1943), Journey Into Fear (1943), The Third Man (1949), Beyond the Forest (1949), Walk Softly, Stranger (1950), Niagara (1953), A Blueprint for Murder (1953), The Killer Is Loose (1956) and Touch of Evil (1958).

Journey into Fear (1943)


Journey into Fear (1943) with Dolores Del Rio


Journey into Fear (1943) with Everett Sloane and Orson Welles


Journey into Fear (1943) with Everett Sloane, Dolores Del Rio and Hans Conried


Journey into Fear (1943)


Gaslight (1944)


Gaslight (1944) with Ingrid Bergman


Gaslight (1944) with Ingrid Bergman and Charles Boyer


Portrait of Jennie (1948)


Portrait of Jennie (1948) with Jennifer Jones


Portrait of Jennie (1948) with Jennifer Jones


Portrait of Jennie (1948) with Jennifer Jones


Portrait of Jennie (1948) with Jennifer Jones


The Third Man (1949)


The Third Man (1949)


The Third Man (1949) with Orson Welles


The Third Man (1949)


The Third Man (1949) with Alida Valli


The Third Man (1949)


The Third Man (1949) with Alida Valli


with Ingrid Bergman and Michael Wilding in Under Capricorn (1949)


with Ingrid Bergman and Michael Wilding in Under Capricorn (1949)


with Ingrid Bergman and Michael Wilding in Under Capricorn (1949)


with Ingrid Bergman in Under Capricorn (1949)


September Affair (1950) with Joan Fontaine


September Affair (1950) with Joan Fontaine


September Affair (1950) with Joan Fontaine


September Affair (1950) with Joan Fontaine


September Affair (1950) with Joan Fontaine


with Linda Darnell in Two Flags West (1950)


with Linda Darnell in Two Flags West (1950)


with Cornel Wilde in Two Flags West (1950)


with Jeff Chandler and Cornel Wilde in Two Flags West (1950)


Niagara (1953)


with Marilyn Monroe in Niagara (1953)


with Marilyn Monroe in Niagara (1953)


with Marilyn Monroe in Niagara (1953)

with Jean Peters in A Blueprint for Murder (1953)


with Gary Merrill and Jean Peters in A Blueprint for Murder (1953)


with Jean Peters in A Blueprint for Murder (1953)


On Trial: (TV) "The Trial of Mary Surratt" (1956)


On Trial: (TV) "The Trial of Mary Surratt" (1956)


From the Earth to the Moon (1958)


From the Earth to the Moon (1958)


with Ava Gardner in The Angel Wore Red (1960)


with Dorothy Malone in The Last Sunset (1961)


with Dorothy Malone in The Last Sunset (1961)