Joseph cotten

Born May 15, 1905, in Petersburg, Virginia, Joseph Cheshire Cotten comes from a high-society family. He studied acting in Washington DC and then began working as a theater critic, as well as a publicist, for the Miami Herald. He made his stage debut in the 1930s, when he appeared in numerous Broadway productions, such as Shakespeare’s ‘Julius Caesar’ and ‘The Philadelphia Story’, where he co-starred with the legendary Katharine Hepburn . In the world of entertainment he was going to meet the most decisive man in his life, a certain Orson Welles , completely unknown at the time, who wanted to form his own theater group. When Welles finally created the famous Mercury Theater company together with John Houseman–an old theater partner–, Cotten does not hesitate to join and participate in numerous stage and radio productions.

It was Welles who took Cotten to the movies, because after counting on him for the short Too Much Johnson , he made him the co-star of the most important debut feature of all time: Citizen Kane . In the film, Cotten proved that he was destined to become one of the greats, rocking the role of Jedediah Leland, Kane’s shy friend and adviser. In one of the most brilliant, and difficult, sequences, Cotten is forced to write the critique of Susan’s opera debut, Kane’s great love. Because he feels unable to tell the truth – that Susan is a total mess – he ends up getting drunk, and later has a bitter confrontation with Kane.

Cotten started his film career late, as he was already 36 years old when he filmed Citizen Kane . Welles, who had become a good friend of his, recruited him again for The Fourth Commandment , a great film that was savagely mutilated in the final cut by the production company. He also gave her a leading role in Othello and a small cameo in Thirst for Evil . In addition, Cotten co-wrote with Welles a film that Welles began to direct, Istanbul , and in which they acted together, although it was ultimately completed by Norman Foster . Along with Kane, Cotten’s best collaboration with Welles –as leading actors– was undoubtedly The Third Man , a legendary film byCarol Reed . There he was a writer of detective novels who arrived in Vienna, during the postwar period, claimed by his friend Harry Lime, a role that was immortalized by a Welles, who according to rumors gave more than one piece of advice to the director.

Behind the film was another pivotal character in Cotten’s career, David O’Selnick – the unforgettable producer of Gone with the Wind – who paired him on screen twice with his wife, actress Jennifer Jones . It was in the western Duel in the Sun -also with Gregory Peck- , and in Jennie , a romantic and emotional ghost story, where Cotten did a great job that led to the acting award in Venice -his only important award since neither the Oscar nor they nominated him. These last two titles were directed by William Dieterle , who constantly turned to Cotten for ever-romantic films: I’ll See You Again ,Letters to my beloved , Peking and Autumn Symphony . It is also worth noting her two works together with Ingrid Bergman , an actress who was terrified by her husband in Dying Light , and by her housekeeper in Tormented . The director of the latter film, Alfred Hitchcock , gave Cotten one of the best jobs of his career, Uncle Charlie, in Shadow of a Doubt , where young Teresa Wright suspected him of being a dangerous murderer.

In the 1950s, Cotten continued to make memorable films, such as Niagara and Barriers to Pride , both by Henry Hatthaway. In 1960, Cotten suffered the tragic loss of his wife, pianist Leonore Kipp, with whom he had been married for three decades. He then married actress Patricia Medina , who would remain by his side until the actor’s death.

The 1960s marked the decade of the actor’s decade, despite his brilliant work in Lullaby for a Corpse , from 1964. But then he was relegated to second-rate films, with honorable exceptions, such as Tora, Tora, Tora , The Abominable Dr. Phibes , When Fate Overtakes Us , Airport 77 and Heaven’s Gate , his last great work, despite the fact that he suffered from heart problems when he filmed it. For many years Cotten battled cancer until he passed away from pneumonia on February 6, 1994.