JOSEPH COTTEN BIOGRAPHY & FILMOGRAPHY:

Joseph Cotton was born on May 15th, 1905 in Petersburg, Virginia with the birth name Joseph Cheshire Cotten.  His family was quite wealthy and he was the oldest of three boys born to Sally Barlett and Joseph Cotten Sr.  During summer vacations at his aunts home he became interested in story telling and performing.
 
Cotten enjoyed performing and therefore went on to study acting at the Hickman School of Expression in Washington D.C. and then went on to working in advertising.  After about a year of working in advertising, he tried to go to New York to find work as a stage actor.  Without much luck, he and a friend decided to move to Miami.  
 
While in Miami he found various ways to support himself and one job in particular, working as a drama critic for the Miami Herald lead to him finding work appearing in plays at the Miami Civic Theater and later getting a stage manager job in New York.
 
He made his Broadway debut in 1930 and also earned an income working on various radio shows.  During an audition he became acquainted with an aspiring writer, actor, director and producer, Orson Welles and it was through this long lasting friendship that he was able to get really involved in the entertainment industry. 
 
When Welles formed The Mercury Theatre Players he cast Cotten in a production of, "Julius Caesar" and "Shoemaker's Holiday".  From this point on, Welles helped Cotten enter the film industry in one of Welles's short films titled, "Too Much Johnson" (1938). Even though this film never was released, due to Welles's successful radio show he received a contract with RKO Productions and was given the chance to produce two more films in which he invited all of the actors from his Mercury Productions to come on board.
 
In 1941, Cotten received the role in, "Citizen Kane" which was nominated for nine Academy Awards in 1942, however it only won one of the Awards for Best Screen Play.  Cotten and Welles again teamed up to work on the film, "The Magnificent Ambersons" (1942) and again in, "Journey Into Fear" (1943).  Soon after this film RKO dropped Welles's contract due to his films constantly exceeding budget.
 
Cotten continued to pursue his film career working on the Alfred Hitchcock thriller, "Shadow of a Doubt" (1943) followed by, "Since You Went Away" (1944), "Love Letters" (1945), "Duel In the Sun" (1946), "Farmers Daughter" (1947) and "Portrait of Jennie" (1948).  In 1949, Welles and Cotton got back together to work on the film, "The Third Man" (1949), but again, he was overlooked for receiving any Oscar Award.
 
As Cotten's career entered into the 1950's work continued to remain steady, but roles were less high profile such as on the films, "The Steel Trap" (1952) and "Blueprint For Murder" (1953).  Cotten did have the opportunity to  work with  Marilyn Monroe on the film, "Niagara"  (1953).  Cotten also worked with Hitchcock for three television episodes on, "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" (1955-1959)  and again had one more role working with Welles on, "Touch of Evil" (1958).
 
Between the 60's and 70's,  Cotten worked steadily on film and television roles, however none were quite as successful as his earlier career roles.  Such films as, "Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte" (1964) and "Soylent Green" (1973) were some of the better roles he accepted.  His last final roles were in the film, "Airport 77" (1977) and "Heaven's Gate" (1980), which was not well received in the United States.  His final appearance was on, "The Survivor" (1981) before he finally decided to join his current wife in retirement.  He had suffered from a stroke and laryngectomy and felt it was time to take things easy and focus on his health.
 
Joseph Cotten married twice during his lifetime, first to Lenore Kipp LaMont in 1931 through January 7th, 1960 when she passed away from leukemia.  His second marriage was to Patricia Medina from October 20th, 1960 through February 6th, 1994 when Cotten passed away in Westwood, California from Pneumonia and complications of throat cancer.  He is buried at Blandford Cemetery in Petersburg, Virginia.  
 
During retirement he wrote an autobiography titled, "Vanity Will Get You Somewhere" (1987) and even though throughout his entire acting career he was overlooked for an Oscar, he did receive one award from the Venice Film Festival for Best Actor for his work on, "Portrait of Jennie".   

 
Filmography

1981   The Survivor 
1981   The Love Boat  
1981   Churchill and the Generals
1981   Delusion  
1980   Heaven's Gate
1980   Casino
1980   The Hearse  
1979-1980  Tales of the Unexpected 
1978-1979  Fantasy Island 
1979   Guyana: Cult of the Damned
1979   Concorde Affaire '79
1979   Screamers  
1978   Indagine su un delitto perfetto
1978   Last In, First Out
1978   The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries 
1977   Aspen
1977   Airport '77  
1977   Twilight's Last Gleaming
1976   Origins of the Mafia 
1976   Un sussurro nel buio  
1976   The Lindbergh Kidnapping Case 
1976   Freedom Is
1975   Timber Tramps  
1975   Syndicate Sadists
1974   The Rockford Files
1973   A Delicate Balance 
1973   Soylent Green  
1973   The Streets of San Francisco 
1973   The Devil's Daughter 
1972   Lo Scopone scientifico  
1972   Doomsday Voyage  
1972   Baron Blood 
1972   The Screaming Woman
1971   Lady Frankenstein 
1971   The Abominable Dr. Phibes  
1971   NET Playhouse 
1971   Journey to Murder  
1971   City Beneath the Sea
1971   Do You Take This Stranger?
1971   Assault on the Wayne
1970   The Virginian 
1970   Tora! Tora! Tora!  
1968-1970  It Takes a Thief  
1970   The Name of the Game
1970   Cutter's Trail
1969   The Lonely Profession
1969   Latitude Zero
1969   Gangster '70  
1969   The Grasshopper
1969   Keene 
1968   Rio Hondo  
1968   Journey to the Unknown 
1968   Ironside
1968   Petulia
1968   Alexander the Great
1968   Off to See the Wizard 
1968   Un giorno di fuoco 
1967   Jack of Diamonds 
1967   Cimarron Strip
1967   Brighty of the Grand Canyon  
1967   Hellbenders 
1967   Some May Live  
1966   The Oscar
1965   The Tramplers  
1965   The Money Trap 
1965   The Great Sioux Massacre  
1964   Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte  
1963   77 Sunset Strip
1963   The Great Adventure
1961-1962  Wagon Train 
1962   Saints and Sinners
1962   Dr. Kildare
1961   Bus Stop
1961   The Last Sunset  
1961   The Barbara Stanwyck Show
1960   Checkmate
1960   The DuPont Show with June Allyson
1960   The Angel Wore Red  
1955-1959  Alfred Hitchcock Presents
1959   Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse 
1956-1959  The Joseph Cotten Show: On Trial 
1958   From the Earth to the Moon  
1958   Touch of Evil  
1958   Suspicion
1958   Zane Grey Theater
1957   Schlitz Playhouse
1957   Playhouse 90 
1957   Telephone Time
1957   Jane Wyman Presents The Fireside Theatre 
1957   The Halliday Brand 
1954-1956  G.E. True Theater 
1955-1956  Star Stage 
1956   The Killer Is Loose 
1956   The Ford Television Theatre 
1956   The Bottom of the Bottle  
1955   Celebrity Playhouse 
1955   The Loretta Young Show 
1955   The Best of Broadway
1955   Bedevilled 
1955   Special Delivery  
1954   Producers' Showcase
1953   A Blueprint for Murder
1953   Egypt by Three 
1953   Niagara  
1952   The Steel Trap 
1952   Untamed Frontier 
1952   I The Wild Heart
1952   Othello
1951   The Man with a Cloak  
1951   Peking Express  
1951   Half Angel
1950   Walk Softly, Stranger 
1950   Two Flags West  
1950   September Affair  
1949   Beyond the Forest  
1949   Under Capricorn  
1949   The Third Man  
1948   Portrait of Jennie 
1947   The Farmer's Daughter  
1946   Duel in the Sun  
1945   Love Letters 
1944   I'll Be Seeing You 
1944   Since You Went Away  
1944   Gaslight 
1943   Hers to Hold 
1943   Journey Into Fear 
1943   Shadow of a Doubt
1942   The Magnificent Ambersons 
1941   Lydia
1941   Citizen Kane 
1938   Too Much Johnson