Joseph Cheshire Cotten (May 15, 1905 – February 6, 1994) was an American actor of stage and film. Cotten achieved prominence on Broadway, starring in the original productions of The Philadelphia Story and Sabrina Fair. He is associated with Orson Welles, leading to appearances in Citizen Kane (1941), The Magnificent Ambersons (1942), Journey into Fear (1943), for which Cotten was also credited with the screenplay, and The Third Man (1949). He was a star in his own right with films such as Shadow of a Doubt (1943), Love Letters (1945), Portrait of Jennie (1948), and The Third Man (1949).
Known For
Citizen Kane
(1941)
Jedediah Leland
Touch of Evil
(1958)
Coroner (uncredited)
The Third Man
(1949)
Holly Martins
The Magnificent Ambersons
(1942)
Eugene Morgan
Soylent Green
(1973)
William R. Simonson
Tora! Tora! Tora!
(1970)
Henry L. Stimson, U.S. Secretary of War
The Abominable Dr. Phibes
(1971)
Dr. Vesalius
The Hellbenders
(1967)
Colonel Jonas
Heaven's Gate
(1980)
The Reverend Doctor
Shadow of a Doubt
(1943)
Charlie Oakley
Niagara
(1953)
George Loomis
Gaslight
(1944)
Brian Cameron
Airport '77
(1977)
Nicholas St. Downs III
Journey into Fear
(1943)
Howard Graham
Othello
(1951)
Senator (uncredited)
Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte
(1964)
Drew Bayliss
Full Filmography
Acting
Seeing the World, Part One: A Visit to New York, N.Y.
(1937)
Lydia
(1941)
Michael Fitzpatrick
Citizen Kane
(1941)
Jedediah Leland
The Magnificent Ambersons
(1942)
Eugene Morgan
Hers to Hold
(1943)
Bill Morley
Shadow of a Doubt
(1943)
Charlie Oakley
Journey into Fear
(1943)
Howard Graham
Since You Went Away
(1944)
Lieutenant Tony Willett
Gaslight
(1944)
Brian Cameron
I'll Be Seeing You
(1944)
Zachary Morgan
Love Letters
(1945)
Allen Quinton
Duel in the Sun
(1946)
Jesse McCanles
Our American Heritage
(1947)
Narrator
The Farmer's Daughter
(1947)
Glenn Morley
Portrait of Jennie
(1948)
Eben Adams
Under Capricorn
(1949)
Sam Flusky
The Third Man
(1949)
Holly Martins
Beyond the Forest
(1949)
Doctor Louis Moline
Walk Softly, Stranger
(1950)
Chris Hale aka Steve
September Affair
(1950)
David Lawrence
Two Flags West
(1950)
Col. Clay Tucker
Half Angel
(1951)
John Raymond Jr.
Peking Express
(1951)
Michael Bachlin
Othello
(1951)
Senator (uncredited)
The Man with a Cloak
(1951)
Dupin
The Steel Trap
(1952)
Jim Osborne
Untamed Frontier
(1952)
Kirk Denbow
Niagara
(1953)
George Loomis
Egypt by Three
(1953)
Narrator
A Blueprint for Murder
(1953)
Whitney 'Cam' Cameron
Special Delivery
(1955)
John Adams
The Killer is Loose
(1956)
Detective Sam Wagner
The Bottom of the Bottle
(1956)
Pat 'P.M.' Martin
The Halliday Brand
(1957)
Daniel Halliday
The Edge of Innocence
(1957)
Robert Rainey
Touch of Evil
(1958)
Coroner (uncredited)
From the Earth to the Moon
(1958)
Victor Barbicane
The Angel Wore Red
(1960)
Hawthorne
Hollywood: The Selznick Years
(1961)
Self (uncredited)
The Last Sunset
(1961)
John Breckenridge
Hollywood and the Stars
(1964)
Narrator
Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte
(1964)
Drew Bayliss
The Tramplers
(1965)
Temple Cordeen
The Money Trap
(1965)
Dr. Horace Van Tilden
The Great Sioux Massacre
(1965)
Major Marcus A. Reno
Brighty of the Grand Canyon
(1966)
Jim
The Oscar
(1966)
Kenneth Regan
Some May Live
(1967)
Colonel Woodward
Jack of Diamonds
(1967)
Ace
The Hellbenders
(1967)
Colonel Jonas
White Comanche
(1968)
Sheriff Logan
Gangsters '70
(1968)
Destil
Split Second to an Epitaph
(1968)
Dr. Ben Stern
Alexander The Great
(1968)
Antigonus
Petulia
(1968)
Mr. Danner
Latitude Zero
(1969)
Capt. Craig McKenzie / Cmdr. Glenn McKenzie
The Lonely Profession
(1969)
Martin Bannister
The Grasshopper
(1970)
Richard Morgan
Tora! Tora! Tora!
(1970)
Henry L. Stimson, U.S. Secretary of War
Cutter's Trail
(1970)
General Spalding
The Abominable Dr. Phibes
(1971)
Dr. Vesalius
City Beneath the Sea
(1971)
Dr. Ziegler
Do You Take This Stranger?
(1971)
Dr. Robert Carson
Lady Frankenstein
(1971)
Baron Frankenstein
Journey to Murder
(1971)
Jeff Wheeler
Assault on the Wayne
(1971)
Admiral
The Screaming Woman
(1972)
George Tresvant
The Scopone Game
(1972)
George
Doomsday Voyage
(1972)
Captain Jason
Baron Blood
(1972)
Baron Otto von Kleist / Alfred Becker
The Devil's Daughter
(1973)
Judge Weatherby
F for Fake
(1973)
Self
A Delicate Balance
(1973)
Harry
Soylent Green
(1973)
William R. Simonson
Syndicate Sadists
(1975)
Paternò
Timber Tramps
(1975)
Greedy sawmill mogul
A Whisper in the Dark
(1976)
The Professor
The Lindbergh Kidnapping Case
(1976)
Dr. Joseph Francis Condon
Mysteries of the Gods
(1976)
Narrator
Twilight's Last Gleaming
(1977)
Arthur Renfrew - Secretary of State
Airport '77
(1977)
Nicholas St. Downs III
The Perfect Crime
(1978)
Sir Arthur Dundee
Caravans
(1978)
Crandall
Return to Fantasy Island
(1978)
Simon Grant
Last In, First Out
(1978)
Foster Johnson
Churchill and the Generals
(1979)
Gen. George C. Marshall
Island of the Fishmen
(1979)
Prof. Ernest Marvin
Guyana: Crime of the Century
(1979)
Richard Gable
Concorde Affair
(1979)
Milland
The Hearse
(1980)
Walter Prichard
Heaven's Gate
(1980)
The Reverend Doctor
Casino
(1980)
Ed Booker
The Survivor
(1981)
Priest
Delusion
(1981)
Ivar Langrock
Hollywood Heaven: Tragic Lives, Tragic Deaths
(1990)
(archive footage)
Frankenstein: A Cinematic Scrapbook
(1991)
Baron Frankenstein (archive footage)
Beyond Doubt: The Making of Hitchcock's Favorite Film
(2000)
Self
Too Much Johnson
(2013)
Augustus Billings
Heaven's Gate: The Butcher's Cut
(2014)
The Reverend Doctor
They'll Love Me When I'm Dead
(2018)
Self (archive footage)
AFI Life Achievement Award: 50th Anniversary Special
(2023)
Self (archive footage)
Writing