Joseph Cheshire Cotten, Jr. (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).

Filmography

• 2018The Green Fog
• 2013Too Much Johnson — Augustus Billings (uncredited)
• 1991Frankenstein: A Cinematic Scrapbook — Baron Frankenstein (archive footage)
• 1981Delusion — Ivar Langrock
• 1981The Survivor — Priest
• 1980Casino — Ed Booker
• 1980Heaven's Gate — The Reverend Doctor
• 1980The Hearse — Walter Prichard
• 1979Churchill and the Generals — Gen. George C. Marshall
• 1979Concorde Affair — Milland
• 1979Guyana: Crime of the Century — Richard Gable
• 1979Island of the Fishmen — Prof. Ernest Marvin
• Tales of the Unexpected — Lionel, Edward
• 1978Caravans — Crandall
• Fantasy Island — Thomas Cummings
• 1978Last In, First Out — Foster Johnson
• 1978Return to Fantasy Island — Simon Grant
• 1978The Perfect Crime — Sir Arthur Dundee
• 1977Airport '77 — Nicholas St. Downs III
• Aspen — Horton Paine
• The Hardy Boys / Nancy Drew Mysteries — Weldon Rathbone
• The Love Boat — Colonel Van Ryker
• 1977Twilight's Last Gleaming — Arthur Renfrew - Secretary of State
• 1976A Whisper in the Dark — The Professor
• 1976Mysteries of the Gods — Narrator
• Origins of the Mafia — The Envoy
• 1976The Lindbergh Kidnapping Case — Dr. Joseph Francis Condon
• 1975Syndicate Sadists — Paternò
• 1975Timber Tramps — Greedy sawmill mogul
• The Rockford Files — Warner Jameson
• 1973A Delicate Balance — Harry
• 1973Police Dog — Narrator
• 1973Soylent Green — William R. Simonson
• 1973The Devil's Daughter — Judge Weatherby
• 1972Baron Blood — Baron Otto von Kleist / Alfred Becker
• 1972Doomsday Voyage — Captain Jason
• 1972The Scopone Game — George
• 1972The Screaming Woman — George Tresvant
• The Streets of San Francisco — John R. James
• 1971Assault on the Wayne — Admiral
• 1971City Beneath the Sea — Dr. Ziegler
• 1971Do You Take This Stranger? — Dr. Robert Carson
• 1971Journey to Murder — Jeff Wheeler
• 1971Lady Frankenstein — Baron Frankenstein
• 1971The Abominable Dr. Phibes — Dr. Vesalius
• 1970Cutter's Trail — General Spalding
• 1970The Grasshopper — Richard Morgan
• 1970Tora! Tora! Tora! — Henry L. Stimson
• 1969Latitude Zero — Capt. Craig McKenzie / Cmdr. Glenn McKenzie
• 1969The Lonely Profession — Martin Bannister
• 1968Alexander The Great — Antigonus
• 1968Gangsters '70 — Destil
• It Takes a Thief — Col. Heinrich, Mr. Jack
• Journey to the Unknown — Jeff Wheeler
• 1968Petulia — Mr. Danner
• 1968Split Second to an Epitaph — Dr. Ben Stern
• The Name of the Game — Henry 'Harry' Worthington Rayner
• 1968White Comanche — Sheriff Logan
• Cimarron Strip — Nathan Tio
• Ironside — Dr. Benjamin Stern
• 1967Jack of Diamonds — Ace
• 1967Some May Live — Colonel Woodward
• 1967The Hellbenders — Colonel Jonas
• 1966Brighty of the Grand Canyon — Jim
• 1966The Oscar — Kenneth Regan
• 1965The Great Sioux Massacre — Major Marcus A. Reno
• 1965The Money Trap — Dr. Horace Van Tilden
• 1965The Tramplers — Temple Cordeen
• 1964Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte — Drew Bayliss
• Hollywood and the Stars — Narrator
• The Great Adventure — Captain Meehan
• The Virginian — Judge Will McMasters, Judge Hobbs
• Bus Stop — Professor Wheelwright
• Dr. Kildare — Charles Ladovan
• 1961The Last Sunset — John Breckenridge
• Checkmate — Dr. George Mallinson
• 1960The Angel Wore Red — Hawthorne
• The Barbara Stanwyck Show — Mac McClay
• The DuPont Show with June Allyson — Dick Burlingame, Charles Lawrence
• 77 Sunset Strip — Arnold Buhler
• 1958From the Earth to the Moon — Victor Barbicane
• 1958Touch of Evil — Coroner (uncredited)
• Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse — Black McSween
• Suspicion — Gregg Carey
• 1957The Edge of Innocence — Robert Rainey
• 1957The Halliday Brand — Daniel Halliday
• Wagon Train — Captain Dan Brady, John Augustus
• Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre — Ben Harper
• On Trial — Edward Pritchard, Mr. Patterson, Robert Westwood, Senator George Graham Vest, Sanders, Joseph Downey, Gregg Bolton, William Seward, Ray Barnes, Clint Anderson, Reed Murrow, Frank Parsons
• Telephone Time
• 1956The Bottom of the Bottle — Pat 'P.M.' Martin
• 1956The Killer Is Loose — Detective Sam Wagner
• Alfred Hitchcock Presents — William Callew, Tony Gould, Courtney Masterson
• 1955Special Delivery — John Adams
• 1953A Blueprint for Murder — Whitney 'Cam' Cameron
• 1953Egypt by Three — Narrator
• General Electric Theater — Paul Henty, Captain, Private Harris
• 1953Niagara — George Loomis
• The Ford Television Theatre — John Ashburn
• 1952The Steel Trap — Jim Osborne
• 1952Untamed Frontier — Kirk Denbow
• 1951Half Angel — John Raymond Jr.
• 1951Othello — Senator (uncredited)
• 1951Peking Express — Michael Bachlin
• Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
• 1951The Man with a Cloak — Dupin
• 1950September Affair — David Lawrence
• 1950Two Flags West — Clay Tucker
• 1950Walk Softly, Stranger — Chris Hale/Steve
• 1949Beyond the Forest — Doctor Louis Moline
• 1949The Third Man — Holly Martins
• 1949Under Capricorn — Sam Flusky
• 1948Portrait of Jennie — Eben Adams
• 1947Our American Heritage — Narrator
• 1947The Farmer's Daughter — Glenn Morley
• 1946Duel in the Sun — Jesse McCanles
• 1945Love Letters — Allen Quinton
• 1944Gaslight — Brian Cameron
• 1944I'll Be Seeing You — Zachary Morgan
• 1944Since You Went Away — Tony Willett
• 1943Hers to Hold — Bill Morley
• 1943Journey into Fear — Howard Graham, Screenplay
• 1943Shadow of a Doubt — Charlie Oakley
• 1942The Magnificent Ambersons — Eugene Morgan
• 1941Citizen Kane — Jedediah Leland
• 1941Lydia — Michael Fitzpatrick
• 1937Seeing the World: Part One - A Visit to New York, N.Y.

Appearances as themselves (19)

• 2018They'll Love Me When I'm Dead — Self (archive footage)
• 2000Beyond Doubt: The Making of Hitchcock's Favorite Film — Self
• 1995The First 100 Years: A Celebration of American Movies — Self (archive footage)
• 1990Hollywood Heaven: Tragic Lives, Tragic Deaths — Self (archive footage)
• 1979All Star Tribute to Ingrid Bergman — Self
• 1976Expedition to Ararat — Self - Host - Narrator
• 1973F for Fake — Self
• The American Film Institute Salute to ... — Self
• V.I.P. Schaukel — Self
• 1968Petulia: The Uncommon Movie — Self
• Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In — Self (uncredited)
• 1967Lionpower from MGM — Self - Ace of Diamonds (archive footage) (uncredited)
• The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson — Self
• 1961Hollywood: The Selznick Years — Self (uncredited)
• Kraft Music Hall — Self
• The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show — Self
• The 20th Century Fox Hour — Self - Host
• Letter to Loretta — Self - Guest Host
• What's My Line? — Self