![]() ![]() When released on May 1, 1941, Citizen Kane (based in part on the life of William Randolph Hearst) found little attention at theaters Hearst owned the majority of the country's press outlets, and so forbade advertisements for the film. The film featured Cotten prominently in the role of Kane's best friend, a drama critic for his print empire. In mid 1940 filming began on Citizen Kane, which portrayed the life of a brilliant media mogul (played by Welles) who starts out as an idealist but eventually turns into a corrupt, lonely old man. Mankiewicz for Welles to find a story to bring to the screen. However, after a year, production hadn't yet started on any of Welles' prospective projects. ![]() The two-picture deal promised full creative control for the young director, and Welles made sure to feature his Mercury players in whatever production he chose to bring to screen. ![]() ![]() Dexter Haven in the original production of Philip Barry's The Philadelphia Story as well as the 1953 production of Sabrina Fair.Īfter the success of Welles' infamous War of the Worlds radio broadcast, Welles got an impressive contract with RKO Pictures. Cotten returned to Broadway in 1939, starring as C.K. The short was occasionally screened before or after Mercury productions, but never received an official release. In 1937 he joined Welles' Mercury Theatre Company, with which he starred in productions of Julius Caesar and Shoemaker's Holiday.Ĭotten made his film debut in the Welles-directed short Too Much Johnson, a comedy based on William Gillette's 1890 play. Cotten made his Broadway debut in 1930, and soon befriended up-and-coming actor/director/producer Orson Welles. His work as a theatre critic inspired him to become more involved in theatre productions, first in Virginia, and later in New York. Biography and Career Early life and career īorn in Petersburg, Virginia, Cotten worked as an advertising agent after graduating from the Washington, D.C., Hickman School, where he studied acting. ![]()
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