Staats Cotsworth
{{Short description|American radio actor (1908–1979)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Staats Cotsworth
| image = Staats Cotsworth 1948.jpg
| alt =
| caption = Cotsworth in 1948
| birth_name = Staats Cotsworth, Jr.
| birth_date = February 17, 1908
| birth_place = Oak Park, Illinois, US
| death_date = {{dda|1979|4|9|1908|2|17}}
| death_place = New York City, US
| other_names =
| occupation = Actor
| alma_mater =
| spouse = Muriel Kirkland (1936–1968, her death)
Josephine Hutchinson (1972–1979, his death)
| children =
| parents =
| known_for = Title role in radio's Casey, Crime Photographer
}}
Staats Cotsworth (February 17, 1908 – April 9, 1979) was an American actor in old-time radio.DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960. McFarland & Company, Inc. {{ISBN|978-0-7864-2834-2}}. P. 64. He is perhaps best known for playing the title role in Casey, Crime Photographer.{{Cite web|title=Staats Cotsworth – Rotten Tomatoes|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/staats_cotsworth|access-date=June 15, 2021|website=Rotten Tomatoes|language=en}}
Early years
Staats Cotsworth Jr. was born in Oak Park, Illinois, the son of Staats and Dorothy (Bodley) Cotsworth. He had a brother named John Littlefield Cotsworth.{{cite news|title=Staats Cotsworth, Former Villager, Services in East|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/profile/eddie-blick/clipnumber/24272/|agency=Oak Park Oak Leaves|date=March 24, 1938|location=Illinois, Oak Park|page=69|via = Newspaperarchive.com|accessdate = January 6, 2016}} {{Open access}} In 1929, he earned a diploma in the Department of Art from the Pennsylvania Museum's School of Industrial Art.{{cite book|title=List of Graduates; Awards and Prizes: 1928–1929|date=June 6, 1929|publisher=The Pennsylvania Museum's School of Industrial Art|location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|page=2|url=https://archive.org/stream/commencementprog1929penn#page/2/mode/2up|accessdate=January 7, 2016}}
Radio
Cotsworth was once described as "the busiest actor in radio," having performed in 7,500 broadcasts in 12 years. His roles as a regular cast member included those shown in the table below.
Other programs on which Cotsworth appeared included The Chase,{{r|dunningota|page1=150}} These Are Our Men,{{r|dunningota|page1=662}} X Minus One,{{r|dunningota|page1=729}} Mr. Keen, Tracer of Lost Persons, The Right to Happiness,{{cite news|last1=Rathbun|first1=Joe|title=Joe's Radio Parade|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3978824/sunday_times_signal/|agency=Sunday Times Signal|date=February 25, 1945|location=Ohio, Zanesville|page=21|via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = January 6, 2016}} {{Open access}} Cavalcade of America,{{cite news|title=The Conquest of Quinine|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3978720/belvidere_daily_republican/|agency=Belvidere Daily Republican|date=July 31, 1944|location=Illinois, Belvidere|page=4|via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = January 6, 2016}} {{Open access}} Grand Central Station,{{cite news|title="Grand Central Station" returns to WHP|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3978536/harrisburg_telegraph/|agency=Harrisburg Telegraph|date=March 4, 1944|location=Pennsylvania, Harrisburg|page=15|via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = January 6, 2016}} {{Open access}} The Story of Mary Marlin,{{cite news|title=Family Affair|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3978498/harrisburg_telegraph/|agency=Harrisburg Telegraph|date=February 5, 1944|location=Pennsylvania, Harrisburg|page=16|via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = January 6, 2016}} {{Open access}} and Silver Theater.{{cite news|title=New Shows Take Over Radio's Favorite Spots|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/2902813/the_morning_herald/|agency=The Morning News|date=October 15, 1940|location=Maryland, Hagerstown|page=6|via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = January 6, 2016}} {{Open access}}
Stage
Cotsworth's professional debut on stage was in Alice in Wonderland, produced by Eva LeGallienne.{{cite news|last1=Rathbun|first1=Joe|title=Joe's Radio Parade|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3978974/sunday_times_signal/|agency=Sunday Times Signal|date=June 24, 1945|location=Ohio, Zanesville|page=7|via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = January 6, 2016}} {{Open access}} His Broadway credits include First Episode (1934), Othello (1935), Macbeth (1935 and 1941–1942), Damaged Goods (1937), As You Like It (1937), Stop-Over (1938), Madame Capet (1938), Boudoir (1941), She Stoops to Conquer (1949–1950), Richard III (1953), Inherit the Wind (1955–1957), Pictures in the Hallway (1956), I Knock at the Door (1957), Advise and Consent (1960–1961), The Right Honourable Gentleman (1965–1966), Weekend (1968), A Patriot for Me (1969), and Lost in the Stars (1972).{{cite web|title=Staats Cotsworth|url=http://www.playbillvault.com/Person/Detail/98298/Staats-Cotsworth|website=Playbill Vault|accessdate=January 6, 2016}}
Television
Cotsworth was seen in Killer's Choice, the premiere episode of Kraft Mystery Theatre, in June 1958,{{cite news|title=Kraft Mystery Theatre|url=http://www.americanradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Archive-BC-IDX/58-OCR/1958-06-23-BC-OCR-Page-0018.pdf|accessdate=January 7, 2016|agency=Broadcasting|date=June 28, 1958|page=18}} and in "The Thirty-first of February'", an episode of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, in January 1963.{{cite news|title=David Wayne Stars in Episode On 'Alfred Hitchcock Hour'|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/profile/eddie-blick/clipnumber/24280/|agency=Jefferson City Post Tribune|date=January 4, 1963|location=Missouri, Jefferson City|page=15|via = Newspaperarchive.com|accessdate = January 6, 2016}} {{Open access}} He was in Macbeth when that play was presented on Hallmark Hall of Fame.
Art
Cotsworth was also an artist.{{cite news|last1=Francis|first1=Robert|title=Candid Close-Ups|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3978241/the_brooklyn_daily_eagle/|agency=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle|date=April 23, 1939|location=New York, Brooklyn|page=36|via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = January 6, 2016}} {{Open access}} "He attended several art schools in this country and studied for seven years in Paris,"{{cite news|title=Cameraman Is Artist|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3978608/the_nebraska_state_journal/|agency=The Nebraska State Journal|date=July 30, 1944|location=Nebraska, Lincoln|page=28|via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = January 6, 2016}} {{Open access}} at the Académie Colarossi.{{cite magazine|last1=Cotsworth|first1=Muriel Kirkland|title=Right for Each Other|magazine=Radio Mirror|date=July 1947|volume=28|issue=2|pages=44–45, 70–73|url=https://archive.org/stream/radio00mac#page/n61/mode/2up/search/%22Staats+Cotsworth%22|accessdate=January 7, 2016}} His work included illustrating Ernest Peixotto's book, A Bacchic Pilgrimage, published by Charles Scribner's Sons{{cite news|last1=Coan|first1=Philip|title=A Temperate Bacchus|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3978280/the_brooklyn_daily_eagle/|agency=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle|date=October 28, 1932|location=New York, Brooklyn|page=12|via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = January 6, 2016}} {{Open access}} and painting "three murals for some swank bowling alleys in Washington."{{cite news|last1=Francis|first1=Robert|title=Candid Close-Ups|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3978457/the_brooklyn_daily_eagle/|agency=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle|date=January 18, 1942|location=New York, Brooklyn|page=37|via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = January 6, 2016}} {{Open access}} His work was exhibited at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington and at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and the Water Color Club in Philadelphia.
A newspaper obituary described Cotsworth as "an accomplished painter of oils and watercolors," noting that at the time of his death he was "listed in the current Who's Who in American Art."
Union activities
Cotsworth was elected a member of the New York Local Board of the American Federation of Radio Artists in 1946{{cite news|title=Election Results|url=http://www.americanradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Archive-BC-IDX/46-OCR/1946-12-09-BC-OCR-Page-0085.pdf|accessdate=January 7, 2016|agency=Broadcasting|date=December 9, 1946|page=85}} and in 1949.{{cite news|title=AFRA N.Y. Local|url=http://www.americanradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Archive-BC-IDX/49-OCR/1949-12-12-BC-OCR-Page-0080.pdf|accessdate=January 7, 2016|agency=Broadcasting|date=December 12, 1949|page=80}}
Personal life
Cotsworth married Muriel Kirkland, an actress, in New York City on May 24, 1936. They remained married until her death in 1968.{{cite news|title=Staats Cotsworth, Broadway actor, artist|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=888&dat=19790413&id=SE1SAAAAIBAJ&pg=6579,3840894&hl=en|accessdate=January 7, 2016|agency=St. Petersburg Times|date=April 13, 1979|page=15B}} Later he married Josephine Hutchinson, who was also an actress.
Death
Cotsworth died April 9, 1979, aged 71, in his apartment in Manhattan, New York. He was survived by his second wife Josephine.{{cite news|title=Deaths|url=http://www.americanradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Archive-BC-IDX/79-OCR/BC-1979-04-23-OCR-Page-0071.pdf|accessdate=January 7, 2016|agency=Broadcasting|date=April 23, 1979|page=71}}
Filmography
| class="wikitable" | |||
| Year
! Title ! Role ! Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1957 | That Night! | Salesman | |
| 1957 | Peyton Place | Charles Partridge | |
| 1963 | The Alfred Hitchcock Hour | Vincent | Season 1 Episode 15: "The Thirty-First of February" |
| 1964 | Hamlet | Polonius | |
| 1971 | They Might Be Giants | Winthrop | |
| 1972 | Silent Night, Bloody Night | Wilfred Butler | Voice, (final film role) |
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|0182901}}
- {{IBDB name|36421}}
- {{iobdb name|5940}}
- {{Find a Grave|60840616}}
{{Portalbar|Biography|Radio|Television|Theater}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Cotsworth, Staats}}
Category:American male radio actors
Category:American male stage actors
Category:American male television actors
Category:20th-century American male actors