Vanity Will Get You SomewhereCotten takes us from his Tidewater, Virginia, beginnings and his life as a Miami "potato salad tycoon" to his first break on the New York stage. We learn about his warm, abiding association with the flamboyant Orson Welles, from their first meeting at a radio audition (where Welles sets a wastebasket on fire) to their involvement in the Mercury Theatre and their work together in the screen classics Citizen Kane, The Magnificent Ambersons, and The Third Man. We go behind the scenes of Cotten's stage plays and movies with funny, intimate stories of his adventures with Ingrid Bergman, Marilyn Monroe, Katharine Hepburn, David Niven, David O. Selznick, Alfred Hitchcock, and many others. Sensitive to his own motivations, frank about his marriages, and warmly revealing about himself and his friends, Cotten has written much more than the usual film star autobiography. His skills as an actor have made him a master of character and dramatic momentum, and he brings these skills to his writing. he has given us a generous, loving, and humorous portrait of himself and his friends. -- from dust jacket. |
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acting actors answer appeared arrived asked assistant beautiful became become believe Bette Davis better California called close Cotten course Courtesy David direction director doctor don't door dress eyes face feel felt film finally finished followed front gave glass hand happy head heard hope Italy Jennifer Joseph Cotten knew later laughed leave Lenore light living looked lunch manager married Miss morning mother moved movie needed never night once opened Orson Patricia picked picture play producer remember replied returned scene script seemed Selznick sitting soon stage started stopped story studio sure talk telephone tell thank theatre thing thought told took trying turned voice waiting walked wanted weeks wife York young