Peter Cookson | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1913-05-08)May 8, 1913 Milwaukie, Oregon, U.S. |
| Died | January 6, 1990(1990-01-06) (aged 76) Southfield, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Pasadena Playhouse |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, director, writer |
| Organization | Actors Studio |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 4, includingPeter W. Cookson Jr. |
Peter Cookson (May 8, 1913 – January 6, 1990) was an American stage and film actor of the 1940s and 1950s. He was known for his collaborations with his wife,Beatrice Straight, an actress and member of theWhitney family.
Cookson was born on May 8, 1913, on a houseboat on theWillamette River inMilwaukie, Oregon, to Gerald Cookson, a career British Army officer, and Helen Willis, a nurse.[citation needed] Cookson attended thePasadena Playhouse on a scholarship.[1]
Cookson appeared in the playThe Heiress on Broadway in 1947,[2] where he met his wife to-be,Beatrice Straight.[1][3] He was also a producer and produced the playThe Innocents on Broadway in 1950, starring his wife.[3] Cookson's most famous stage role was of the love struck judge inCole Porter's 1953 musicalCan-Can[4] in which he introduced the song "It's All Right With Me."[3] HisNew York Times obituary noted that "[i]n interviews at the time, he said he was astonished at being given the part, as he had not sung for an audience since high school."[1]
Cookson starred in several feature films during the 1940s, includingG. I. Honeymoon (1945) andFear (1946), before moving exclusively to television during the following decade.
He was a founding member ofThe Actors Studio, as was his second wife Beatrice Straight.[5]
In 1937, Peter married Maureen Gray.[citation needed] Before their divorce in 1948, they had:[6]
Peter and Maureen separated in Spring 1947. They attempted a reconciliation in the Summer of 1947, renting a house in Denver. At that time, Cookson had an affair with actressPatricia Neal. His wife found out and left him.[6]
In 1948, while starring in the Broadway production ofThe Heiress,[7] an adaptation ofHenry James'sWashington Square, Cookson metBeatrice Straight, who he was acting opposite. Straight was the daughter ofDorothy Payne Whitney, of theWhitney family, andWillard Dickerman Straight, aninvestment banker and diplomat. Straight's step-father wasLeonard Knight Elmhirst. Cookson and Straight married in 1949, and had two children:[1][8]
Cookson died in 1990 ofbone cancer at his home inSouthfield, Massachusetts.[1] Beatrice died in 2001 frompneumonia inNorthridge, Los Angeles at the age of eighty-six.[10]
| Title[2] | Medium | Year | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Swingtime Johnny | Film | 1943 | Jonathan | |
| A Guy Named Joe | Film | 1943 | Sgt. Hanson (uncredited) | |
| Strange Confession | Film | 1944 | Soldier | |
| Detective Kitty O'Day | Film | 1944 | Johnny Jones | |
| The Girl Who Dared | Film | 1944 | Rufus Blair | |
| Shadow of Suspicion | Film | 1944 | Jimmy Dale | |
| Adventures of Kitty O'Day | Film | 1945 | Johnny Jones | |
| G.I. Honeymoon | Film | 1945 | Lt. Robert 'Bob" Gordon | |
| Behind City Lights | Film | 1945 | Lance Marlow | |
| The Scarlet Horseman | Film | 1946 | Kirk Norris | |
| Fear | Film | 1946 | Larry Crain | |
| Strange Conquest | Film | 1946 | William Sommers | |
| Don't Gamble with Strangers | Film | 1946 | Bob Randall | |
| Message for Margaret | Theatre | 1947 | Robert Chalcot | Theatre World Award (winner) |
| The Heiress | Theatre | 1947-48 | Morris Townsend | |
| The Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse | Television | 1949 | ||
| Robert Montgomery Presents | Television | 1950 | Maxim de Winter | |
| The Innocents | Theatre | 1950 | Producer (ft.Beatrice Straight) | |
| The Billy Rose Show | Television | 1951 | ||
| The Little Blue Light | Theatre | 1950 | Ellis | Producer |
| Lights Out | Television | 1951 | ||
| The Web | Television | 1951-52 | ||
| Broadway Television Theatre | Television | 1952 | Nathaniel Dunham | |
| Seagulls Over Sorrento | Theatre | 1952 | Producer | |
| Justice | Television | 1954 | ||
| Suspense | Television | 1952-54 | Maj. de Spain / Jack Trent | |
| Can-Can | Theatre | 1953-5 | Judge Aristide Forestier | |
| Studio One in Hollywood | Television | 1954 | ||
| Appointment with Adventure | Television | 1955 | Jamison Wyatt | |
| Star Tonight | Television | 1955 | ||
| The Millionaire | Television | 1957 | Alan Bruce | |
| Telephone Time | Television | 1957 | Paul Wallace | |
| Armstrong Circle Theatre | Television | 1955-57 | ||
| The United States Steel Hour | Television | 1957 | ||
| Four Winds | Theatre | 1957 | Garrett Scott | |
| Matinee Theatre | Television | 1958 | James | |
| The DuPont Show of the Month | Television | 1958 | ||
| Kraft Theatre | Television | 1952-58 | Bruis / Mr. Knightley | |
| The Investigator | Television | 1958 | A Debonair Bachelor | |
| Rashomon | Theatre | 1959 | Producer | |
| The Right Honourable Gentleman | Theatre | 1965-66 | Producer,Tony Award for Best Play (Nominee) |
Lewis' class included Herbert Berghof, Marlon Brando... Beatrice Straight, Eli Wallach, and David Wayne... Also Henry Barnard, Jay Barney, John Becher, Philip Bourneuf, Joan Chandler, Peter Cookson, Stephen Elliott, Robert Emhardt, Joy Geffen, William Hansen, Will Hare, Jane Hoffman, George Keane, Don Keefer, George Matthews, Peggy Meredith, Ty Perry, Margaret Phillips, David Pressman, William Prince, Elliot Reid, Frances Reid, Kurt Richards, Elizabeth Ross, Thelma Schnee, Joshua Shelley, Fed Stewart, John Straub, Michael Strong, John Sylvester, Julie Warren, Mary Welch, Lois Wheeler, and William Woodson.
peter cookson first wife.
Beatrice Straight, a graceful and versatile actress who won both an Oscar and a Tony Award, died on Saturday in North Ridge, Calif. She was 86 and lived in Beverly Hills, Calif., for most of the last 10 years. ...
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