Description
Book Synopsis Born into an upper-crust family in New Orleans, Cora Bell Witherspoon (1890-1957) was an orphan by the age of 10 and a professional actress by 15. She was seen on Broadway from 1910 till 1946 in 36 productions and was a popular character actress in Hollywood between 1931 and 1954. On stage she played roles like Sallie McBride in Daddy Long Legs, Josephine Trent in The Awful Truth, Martha Culver in The Constant Wife, Prudence in Camille, and Mrs. Grant in The Front Page. Like many Hollywood supporting players, her screen time was limited. She made the most of it, whether as W.C. Fields''s shrewish wife in The Bank Dick, Bette Davis''s fair weather friend Carrie in Dark Victory, the earthy, amorous maid Patty in Quality Street, or the overbearing dowager Mrs. Williamson in The Mating Season. On both stage and screen, Witherspoon portrayed a range of stereotypes of older women. In the end, though, she created her own typ
Table of Contents
- Preface
- 1. Cousin Cora: Early Life and Career
- 2. Belasco and Beyond: The 1910s
- 3. "The Best Dressed Woman on the American Stage": The 1920s
- 4. On Stage and Screen: 1930–1935
- 5. "The Most 'Borrowed' Hollywood Actress": 1936–1939
- 6. Witherspoon's War: The 1940s
- 7. Las Cruces Sunset: 1950–1957
- Chapter Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
