Staats Cotsworth

Staats Cotsworth (February 17, 1908 – April 9, 1979) was an American actor whose career spanned Broadway, radio, and television across several decades. Born in Oak Park, Illinois, as Staats Cotsworth Jr., he was the son of Staats and Dorothy (Bodley) Cotsworth and had a brother, John Littlefield Cotsworth. In 1929, he completed a diploma in the Department of Art at the Pennsylvania Museum's School of Industrial Art.

Cotsworth made his professional stage debut in a production of Alice in Wonderland staged by Eva LeGallienne. His Broadway career extended from 1934 to 1972 and encompassed a wide range of productions. His earliest credits included First Episode (1934), Othello (1935), and two separate runs of Macbeth, first in 1935 and again from 1941 to 1942. Further stage work during the late 1930s included Damaged Goods (1937), As You Like It (1937), Stop-Over (1938), and Madame Capet (1938). Boudoir followed in 1941, and She Stoops to Conquer ran from 1949 to 1950. Cotsworth appeared in Richard III in 1953 and then took on one of his most sustained Broadway engagements, Inherit the Wind, which ran from 1955 to 1957. That same period brought Pictures in the Hallway (1956) and I Knock at the Door (1957). He continued working steadily into the following decade with Advise and Consent (1960–1961), The Right Honourable Gentleman (1965–1966), Weekend (1968), A Patriot for Me (1969), and Lost in the Stars (1972).

In radio, Cotsworth was once characterized as the busiest actor in the medium, having accumulated approximately 7,500 broadcasts over twelve years. He is perhaps most closely associated with the title role in Casey, Crime Photographer, one of several programs on which he served as a regular cast member. His radio appearances also included The Chase, X Minus One, Mr. Keen Tracer of Lost Persons, The Right to Happiness, Cavalcade of America, Grand Central Station, The Story of Mary Marlin, and Silver Theater, among others. He was elected to the New York Local Board of the American Federation of Radio Artists in both 1946 and 1949.

On television, Cotsworth appeared in Killer's Choice, the premiere episode of Kraft Mystery Theatre, in June 1958, and in The Thirty-first of February, an episode of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, in January 1963. He also appeared in a Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation of Macbeth.

Beyond performing, Cotsworth maintained a serious practice as a visual artist. He studied at several art schools and spent seven years in Paris at the Académie Colarossi. His work included illustrations for Ernest Peixotto's book A Bacchic Pilgrimage, published by Charles Scribner's Sons, as well as three murals for bowling alleys in Washington. His paintings were 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. At the time of his death he was listed in Who's Who in American Art.

Cotsworth married actress Muriel Kirkland in New York City on May 24, 1936, and the two remained married until her death in 1968. He subsequently married actress Josephine Hutchinson. Cotsworth died on April 9, 1979, at the age of 71, in his Manhattan apartment, and was survived by his second wife.