Patricia Medina obit

Patricia Medina, Actress and Joseph Cotten's Widow, Dies at 92

She was not on the list.

A leading lady of the 1950s, the British-born actress starred in "Mr. Arkadin," "Abbott and Costello in the Foreign Legion" and "Francis the Talking Mule."

Patricia Medina, one of the most sought after actresses of the 1950s, has died at the age of 92.

The British-born actress died Saturday at Los Angeles' Barlow Respiratory Hospital of natural causes. 

Born in Liverpool, England, in 1919, Medina came to Hollywood after World War II, where she parlayed her British acting career into a contract with MGM Studios.

In her heyday, she starred in Orson Welles' Mr. Arkadin, William Witney's Stranger at My Door and Francis, the comedy that launched the Francis the Talking Mule franchise.

"She was a stunning woman," close friend Meredith Silverbach told The Los Angeles Times after news of Medina's death. "In her youth, they called her 'the most beautiful face in England.'"

In 1960, Medina famously married actor Joseph Cotten. She went on to act on stage alongside the Citizen Kane and Shadow of a Doubt star, and the two remained married until Cotten's 1994 death from pneumonia, a complication of his throat cancer.

Later in life, she appeared in television series such as Perry Mason and The Man from U.N.C.L.E..

Medina, who lived in Westwood, wrote about her career and life with Cotten in the 1998 autobiography Laid Back in Hollywood.

Complete filmography

Siren of Bagdad (1953) with Hans Conried and Paul Henreid

    Dinner at the Ritz (1937) - (uncredited)

    Mr. Satan (1938) - A Girl

    Simply Terrific (1938) - Heather Carfax

    Double or Quits (1938) - Caroline

    This Man Is News (1938) - Waitress in teashop (uncredited)

    Crook's Tour (1941) - Hotel Receptionist (uncredited)

    The Day Will Dawn (1942) - Ingrid

    The First of the Few (1942) - Venetian Girl (uncredited)

    They Met in the Dark (1943) - Mary - Manicurist

    Hotel Reserve (1944) - Odette Roux

    Don't Take It to Heart (1944) - Mary

    Kiss the Bride Goodbye (1945) - Joan Dodd

    Waltz Time (1945) - Cenci Prohaska

    The Secret Heart (1946) - Kay Burns; first American role

    The Beginning or the End (1947) - Mrs. Wyatt (uncredited)

    Moss Rose (1947) - Audrey Ashton

    The Foxes of Harrow (1947) - Desiree

    The Three Musketeers (1948) - Kitty

    The Fighting O'Flynn (1949, opposite then husband, Richard Greene) - Fancy Free

    Children of Chance (1949) - Agostina

    Francis (1950) - Maureen Gelder

    Fortunes of Captain Blood (1950) - Isabelita Sotomayor

    Abbott and Costello in the Foreign Legion (1950) - Nicole Dupre

    The Jackpot (1950) - Hildegarde Jonet / Hilda Jones

    Valentino (1951) - Lila Reyes

    The Lady and the Bandit (1951) - Joyce Greene

    The Magic Carpet (1951) - Lida

    Aladdin and His Lamp (1952) - Princess Jasmine

    Lady in the Iron Mask (1952) - Princess Anne / Princess Louise

    Captain Pirate (1952) - Dona Isabella

    Desperate Search (1952) - Nora Stead

    Botany Bay (1952) - Sally Munroe

    Siren of Bagdad (1953) - Princess Zendi

    Sangaree (1953) - Martha Darby

    Plunder of the Sun (1953) - Anna Luz

    Phantom of the Rue Morgue (1954) - Jeanette

    Drums of Tahiti (1954) - Wanda Spence

    The Black Knight (1954) - Linet

    Pirates of Tripoli (1955) - Princess Karjan

    Mr. Arkadin (1955) - Mily

    Duel on the Mississippi (1955) - Lili Scarlet

    The Red Cloak (1955) - Laura Lanfranchi

    Uranium Boom (1956) - Jean Williams

    Stranger at My Door (1956) - Peg Jarret

    The Beast of Hollow Mountain (1956) - Sarita

    Miami Exposé (1956) - Lila Hodges

    The Buckskin Lady (1957) - Angela Medley

    Battle of the V-1 (1958) - Zofia

    Count Your Blessings (1959) - Albertine

    Snow White and the Three Stooges (1961) - Queen / Witch / Gypsy Matilda

    The Killing of Sister George (1968) - Betty Thaxter

    Latitude Zero (1969) - Lucretia

    Keene (1969)

    Timber Tramps (1975) - Miami Lills

    El llanto de los pobres (1978) - (final film role)

Selected television roles

    Tales of the 77th Bengal Lancers (1956)

    The Californians in episode "Lola Montez" (NBC-TV, 1958) - Lola Montez

    Perry Mason in “The Case of the Lucky Loser” (1958) - Harriet Belfour

    Rawhide (CBS-TV, 1960)

    Bonanza (1960) - Isabella Maria Ynez Y Castra De La Cuesta / Rosita Morales in the episode The Spanish Grant

    Thriller (NBC-TV, 1961; 2 episodes) - Victorine Lafourcade / Nadja

    Have Gun - Will Travel (1957-1963) - Diana Coulter / Sabina - Greedy Wife

    The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (1964) - Wife

    The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1965) - Lucia Belmont

    Branded (NBC-TV, 1966) - Dr. Karen L. Miller