Cornelia Otis Skinner (May 30, 1899 – July 9, 1979) was an American writer and actress.

Biography

Skinner was the only child of actor Otis Skinner and actress

Maud Durbin Maud Durbin (November 9, 1871 – December 25, 1936) was an American actress. She was the wife of actor Otis Skinner and the mother of actress and author Cornelia Otis Skinner. Durbin was born in Moberly, Missouri, on November 9, 1871. A prot� ...

. After attending the all-girls'

Baldwin School The Baldwin School (simply referred to as Baldwin School or Baldwin) is a private school for girls in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1888 by Florence Baldwin. The school occupies a 19th-century resort hotel designed by ...

and

Bryn Mawr College Bryn Mawr College ( ; Welsh: ) is a women's liberal arts college in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Founded as a Quaker institution in 1885, Bryn Mawr is one of the Seven Sister colleges, a group of elite, historically women's colleges in the United St ...

(1918–1919), and studying theatre at the

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, she began her career on the stage in 1921. Skinner appeared in several plays before embarking on a tour of the United States from 1926 to 1929 in a one-woman performance of short character sketches which she had written. She also wrote numerous short, humorous pieces for publications such as ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

''. These pieces were eventually compiled into a series of books, including ''Nuts in May'', ''Dithers and Jitters'', ''Excuse It Please!'', and ''The Ape in Me'', among others. In a "comprehensive study" of Skinner's work, G. Bruce Loganbill (1961) refers to Skinner's scripts as "monologue-dramas," which were extensions of the "linked monologues" developed by

Ruth Draper Ruth Draper (December 2, 1884December 30, 1956) was an American actress, dramatist and noted diseuse who specialized in character-driven monologues and monodrama. Her best-known pieces include ''The Italian Lesson'', ''Three Women and Mr. Cliff ...

. Skinner's work differed in structure and content, however, as she created and performed full-length monologue-dramas that were based on the lives of historical figures. Such work was described as a "unique" and important contribution to the one-person show in America. She appeared with

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...

on '' The Campbell Playhouse'' radio play of "American Cavalcade: The Things We Have" on May 26, 1939. With

Emily Kimbrough Emily Kimbrough (October 23, 1899 – February 10, 1989) was an American author and journalist. Biography Emily Kimbrough was born in Muncie, Indiana. In 1921 she graduated from Bryn Mawr College and went on a trip to Europe with her friend Co ...

, Skinner wrote ''

Our Hearts Were Young and Gay ''Our Hearts Were Young and Gay'' is a book by actress Cornelia Otis Skinner and journalist Emily Kimbrough, published in 1942. The book presents a description of their European tour in the 1920s, when they were fresh out of college from Bryn M ...

'', a light-hearted description of their European tour after college. Kimbrough and Skinner went to Hollywood to act as consultants on the film adaptation of the book, produced as a film of the same name, with

Gail Russell Gail Russell (born Betty Gale Russell; September 21, 1924 – August 26, 1961) was an American film and television actress. Early years Gail Russell was born to George and Gladys (Barnet) Russell in Chicago and then moved to the Los Angeles ...

playing Skinner. The book was also adapted as a 1950 television series '' The Girls'', in which Skinner was portrayed by

Bethel Leslie Jane Bethel Leslie (August 3, 1929 – November 28, 1999) was an American actress and screenwriter. In her career spanning half a century, she was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award and a Laurel Award in 1964, a Tony Award in 1986, and a Cable ...

(replaced by

Gloria Stroock Gloria Jane Stroock is an American actress. She is best known for her supporting role in the television series ''McMillan & Wife'' as Maggie, the secretary of lead character Stewart McMillan. Early years Stroock is the daughter of James Stroock, ...

). In 1952, Skinner's one-woman show ''Paris '90'' (music and lyrics by

Kay Swift Katharine Faulkner "Kay" Swift (April 19, 1897 – January 28, 1993) was an American composer of popular and classical music, the first woman to score a hit musical completely. Written in 1930, the Broadway musical '' Fine and Dandy'' includes ...

) premiered on Broadway. An original cast recording was produced by Goddard Lieberson for

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

, and is now available on compact disc. In later years Skinner wrote ''Madame Sarah'' (a biography of

Sarah Bernhardt Sarah Bernhardt (; born Henriette-Rosine Bernard; 22 or 23 October 1844 – 26 March 1923) was a French stage actress who starred in some of the most popular French plays of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including '' La Dame Aux Camel ...

), and ''Elegant Wits and Grand Horizontals'' about the

Belle Epoque Belle may refer to: * Belle (''Beauty and the Beast'') * Belle (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Belle (surname), a list of people Brands and enterprises * Belle Air, a former airline with headquarters in Tirana, Albania ...

. In a 1944 conversation with

Victor Borge Børge Rosenbaum (3 January 1909 – 23 December 2000), known professionally as Victor Borge ( ), was a Danish-American comedian, conductor, and pianist who achieved great popularity in radio and television in the North America and Europe. His ...

, Skinner reportedly told the

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

comedian that she decided to drop the term "

diseuse A monologist (), or interchangeably monologuist (), is a solo artist who recites or gives dramatic readings from a monologue, soliloquy, poetry, or work of literature, for the entertainment of an audience. The term can also refer to a person wh ...

" from her act after reading in a Scottish newspaper: "Cornelia Otis Skinner, the American disease, gave a program last night."

Marriage

Cornelia Otis Skinner married Alden Sanford Blodget on October 5, 1928 in

Warm Springs, Virginia Warm Springs is a census-designated place (CDP) in and the county seat of Bath County, Virginia, United States. The population as of the 2010 census was 123.

. On August 28, 1930, she gave birth to her only child, a son, Otis Skinner Blodget, who died on March 11, 2007, aged 76.

Filmography

As an actress

* '' The Uninvited'' (1943) - Miss Holloway * ''General Electric Guest House'' (1951, episode dated July 1, 1951) * ''Paris '90'' (1952) * ''

The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing ''The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing'' is a 1955 American film directed by Richard Fleischer from a screenplay by Walter Reisch and Charles Brackett, and starring Joan Collins, Ray Milland, and Farley Granger. The CinemaScope film was released ...

'' (1955) - Mrs. Thaw * ''

Max Liebman Max Liebman (August 2, 1902 – July 21, 1981) was a Broadway theater and TV producer-director sometimes called the "Ziegfeld of TV", who helped establish early television's comedy vocabulary with ''Your Show of Shows''. He additionally helped bring ...

Presents: Dearest Enemy'' (1955, TV Episode) - Mrs. Murray * ''

The Alcoa Hour ''The Alcoa Hour'' is an American anthology television series that was aired live on NBC from 1955 to 1957. The series was sponsored by Alcoa. Overview Like the ''Philco Television Playhouse'' and ''Goodyear Television Playhouse'' that had prec ...

'' (1956, Episode: "Merry Christmas, Mr. Baxter") - Susan Baxter * '' The Swimmer'' (1968) - Mrs. Hammar

As herself

* ''

Stage Door Canteen The Stage Door Canteen was an entertainment venue for American and Allied servicemen that operated in the Broadway theatre district of New York City throughout World War II. Founded by the American Theatre Wing (ATW) in 1942, the entertainers we ...

'' (1943) * ''

Toast of the Town ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the '' CBS Sunday Night ...

'' (later ''The Ed Sullivan Show'') TV episodes #4.7 (1950), #4.14 (1950), #5.32 (1952), and #7.8 (1953) * ''

Faye Emerson's Wonderful Town ''Faye Emerson's Wonderful Town'', also known as ''Wonderful Town, USA'', is a half-hour variety television series that aired on CBS from June 16, 1951, to April 19, 1952, in which Faye Emerson visits various cities. Episodes of the program were al ...

'' (1951), TV episode dated June 23, 1951 * ''What's It For?'' (1957) TV episode dated October 12, 1957 * ''

What's My Line? ''What's My Line?'' is a panel game show that originally ran in the United States on the CBS Television Network from 1950 to 1967, originally in black and white and later in color, with subsequent U.S. revivals. The game uses celebrity panelis ...

'' (1959) TV episode dated March 29, 1959What's My Line? - Cornelia Otis Skinner; Dore Schary (panel) (Mar 29, 1959)
/ref> * '' This Is Your Life'' (1959) Charlie Ruggles (TV episode)

Bibliography

Non-fiction

* ;Memoirs * ''

'' (with Emily Kimbrough, 1942; Dodd, Mead and Company Inc.) * ''Family Circle'' (1948) – an autobiographical work (entitled ''Happy Family'' in the UK) * Humorous autobiographical piece. ;Biographies * ''Madame Sarah'' (1967) – a biography of

. * ''Life with Lindsay and Crouse'' (1976) – a biography of

Howard Lindsay Howard Lindsay, born Herman Nelke, (March 29, 1889 – February 11, 1968) was an American playwright, librettist, director, actor and theatrical producer. He is best known for his writing work as part of the collaboration of Lindsay and Crouse ...

and

Russel Crouse Russel Crouse (20 February 1893 – 3 April 1966) was an American playwright and librettist, best known for his work in the Broadway theatre, Broadway writing partnership of Lindsay and Crouse. Life and career Born in Findlay, Ohio, Crouse was th ...

. ;Essay compilations * ''Tiny Garments'' (1932) * ''Excuse It, Please!'' (1936) * ''Dithers and Jitters'' (1937) * ''Soap Behind the Ears'' (1941) * ''Popcorn'' (1943) * ''That's Me All Over'' (1948) – a collection of the best essays from the prior 4 compilations. * ''Nuts in May'' (1950) * ''Bottoms Up!'' (1955) Dodd, Mead, and Company, New York * ''The Ape in Me'' (1959)

Playwriting, screenwriting, scriptwriting

* ''Edna, His Wife'' (1937), play based on the 1935 novel of the same name by

Margaret Ayer Barnes Margaret Ayer Barnes (April 8, 1886, Chicago, Illinois – October 25, 1967, Cambridge, Massachusetts) was an American playwright, novelist, and short-story writer. She was awarded the Pulitzer Prize. Biography Margaret Ayer grew up the youn ...

* ''The Girls'' (1950) TV series * ''The Pleasure of His Company'' (1958) play ( adapted as a film in 1961)

Monologues

* ''The Wives of Henry VIII'' (1931) * ''The Empress Eugenie'' (1932) * ''The Loves of Charles II'' (1933) * ''The Mansion on the Hudson'' (1935)

Critical studies and reviews of Skinner's work

* ''Cast of One: One Person Shows from the Chautauqua Platform to the Broadway Stage'' (1989)- Section on Skinner

Sources

External links

* *
Skinner Family Papers, 1874-1979
at

Houghton Library Houghton Library, on the south side of Harvard Yard adjacent to Widener Library, is Harvard University's primary repository for rare books and manuscripts. It is part of the Harvard College Library, the library system of Harvard's Faculty of Art ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

Cornelia Otis Skinner scrapbooks, 1921-1978
held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division,

New York Public Library for the Performing Arts The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center, at 40 Lincoln Center Plaza, is located in Manhattan, New York City, at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts on the Upper West Side, between the Metro ...

*
"American Cavalcade: The Things We Have"
(May 26, 1939) on '' The Campbell Playhouse'', with guest Cornelia Otis Skinner (

Indiana University Bloomington Indiana University Bloomington (IU Bloomington, Indiana University, IU, or simply Indiana) is a public university, public research university in Bloomington, Indiana. It is the flagship university, flagship campus of Indiana University and, with ...

)
"Annotations: The NEH Preservation Project" Two Skinner monologues from a 1951 Book and Author Luncheon