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 Beatrice Whitney Straight (August 2, 1914 – April 7, 2001) was an American theatre, film and television actress and a member of the prominent Whitney family. She was an Academy Award and Tony Award winner as well as an Emmy Award nominee. ...

, an actress and member of the

Whitney family The Whitney family is an American family notable for their business enterprises, social prominence, wealth and philanthropy, founded by John Whitney (1592–1673), who came from London, England to Watertown, Massachusetts in 1635. The historic fa ...

Early life

Cookson was born on May 8, 1913 on a houseboat on the

Willamette River The Willamette River ( ) is a major tributary of the Columbia River, accounting for 12 to 15 percent of the Columbia's flow. The Willamette's main stem is long, lying entirely in northwestern Oregon in the United States. Flowing northward b ...

Milwaukie, Oregon Milwaukie is a city mostly in Clackamas County, Oregon, United States; a very small portion of the city extends into Multnomah County. The population was 20,291 at the 2010 census. Founded in 1847 on the banks of the Willamette River, the ci ...

to Gerald Cookson, a career British Army officer, and Helen Willis, a nurse. Cookson attended the

Pasadena Playhouse The Pasadena Playhouse is a historic performing arts venue located 39 S. El Molino Avenue in Pasadena, California, United States. The 686-seat auditorium produces a variety of cultural and artistic events, professional shows, and community engage ...

on a scholarship.

Career

Cookson appeared in the play ''

The Heiress ''The Heiress'' is a 1949 American romantic drama film directed and produced by William Wyler, from a screenplay written by Ruth and Augustus Goetz, adapted from their 1947 stage play of the same title, which was itself adapted from Henry Jame ...

'' on Broadway in 1947, where he met his wife to-be,

."Peter Cookson, 76, A Writer, Producer And Stage Actor"
''The New York Times'', January 8, 1990"Peter Cookson Broadway"
playbillvault.com, accessed September 16, 2015 He was also a producer and produced the play '' The Innocents'' on Broadway in 1950, starring his wife. Cookson's most famous stage role was of the love struck judge in Cole Porter's 1953 musical '' Can-Can'' in which he introduced the song "

It's All Right With Me "It's All Right with Me" is a popular song written by Cole Porter, for his 1953 musical '' Can-Can'', where it was introduced by Peter Cookson as the character Judge Aristide Forestier. The song is also used in the Cole Porter musical '' High S ...

." "In 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." Cookson starred in several feature films during the 1940s, including '' G. I. Honeymoon'' (1945) and ''

Fear Fear is an intensely unpleasant emotion in response to perceiving or recognizing a danger or threat. Fear causes physiological changes that may produce behavioral reactions such as mounting an aggressive response or fleeing the threat. Fear ...

'', before moving exclusively to television during the following decade. He was a founding member of

The Actors Studio The Actors Studio is a membership organization for professional actors, theatre directors and playwrights at 432 West 44th Street between Ninth and Tenth avenues in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded ...

, as was his second wife Beatrice Straight.

Personal life

In 1937, Peter married Maureen Gray. Before their divorce in 1948, they had: * Peter Cookson Jr. (b. 1942) *Jane Copland ( née Cookson) 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 actress

Patricia Neal Patricia Neal (born Patsy Louise Neal, January 20, 1926 – August 8, 2010) was an American actress of stage and screen. A major star of the 1950s and 1960s, she was the recipient of an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Tony Award, and two ...

. His wife found out and left him. In 1948, while starring in the Broadway production of ''

'', an adaptation of

Henry James Henry James ( – ) was an American-British author. He is regarded as a key transitional figure between literary realism and literary modernism, and is considered by many to be among the greatest novelists in the English language. He was the ...

's '' Washington Square'', Cookson met

(1914–2001), who he was acting opposite. Straight was the daughter of

Dorothy Payne Whitney Dorothy Payne Elmhirst ( Whitney; January 23, 1887 – December 14, 1968) was an American-born social activist, philanthropist, publisher and a member of the prominent Whitney family. Life and work Whitney was born in Washington, D.C., the daug ...

(1887–1968), of the

, and Willard Dickerman Straight (1880–1918), an

investment banker Investment banking pertains to certain activities of a financial services company or a corporate division that consist in advisory-based financial transactions on behalf of individuals, corporations, and governments. Traditionally associated with ...

and diplomat. Straight's step-father was Leonard Knight Elmhirst (1893–1974). Cookson and Straight married in 1949, and had two children: * Gary Cookson, an actor. * Tony Cookson, writer and director of ''

And You Thought Your Parents Were Weird ''And You Thought Your Parents Were Weird'' is a 1991 science fiction family film written and directed by Tony Cookson; foreign language releases were titled ''RoboDad''. Plot Two boys, Joshua ( Joshua John Miller) and Max ( Edan Gross) attempt ...

'' (1991) Cookson died in 1990 of

bone cancer A bone tumor is an abnormal growth of tissue in bone, traditionally classified as noncancerous (benign) or cancerous (malignant). Cancerous bone tumors usually originate from a cancer in another part of the body such as from lung, breast, thy ...

at his home in Southfield, Massachusetts. Beatrice died in 2001 from

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...

Northridge, Los Angeles Northridge is a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of the City of Los Angeles. The community is home to California State University, Northridge, and the Northridge Fashion Center. Originally named Zelzah by settlers in 1908, the com ...

at the age of eighty-six.

Published works

*''Henderson's Head'' (1973), a novel described as "sexually whiffy psychotic stuff" by '' Kirkus Reviews''. *''Pigeons'', a comedy play later turned into a script in 1986. *''Million Rosebuds'' (1978), a play written with the

New Dramatists New Dramatists is an organization of playwrights founded in 1949 and located at 424 West 44th Street between Ninth and Tenth Avenues in the Hell's Kitchen (Clinton) neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. The members of New Dramatists parti ...

*''Unique Species'' (1984), a play.

Filmography and credits

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cookson, Peter 1913 births 1990 deaths American male film actors People from Milwaukie, Oregon Male actors from Oregon 20th-century American male actors Deaths from bone cancer Deaths from cancer in Massachusetts