Patricia Medina
Encyclopedia
Patricia Paz Maria Medina (born 19 July 1919) is an English
actress from Liverpool, England. Her father was a Spaniard
(Ramón Medina Nebot from the Canary Islands
) and her mother was English
. Medina began acting as a teenager in the late 1930s. She worked her way up to leading roles in the mid-1940s, whereupon she left for Hollywood.
. She and Hayward subsequently appeared together in 1951's The Lady and the Bandit and Lady in the Iron Mask and Captain Pirate, both from 1952.
Darkly beautiful, Medina was often typecast in period melodramas such as The Black Knight
. Two of her more notable films were William Witney
's Stranger at My Door and Orson Welles
' Mr. Arkadin
, a follow-up to The Third Man, based on the radio series The Lives of Harry Lime.
Although prolific during the early 1950s, her film career petered out by the end of the decade. She performed in four episodes of Walt Disney's Zorro in 1958 as Margarita Cortazar. In 1958 she also appeared as "The Lady" Diana Coulter in two episodes of Richard Boone
's Have Gun, Will Travel. In 1968, she returned to the big screen in Robert Aldrich
's adaptation of the lesbian-themed drama The Killing of Sister George
.
She and her husband, American actor Joseph Cotten
, toured together in several plays and on Broadway
in the murder mystery Calculated Risk. Her appearances on television include an episode of Bonanza
titled "The Spanish Grant" (originally aired 6 February 1960) and The Alfred Hitchcock Hour titled "See the Monkey Dance" (originally aired 9 November 1964).
on 24 December 1941 in St. James's Church, Spanish Place, London. They divorced in 1951. Medina married Cotten on 20 October 1960 in Beverly Hills at the home of David O. Selznick
and Jennifer Jones
.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
actress from Liverpool, England. Her father was a Spaniard
Spanish people
The Spanish are citizens of the Kingdom of Spain. Within Spain, there are also a number of vigorous nationalisms and regionalisms, reflecting the country's complex history....
(Ramón Medina Nebot from the Canary Islands
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...
) and her mother was English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
. Medina began acting as a teenager in the late 1930s. She worked her way up to leading roles in the mid-1940s, whereupon she left for Hollywood.
Career
In 1950's Fortunes of Captain Blood, she teamed up with British actor Louis HaywardLouis Hayward
Louis Charles Hayward was a British actor born in South Africa.-Biography:Born in Johannesburg, Hayward began his screen work in British films, notably as Simon Templar in Leslie Charteris' The Saint in New York.] In 1939 he played a dual role in The Man in the Iron Mask.During World War II,...
. She and Hayward subsequently appeared together in 1951's The Lady and the Bandit and Lady in the Iron Mask and Captain Pirate, both from 1952.
Darkly beautiful, Medina was often typecast in period melodramas such as The Black Knight
The Black Knight (1954 film)
The Black Knight is a 1954 film starring Alan Ladd as the title character and Peter Cushing and Patrick Troughton as two conspirators attempting to overthrow King Arthur...
. Two of her more notable films were William Witney
William Witney
William Nuelsen Witney was an American film and television director. He is best remembered for the movie serials he co-directed with John English for Republic Pictures such as Daredevils of the Red Circle, Zorro's Fighting Legion and Drums of Fu Manchu.He directed many Westerns during his career,...
's Stranger at My Door and Orson Welles
Orson Welles
George Orson Welles , best known as Orson Welles, was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio...
' Mr. Arkadin
Mr. Arkadin
Mr. Arkadin is a French-Spanish-Swiss coproduction film, written and directed by Orson Welles and shot in several Spanish locations, including Segovia, Valladolid and Madrid.Its history is convoluted...
, a follow-up to The Third Man, based on the radio series The Lives of Harry Lime.
Although prolific during the early 1950s, her film career petered out by the end of the decade. She performed in four episodes of Walt Disney's Zorro in 1958 as Margarita Cortazar. In 1958 she also appeared as "The Lady" Diana Coulter in two episodes of Richard Boone
Richard Boone
Richard Allen Boone was an American actor who starred in over 50 films and was notable for his roles in Westerns and for starring in the TV series Have Gun – Will Travel.-Early life:...
's Have Gun, Will Travel. In 1968, she returned to the big screen in Robert Aldrich
Robert Aldrich
Robert Aldrich was an American film director, writer and producer, notable for such films as Kiss Me Deadly , The Big Knife , What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? , Hush… Hush, Sweet Charlotte , The Flight of the Phoenix , The Dirty Dozen , and The Longest Yard .-Biography:Robert...
's adaptation of the lesbian-themed drama The Killing of Sister George
The Killing of Sister George
The Killing of Sister George is a 1964 play by Frank Marcus that was adapted as a 1968 film directed by Robert Aldrich.- Stage version :Sister George is a beloved character in the popular radio series Applehurst, a nurse who ministers to the medical needs and personal problems of the local villagers...
.
She and her husband, American actor Joseph Cotten
Joseph Cotten
Joseph Cheshire Cotten was an American actor of stage and film. Cotten achieved prominence on Broadway, starring in the original productions of The Philadelphia Story and Sabrina Fair...
, toured together in several plays and on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
in the murder mystery Calculated Risk. Her appearances on television include an episode of Bonanza
Bonanza
Bonanza is an American western television series that both ran on and was a production of NBC from September 12, 1959 to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 430 episodes, it ranks as the second longest running western series and still continues to air in syndication. It centers on the...
titled "The Spanish Grant" (originally aired 6 February 1960) and The Alfred Hitchcock Hour titled "See the Monkey Dance" (originally aired 9 November 1964).
Autobiography
In 1998, Patricia Medina Cotten published an autobiography, Laid Back in Hollywood: Remembering.Personal
Medina married actor British Richard GreeneRichard Greene
Richard Marius Joseph Greene was a noted English film and television actor. A matinee idol who appeared in more than 40 films, he was perhaps best known for the lead role in the long-running British TV series The Adventures of Robin Hood, which ran for 143 episodes from 1955 to 1960.It has been...
on 24 December 1941 in St. James's Church, Spanish Place, London. They divorced in 1951. Medina married Cotten on 20 October 1960 in Beverly Hills at the home of David O. Selznick
David O. Selznick
David O. Selznick was an American film producer. He is best known for having produced Gone with the Wind and Rebecca , both of which earned him an Oscar for Best Picture.-Early years:...
and Jennifer Jones
Jennifer Jones
Phylis Lee Isley , better known by her stage name Jennifer Jones, was an American actress. A five-time Academy Award nominee, Jones won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in The Song of Bernadette .-Early life:Jones was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the daughter of Flora Mae and...
.
Partial filmography
- Mr. SatanMr. Satan (film)Mr. Satan is a 1938 British spy thriller, directed by Arthur B. Woods and starring James Stephenson and Chili Bouchier. Unlike a majority of Woods' quota quickie productions of the 1930s which are believed lost, this film survives in the British Film Institute National Archive.-Plot:News...
(1938) - Hotel ReserveHotel ReserveHotel Reserve is a spy film starring James Mason as an innocent man caught up in pre-Second World War espionage. It was based on Eric Ambler's novel Epitaph for a Spy.-Plot:...
(1944) - Kiss the Bride GoodbyeKiss the Bride GoodbyeKiss the Bride Goodbye is a 1945 British romantic comedy drama, directed by Paul L. Stein and starring Patricia Medina and Jimmy Hanley. The film also features an early role for Jean Simmons, almost two years before she achieved stardom in Great Expectations.-Plot:Factory girl Joan Dodd and Jack...
(1945) - The Secret HeartThe Secret HeartThe Secret Heart is a 1946 film directed by Robert Z. Leonard, and starring Claudette Colbert, Walter Pidgeon and June Allyson.-Plot:Lee is engaged to marry Larry Adams, a spendthrift widower with two children, son Chase and daughter Penny...
(1946) - The Foxes of HarrowThe Foxes of HarrowThe Foxes of Harrow is an adventure film directed by John M. Stahl and produced by William A. Bacher. The film Rex Harrison, Maureen O'Hara, Richard Haydn with Victor McLaglen, Vanessa Brown, Patricia Medina, Gene Lockhart, and Hugo Haas...
(1947) - The Three MusketeersThe Three Musketeers (1948 film)The Three Musketeers is a Technicolor adventure film adaptation of the classic novel The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas, père which starred Gene Kelly and Lana Turner...
(1948) - The Fighting O'Flynn (1949)
- Children of Chance (1949)
- FrancisFrancis (1950 film)Francis is a 1950 black-and-white comedy film that launched the Francis the Talking Mule series. It starred Donald O'Connor as an American soldier who gets into trouble when he insists an Army mule named Francis can speak. The distinctive voice of Francis was provided by Chill Wills...
(1950) - Abbott and Costello in the Foreign LegionAbbott and Costello in the Foreign LegionAbbott and Costello in the Foreign Legion is a 1950 film starring the comedy team of Abbott and Costello.-Plot:Bud Jones and Lou Hotchkiss are wrestling promoters. Their star, Abdullah , no longer wishes to follow the script for their crooked matches, especially since he is supposed to lose his...
(1950) - The JackpotThe JackpotThe Jackpot is a 1950 American comedy film directed by Walter Lang with James Stewart and Barbara Hale in the lead roles. It features a young Natalie Wood....
(1950) - Valentino (1951)
- Botany BayBotany Bay (film)Botany Bay is a 1953 American drama film directed by John Farrow and starring Alan Ladd, James Mason and Patricia Medina. It was based on a novel of the same name by Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall.-Plot:...
(1953) - Sangaree (1953)
- Plunder of the SunPlunder of the SunPlunder of the Sun is a 1949 novel by David F. Dodge about a hunt for ancient Peruvian treasure. It was made into a 1953 movie of the same name starring Glenn Ford and relocated to Mexico.-Cast:*Glenn Ford as Al Colby*Diana Lynn as Julie Barnes...
(1953) - Siren of BagdadSiren of BagdadSiren of Bagdad is a 1953 fantasy Technicolor adventure film produced by Sam Katzman and directed by Richard Quine set in the middle age Persian Empire. It stars Paul Henreid as a travelling Master magician who seeks to recover his troop of beautiful dancing girls who are to be sold into slavery...
(1953) - Phantom of the Rue MorguePhantom of the Rue MorguePhantom of the Rue Morgue is a 1954 film directed by Roy Del Ruth. It stars Karl Malden and Claude Dauphin.-Cast:*Karl Malden as Dr. Marais*Claude Dauphin as Insp. Bonnard*Patricia Medina as Jeanette*Steve Forrest as Prof. Paul Dupin...
(1954) - The Black KnightThe Black Knight (1954 film)The Black Knight is a 1954 film starring Alan Ladd as the title character and Peter Cushing and Patrick Troughton as two conspirators attempting to overthrow King Arthur...
(1954) - Mr. ArkadinMr. ArkadinMr. Arkadin is a French-Spanish-Swiss coproduction film, written and directed by Orson Welles and shot in several Spanish locations, including Segovia, Valladolid and Madrid.Its history is convoluted...
(1955) - The Beast of Hollow MountainThe Beast of Hollow MountainThe Beast of Hollow Mountain is a 1956 scifi/horror western about an American cowboy living in Mexico who discovers his missing cattle are being preyed upon by an Allosaurus...
(1956) - Battle of the V-1Battle of the V-1Battle of the V-1 is a British war film from 1958, starring Michael Rennie, Patricia Medina, Milly Vitale, David Knight and Christopher Lee...
(1958) - Count Your BlessingsCount Your Blessings (film)Count Your Blessings is a 1959 drama film made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed by Jean Negulesco, written and produced by Karl Tunberg, based on the 1951 novel The Blessing by Nancy Mitford. The music score was by Franz Waxman and the cinematography by George J. Folsey and Milton R. Krasner...
(1959) - RawhideRawhide (TV series)Rawhide is an American Western series that aired for eight seasons on the CBS network on Friday nights, from January 9, 1959 to September 3, 1965, before moving to Tuesday nights from September 14, 1965 until January 4, 1966, with a total of 217 black-and-white episodes...
(1960) - Snow White and the Three StoogesSnow White and the Three StoogesSnow White and the Three Stooges is the second feature film to star the Three Stooges after their 1959 resurgence in popularity. By this time, the trio consisted of Moe Howard, Larry Fine, and Joe DeRita . Released by 20th Century Fox, this was the trio's take on the classic fairy tale Snow White...
(1961) - The Killing of Sister GeorgeThe Killing of Sister GeorgeThe Killing of Sister George is a 1964 play by Frank Marcus that was adapted as a 1968 film directed by Robert Aldrich.- Stage version :Sister George is a beloved character in the popular radio series Applehurst, a nurse who ministers to the medical needs and personal problems of the local villagers...
(1968) - Latitude Zero (1969)