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, television and radio actress and a member of the prominent Whitney family. She was both an Academy Award and Tony Award winner, as well as a Primetime Em ...

, an actress and member of the

Whitney family The Whitney family is a prominent American family descended from non-Norman English immigrant John Whitney (1592–1673), who left London in 1635 and settled in Watertown, Massachusetts. The historic family mansion in Watertown, known as The Elm ...

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 ...

Milwaukie, Oregon Milwaukie is a city mostly in Clackamas County, Oregon, Clackamas County, Oregon, United States; a very small portion of the city extends into Multnomah County, Oregon, Multnomah County. The population was 21,119 at the 2020 United States Census, ...

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

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

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 Jam ...

'' 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 Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became Standard (music), standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway the ...

's 1953 musical ''

Can-Can The can-can (also spelled cancan as in the original French /kɑ̃kɑ̃/) is a high-energy, physically demanding dance that became a popular music-hall dance in the 1840s, continuing in popularity in French cabaret to this day. Originally dance ...

'' 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 ...

." His ''New York Times'' obituary noted that " 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 unpleasant emotion that arises in response to perception, perceived dangers or threats. Fear causes physiological and psychological changes. It may produce behavioral reactions such as mounting an aggressive response or fleeing the ...

'' (1946), 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 located on West 44th Street in Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, Hell's Kitchen in New York City. The studio is best known for its work refining ...

, 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. *Jane Copland (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

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. She is well known for, among other roles, playing World WarII widow Helen Benson in ''The Day the Earth Stood Still'' (195 ...

. 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

, who he was acting opposite. Straight was the daughter of

Dorothy Payne Whitney Dorothy Payne Elmhirst ( Whitney, previously Straight; January 23, 1887 – December 14, 1968) was an United States, American-born social activist, philanthropist, publisher and a member of the prominent Whitney family. Life and work Whitney wa ...

, of the

, and Willard Dickerman Straight, an

investment banker Investment banking is an advisory-based financial service for institutional investors, corporations, governments, and similar clients. Traditionally associated with corporate finance, such a bank might assist in raising financial capital by unde ...

and diplomat. Straight's step-father was Leonard Knight Elmhirst. 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'' (1991) Cookson died in 1990 of

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

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

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

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 ...

at the age of eighty-six.

Published works

*''Henderson's Head'' (1973), a novel described as "sexually whiffy psychotic stuff" by ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus. The magazine's publisher, Kirkus Media, is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fiction, no ...

''. *''Pigeons'', a comedy play later turned into a script in 1986. *''Million Rosebuds'' (1978), a play written with the New Dramatists *''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 in the United States Deaths from cancer in Massachusetts