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Joseph Cotten was born in 1905 in Petersburg, Virginia, son of Joseph Cheshire Cotten, Sr., an assistant postmaster, and his wife Sally Willson Cotten.

He worked as an advertising agent after studying acting at the Hickman School of Speech and Expression in Washington, D. C. His work as a theatre critic inspired him to become involved in theatre productions, first in Virginia, and then in New York.

Cotten made his Broadway debut in 1930, and soon became friends with Orson Welles.