Joseph Cotten

Joseph Cotten in Syndicate Sadists

Joseph Cotten (1905 - 1994)

Film Deaths

• Shadow of a Doubt (1943) [Uncle Charlie]: Falls out of a train and into the path of another train during a struggle with Teresa Wright.

• Niagara (1953) [George Loomis]: Drowned when his boat sinks while going over Niagara Falls.

• The Last Sunset (1961) [John Breckenridge]: Shot in the back Adam Williams as he leaves the cantina, as he is flanked by Rock Hudson and Kirk Douglas. (Thanks to Brian).

• Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte (Cross of Iron; What Ever Happened to Cousin Charlotte?) (1964) [Dr. Drew Bayliss]: Crushed to death (along with Olivia de Havilland) when Bette Davis drops a large piece of masonry on them (overhearing they had cheated on her). (Thanks to Mac)

• The Money Trap (1965) [Dr. Horace Van Tilden]: Shot in the chest in a shoot-out with Glenn Ford.
• Hellbenders (The Cruel Ones) (I Crudeli) (1967) [Colonel Jonas] Mortally wounded during a shoot-out. Crawls down to a river where he dies right after throwing his flag into the river. 

• Lady Frankenstein (La Figlia di Frankenstein; Daughter of Frankenstein; Madame Frankenstein) (1971) [Baron Frankenstein]: Killed by his creation in his laboratory.

• The Torture Chamber of Baron Blood (Gli Orrori del castello di Noremberga) (1972) [Baron Otto von Kleist a.k.a. Alfred Becker]: Dies (off-screen) several centuries before the movie begins; he is brought back to life by a magic ritual. (I'm sure he dies once again, but I can't recall for certain.)

• Soylent Green (1973) [William R. Simonson]: Beaten/hacked to death with a meat hook by Stephen Young (in an assassination for the government) after Stephen breaks into Joseph's apartment. (Thanks to Andrea and Kenneth)

• Syndicate Sadists (Il Giustiziere sfida la citta; Final Payment; One Just Man; Rambo's Revenge) (1975) [Paterno]: Commits suicide by shooting himself in the head (off-camera) after Tomas Milian confronts him in his office; we hear the shot as Tomas walks away (creating the initial impression that Joseph has shot Tomas in the back), and his body is shown when Tomas turns around.

• The Perfect Crime (Indagine su un delitto perfetto) (1978) [Sir Arthur Dundee]: Dies of heart failure while trying to remove his own pacemaker, after Leonard Mann short-circuits it with some machine while Joseph's asleep. (Thanks to Andrea)

• Screamers (L'Isola degli uomini pesce; Island of the Fishmen; Something Waits in the Dark) (1979) [Professor Ernest Marvin]: Shot to death by Richard Johnson when Joseph pulls a knife on him. (Thanks to Andrea and Johan)

TV Deaths

• Tales of the Unexpected: Edward the Conqueror (1979) [Edward]: A presumed death as we see him being approached in the kitchen by his wife Wendy Hiller who is holding a large knife behind her back and who wrongly believes that he has killed her cat. (Thanks to Brian)
• Tales of the Unexpected: Depart in Peace (1980) [Lionel]: Murdered by Maureen O'Brien when he bites into a canape of poisoned caviar, her revenge for him unveiling to his society friends a full length portrait of her in sexy underwear. (Thanks to Brian)

Noteworthy Connections

• Husband of Patricia Medina.