Cora Witherspoon

Cora Witherspoon was an American character actress who spent almost fifty years on stage and in films. Born in New Orleans, she began acting professionally in 1905 with a stock company there and reached New York in the 1910 hit comedy The Concert, playing the 76-year-old Edith Gordon. She stayed active in theater after she started making movies in the early 1930s, and she became known for haughty society women or harridan housewives. Her screen roles included Mrs. Burns Norville in Libeled Lady (1936), Patty in Quality Street (1937), Countess de Noailles in Marie Antoinette (1938), Carrie in Dark Victory (1939), and Mrs. Williamson in The Mating Season (1951). She also appeared in The Bank Dick (1940) and made her final film, It Should Happen to You (1954). Her television work included Fireside Theatre and Kraft Theatre, plus Studio One in Hollywood, and she acted on NBC's Great Plays radio series.