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Cornelia Otis Skinner

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Cornelia Otis Skinner
Skinner in 1955
Born(1899-05-30)May 30, 1899
DiedJuly 9, 1979(1979-07-09) (aged 80)
Occupation(s)Actress, humorous essayist, playwright, screenwriter
Years active1920–1970
SpouseAlden Sanford Blodget (1928–1964; his death)
Children1
Parent(s)Otis Skinner
Maud Durbin

Cornelia Otis Skinner (May 30, 1899 – July 9, 1979) was an American writer and actress.

Biography

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Skinner was the only child of actor Otis Skinner and actress Maud Durbin. After attending the all-girls' Baldwin School and Bryn Mawr College (1918–1919), and studying theatre at the Sorbonne in Paris, Skinner made her professional stage debut on September 20, 1921 as Dona Sarasate in Tom Cushing's Blood and Sand at Broadway's Empire Theatre.[1] She appeared in several plays before embarking on a tour of the United States from 1926 to 1929 in a one-woman performance of short character sketches which she had written. She also wrote numerous short, humorous pieces for publications such as The New Yorker. These pieces were eventually compiled into a series of books, including Nuts in May, Dithers and Jitters, Excuse It Please!, and The Ape in Me, among others.[2]

In a "comprehensive study" of Skinner's work, G. Bruce Loganbill (1961) refers to Skinner's scripts as "monologue-dramas," which were extensions of the "linked monologues" developed by Ruth Draper. Skinner's work differed in structure and content, however, as she created and performed full-length monologue-dramas that were based on the lives of historical figures. Such work was described as a "unique" and important contribution to the one-person show in America.[3]

She starred in successful production of George Bernard Shaw's "Candida" in 1939, that toured venues in cities such as Cleveland before opening on Broadway.

She appeared with Orson Welles on The Campbell Playhouse radio play of "American Cavalcade: The Things We Have" on May 26, 1939.[4]

With Emily Kimbrough, Skinner wrote Our Hearts Were Young and Gay, a light-hearted description of their European tour after college. Kimbrough and Skinner went to Hollywood to act as consultants on the film adaptation of the book, produced as a film of the same name, with Gail Russell playing Skinner. The book was also adapted as a 1950 television series The Girls, in which Skinner was portrayed by Bethel Leslie (replaced by Gloria Stroock).[5]

In 1952, Skinner's one-woman show Paris '90 (music and lyrics by Kay Swift) premiered on Broadway. An original cast recording was produced by Goddard Lieberson for Columbia Records, and is now available on compact disc. In later years Skinner wrote Madame Sarah (a biography of Sarah Bernhardt), and Elegant Wits and Grand Horizontals about the Belle Epoque.

In a 1944 conversation with Victor Borge, Skinner reportedly told the Danish comedian that she decided to drop the term "diseuse" from her act after reading in a Scottish newspaper: "Cornelia Otis Skinner, the American disease, gave a program last night."[6]

Marriage

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Cornelia Otis Skinner married Alden Sanford Blodget on October 5, 1928 in Warm Springs, Virginia. On August 28, 1930, she gave birth to her only child, a son, Otis Skinner Blodget, who died on March 11, 2007, aged 76.

Performance

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Portrait of Cornelia Otis Skinner by Gladys Rockmore Davis

As an actress

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Stage

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  • Paris '90 (1952, Golden Theatre, New York City) - (as various characters) Original cast recording by Columbia Records, 1952.[7]
  • The Pleasure of His Company (1958, Longacre & Music Box Theatres, New York City) – (as Katharine Dougherty). With Cyril Richard and George Peppard.

Film

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  • The Uninvited (1943, Paramount Pictures) - (as Miss Holloway). With Ray Milland and Ruth Hussey.
  • The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing (1955, Charles Brackett/20th Century Fox) - (as Mrs. Thaw). With Ray Milland and Joan Collins.
  • The Swimmer (1968, Horizon Pictures) - (as Mrs. Hammar). With Burt Lancaster and Janet Lundgard.

Television

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  • Max Liebman Presents: Dearest Enemy (1955, NBC, musical play) - (as Mrs. Murray). With Anne Jeffreys and Cyril Richard. A musical TV play adapted by Neil Simon from the 1925 Broadway production with book by Herbert Fields, music and lyrics by Lorenz Hart and Richard Rogers.
  • The Alcoa Hour (1956, NBC, Episode: "Merry Christmas, Mr. Baxter") - (as Susan Baxter). With Margaret Hamilton.
  • The Farmer's Daughter (1962, NBC, movie) - (as Mrs. Morley). With Peter Lawford and Lee Remick.

As herself

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Film

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Television

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Works

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Our Hearts Were Young and Gay on display at Macy's (December 1942)

Non-fiction

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Essay compilations

(All published by Dodd, Mead, and Co., New York, except where noted.)

  • Tiny Garments (1932) - drawings by A. Winter.
(Essays originally published in The New Yorker, and other magazines.) Farrar and Rinehart, Inc., publishers, New York.
  • Excuse It, Please! (1936) - illustrations by Otto Soglow.
(18 essays originally published in The New Yorker, and possibly in Harper’s Bazaar, Vogue, The Ladies’ Home Journal, Good Housekeeping, Theatre Arts Monthly, The New York Times, Stage, Country Life, You and Chatter.)[9]
(16 essays originally published in The New Yorker, and possibly in Harper’s Bazaar, Vogue, The Ladies’ Home Journal, Good Housekeeping, Theatre Arts Monthly, The New York Times, Stage, Country Life, You and Chatter.)[10]
(10 essays originally published in The New Yorker, and possibly in Harper’s Bazaar, Vogue, The Ladies’ Home Journal, Good Housekeeping, Theatre Arts Monthly, The New York Times, Stage, Country Life, You and Chatter.)[11]
(47 essays from the compilations of 1932, 1936, 1937, and 1941. Originally published in The New Yorker, Harper’s Bazaar, Vogue, The Ladies’ Home Journal, Good Housekeeping, Theatre Arts Monthly, The New York Times, Stage, Country Life, You and Chatter.)[12]
(13 essays. All but one, "Seaweed Sewer," originally published by The New Yorker.)[13]
(12 essays. Only original publisher listed is The New Yorker for two titles: "Those Starring Days" and "Crying in the Dark.")[14]
(12 essays. 8 essays originally published by The Reader's Digest, 1 by The Ladies' Home Journal, 1 by The New York Times Magazine, and 2 by unknown.)[15]
Memoirs
Dodd, Mead and Co., New York.[16]
  • Family Circle (1948) – an autobiographical work.
Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston.(Entitled Happy Family in the UK; 1950, Constable, London.)[17]
  • "Those Friends of His" (1950) – humorous autobiographical piece from The New Yorker..[18]
History
  • Elegant Wits and Grand Horizontals (1962) – a history of "la belle epoque" in Paris.
Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston.[19]
Biographies
Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston.[20]
Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston.[21]

Playwriting

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Plays
  • Captain Fury (1925) – her first play; written for her father, Otis Skinner.
  • Edna, His Wife (1937) – play based on the 1935 novel of the same name by Margaret Ayer Barnes.
  • The Pleasure of His Company (with Saumuel Taylor, 1958) – play (adapted as a film in 1961).
Monologues
  • The Wives of Henry VIII (1931)
  • The Empress Eugenie (1932)
  • The Loves of Charles II (1933)
  • The Mansion on the Hudson (1935)

Screenwriting

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  • The Girls (1950) – TV series.

References

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Citations

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  1. ^ Longbill, p. 12
  2. ^ Longbill, p. 25
  3. ^ Gentile, p. 112
  4. ^ "The Campbell Playhouse: American Cavalcade". Orson Welles on the Air, 1938–1946. Indiana University Bloomington. Retrieved July 30, 2018.
  5. ^ Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle (2007). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows - 1946-Present (9 ed.). New York: Ballantine Books. p. 540. ISBN 978-0-345-49773-4. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
  6. ^ Hopper, Hedda (June 2, 1944). "Screen has Taken Over 'Duffy's Tavern'". The Salt Lake Tribune (Utah). p. 14. Retrieved March 9, 2019.
  7. ^ Paris '90, with Cornelia Otis Skinner; Cast, Cornelia Otis Skinner; Music & Lyrics, Kay Swift; Orchestrations, Robert Russell Bennett; Musical Director, Nathaniel Shilkert (1952). Paris '90 (LP) (Original Cast, ML 4619). New York: Columbia Records. Retrieved February 19, 2025.
  8. ^ What's My Line? - Cornelia Otis Skinner; Dore Schary (panel) (Mar 29, 1959)
  9. ^ Skinner, Cornelia Otis (1936). Excuse It, Please!. New York: Dodd, Mead and Co. Retrieved February 19, 2025.
  10. ^ Skinner, Cornelia Otis (1937). Dithers and Jitters. New York: Dodd, Mead and Co. Retrieved February 19, 2025.
  11. ^ Skinner, Cornelia Otis (1940). Soap Behind the Ears. New York: Dodd, Mead and Co. Retrieved February 19, 2025.
  12. ^ Skinner, Cornelia Otis (1948). That’s Me All Over. New York: Dodd, Mead and Co. Retrieved February 19, 2025.
  13. ^ Skinner, Cornelia Otis (1950). Nuts in May. New York: Dodd, Mead and Co. Retrieved February 19, 2025.
  14. ^ Skinner, Cornelia Otis (1955). Bottoms Up!. New York: Dodd, Mead and Co. Retrieved February 19, 2025.
  15. ^ Skinner, Cornelia Otis (1959). The Ape in Me. New York: Dodd, Mead and Co. Retrieved February 19, 2025.
  16. ^ Skinner, Cornelia Otis; Kimbrough, Emily (1942). Our Hearts Were Young and Gay. New York: Dodd, Mead and Co. Retrieved February 19, 2025.
  17. ^ Skinner, Cornelia Otis (1950). Family Circle. London: Constable. Retrieved February 19, 2025.
  18. ^ Skinner, Cornelia Otis (January 7, 1950). "Those Friends of His". The New Yorker. Vol. 25, no. 46. pp. 27–29.
  19. ^ Skinner, Cornelia Otis (1962). Elegant Wits and Grand Horizontals. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co. Retrieved February 19, 2025.
  20. ^ Skinner, Cornelia Otis (1967). Madame Sarah. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co. Retrieved February 19, 2025.
  21. ^ Skinner, Cornelia Otis (1976). Life with Lindsay and Crouse. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co. Retrieved February 19, 2025.

Bibliography

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  • Gentile, John S. (1989) Cast of One: One Person Shows from the Chautauqua Platform to the Broadway Stage. - Critical studies and reviews of Skinner's work. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.
  • Loganbill, G. Bruce (1961). Cornelia Otis Skinner and Her Art-form of Monologue-drama. Michigan State University Press.
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cornelia Otis Skinner.

Further reading

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  • "Cornelia Skinner papers". Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation, River Campus Libraries, University of Rochester.
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