Cora Witherspoon (January 5, 1890 – November 17, 1957) was a distinguished American character actress whose remarkable career stretched from the early years of the twentieth-century stage through Broadway, Hollywood’s Golden Age, radio, and television. Gifted with a flair for comedy and a commanding stage presence, Witherspoon became especially memorable for portraying formidable society women, sharp-tongued matrons, eccentric relatives, and domineering wives. Long before movie audiences came to recognize her distinctive screen persona, however, Witherspoon had established herself as an accomplished theatrical performer—and in the summer of 1926, she became a member of the resident company at Denver’s Elitch Theatre.
The 1926 Elitch company was an extraordinary collection of theatrical talent. Witherspoon spent the season alongside Florence Eldridge, Fredric March, Beulah Bondi, Douglas Dumbrille, Moffat Johnston, William L’Estrange Millman, and other members of the resident ensemble. The twelve-week season included productions of The Swan, Love ‘Em and Leave ‘Em, Dancing Mothers, The Music Master, Craig’s Wife, The Poor Nut, Icebound, Not Herbert, Liliom, Easy Come, Easy Go, Hell-Bent fer Heaven, and These Charming People. The surviving HET season history specifically records that Witherspoon was scheduled to play Mrs. Muskat in Liliom, but illness prevented her from performing the role, which was taken by Mary Morris.
By the time she arrived at Elitch, Witherspoon was already a seasoned Broadway performer. She had made her professional stage debut with a New Orleans stock company in 1905 and reached Broadway in 1910 in The Concert, remarkably playing the 76-year-old Edith Gordon while Witherspoon herself was only 20. Her subsequent stage career included Daddy Long Legs, The Great Lover, Three Faces East, Lilies of the Field, The Awful Truth, and Grounds for Divorce. Shortly after her Elitch season, she joined Ethel Barrymore in W. Somerset Maugham’s The Constant Wife, playing Martha Culver during its successful 1926–1927 Broadway run. Later Broadway appearances included Olympia, Waterloo Bridge, Philip Goes Forth, Camille, Jig Saw, Ramshackle Inn, and a 1946 revival of The Front Page.
Witherspoon made the transition to motion pictures in the early 1930s and developed into one of Hollywood’s recognizable character actresses. Her extensive screen career included Libeled Lady (1936), Piccadilly Jim (1936), Quality Street (1937), Marie Antoinette (1938), Dark Victory (1939), The Women (1939), and The Mating Season (1951). She is particularly remembered as Agatha Sousé, the exasperated and domineering wife of W. C. Fields’ Egbert Sousé, in The Bank Dick (1940). Witherspoon continued working into the television era, appearing in programs including Fireside Theatre, Kraft Theatre, and Studio One. Her final film appearance came in It Should Happen to You in 1954, concluding a professional career that had begun nearly half a century earlier.
Seasons at the Theatre
- 1926 — Member of the Elitch Theatre resident summer stock company.
HET Productions/Roles:
- The Swan — by Ferenc Molnár — Week of June 12, 1926
- Love ‘Em and Leave ‘Em — by George Abbott and John V. A. Weaver — Week of June 20, 1926
- Dancing Mothers — by Edgar Selwyn and Edmund Goulding — Week of June 27, 1926
- The Music Master — by Charles Klein — Week of July 4, 1926
- Craig’s Wife — by George Kelly — Week of July 11, 1926
- The Poor Nut — by J. C. and Elliott Nugent — Week of July 18, 1926
- Icebound — by Owen Davis — Week of July 25, 1926
- Not Herbert — by Howard Irving Young — Week of August 1, 1926
- Liliom — by Ferenc Molnár — Week of August 8, 1926 — Witherspoon was scheduled to play Mrs. Muskat, but illness prevented her from appearing; Mary Morris performed the role in her place.
- Easy Come, Easy Go — by Owen Davis — Week of August 15, 1926
- Hell-Bent fer Heaven — by Hatcher Hughes — Week of August 22, 1926
- These Charming People — by Michael Arlen — Week of August 29, 1926
Notable Roles, Awards, and Other Work:
- The Constant Wife (1926–1927) — Played Martha Culver in W. Somerset Maugham’s Broadway comedy, appearing in the successful production starring Ethel Barrymore.
- Waterloo Bridge (1930) — Played Kitty in the original Broadway production of Robert E. Sherwood’s acclaimed drama.
- Libeled Lady (1936) — Appeared as Mrs. Burns-Norvell in the classic MGM screwball comedy starring Jean Harlow, William Powell, Myrna Loy, and Spencer Tracy.
- The Women (1939) — Played Mrs. Van Adams in MGM’s celebrated screen adaptation of Clare Boothe Luce’s comedy, featuring an all-female cast headed by Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, and Rosalind Russell.
- The Bank Dick (1940) — Played Agatha Sousé, the formidable wife of W. C. Fields’ Egbert Sousé. The role became one of Witherspoon’s most recognizable screen performances and exemplified the sharp-tongued, imposing society women and matrons that became her Hollywood specialty.
Elitch Theatre Connections:
- 1914–1915 — Daddy Long Legs — Broadway Play — Charles Trowbridge (Appeared together in the original Broadway company; Witherspoon played Sallie McBride and Trowbridge played James McBride.)
- 1918 — Daddy Long Legs — Broadway Revival — Charles Trowbridge; William L’Estrange Millman (Appeared together in the same Broadway revival.)
- 1930 — Waterloo Bridge — Broadway Play — June Walker (Appeared together in the original Broadway production; Walker starred as Myra and Witherspoon played Kitty.)
- 1931 — The Way of the World — Broadway Revival — Moffat Johnston; Selena Royle (Appeared together in the same Broadway revival.)
- 1932 — Camille — Broadway Revival — Moffat Johnston (Appeared together in the same Broadway production; Witherspoon played Prudence.)
- 1934 — Midnight — Film — Moffat Johnston; Dudley Digges (Appeared together in the same film.) (The film was later released as Call It Murder.)
- 1934 — Mackerel Skies — Broadway Play — Tom Powers; Charles Trowbridge (Appeared together in the same Broadway production.)
- 1934 — Jigsaw — Broadway Play — Spring Byington; Ernest Truex (Appeared together in the same Theatre Guild Broadway production.)
- 1936 — Frankie and Johnnie — Film — William Harrigan (Appeared together in the same film.)
- 1936 — Libeled Lady — Film — Myrna Loy; Charles Trowbridge (Appeared together in the same film; Loy played Connie Allenbury, Witherspoon played Mrs. Burns-Norvell, and Trowbridge played Graham.)
- 1937 — Dangerous Number — Film — Ann Sothern; Charles Trowbridge (Appeared together in the same film; Sothern starred as Eleanor, Witherspoon played Gypsy, and Trowbridge played the hotel manager.)
- 1937 — Personal Property — Film — Henrietta Crosman (Appeared together in the same film; Crosman played Mrs. Cosgrove Dabney and Witherspoon played Mrs. Burns.)
- 1937 — Quality Street — Film — Joan Fontaine (Appeared in the same film; Fontaine’s role as Charlotte Parratt was uncredited.)
- 1938 — Port of Seven Seas — Film — Maureen O’Sullivan (Appeared together in the same film; O’Sullivan starred as Madelon and Witherspoon played Claudine.)
- 1939 — Dark Victory — Film — George Brent (Appeared together in the same film; Brent co-starred as Dr. Frederick Steele and Witherspoon played Carrie.)
- 1939 — Dodge City — Film — Victor Jory (Appeared together in the same film; Jory played Yancey and Witherspoon played Mrs. McCoy.)
- 1939 — The Women — Film — Joan Fontaine (Appeared together in the same film; Fontaine played Peggy Day and Witherspoon played Mrs. Van Adams.)
- 1939 — For Love or Money — Film — Addison Richards (Appeared together in the same film; Richards played Kelly and Witherspoon played Mrs. Sweringen.)
- 1941 — Honeymoon for Three — Film — George Brent (Appeared in the same film; Brent starred as Kenneth Bixby and Witherspoon had an uncredited role as Mrs. Sneddington.)
- 1943 — Follies Girl — Film — William Harrigan (Appeared together in the same film; Witherspoon played Mrs. J. B. Hamlin and Harrigan played Jimmy Dobson.)
- 1945 — She Wouldn’t Say Yes — Film — Darren McGavin (Appeared in the same film; Witherspoon played Mrs. Peterson and McGavin had an uncredited early role as a soldier.)
- 1951 — The Mating Season — Film — Jan Sterling (Appeared together in the same film; Sterling played Betsy and Witherspoon played Mrs. Williamson.)
- 1952 — The First Time — Film — Robert Cummings (Appeared together in the same film; Cummings starred as Joe Bennett and Witherspoon played Nurse Salisbury.)
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