Lenore Kipp Lamont was a fashion editor and pianist and the first wife of American actor Joseph Cotten. She was born to Edward Philip Lenora Kipp on February 27, 1903, in Wellsburg, West Virginia. Lenore met Joseph Cotton, who later became her husband, in 1931 by chance; they liked each other and decided to get married.
Lenore remained married to Joseph for almost 30 years, and they had one child, a daughter named Judith Cotten, who was later married and had her kids. There were no rumors of separation during her marriage to Joseph, as they were deeply in love.
Her Husband
Lenore’s husband showed interest in acting when he was young, and as a teenager, he started going for private acting lessons. After high school, Joseph moved to Miami and started working as a salesman. Lenore’s husband also began acting at Miami Civic Theatre. In the 1930s, Cotten moved to New York to pursue a more defined acting career.
While in New York, Lenore’s husband failed to land any job, so he started modeling and worked with The Walter Thornton Modeling Agency. On Broadway, Joseph Cotton debuted in 1932 in the play Absent Friends. In the mid-1930s, Lenore’s husband started landing more roles and meeting more people in the acting industry.
After meeting Orson Welles, they became friends, and he was involved in more of his theatre company productions, including House Eats Hats, where he had a starring role. Lenore’s husband appeared in Citizen Kane, The Magnificent Ambersons, in the early 1940s. On television, Cotten appeared in Telephone Time, Suspicion, and Jane Wyman Presents the Fireside Theatre.
In his acting career, Joseph appeared in many films and television shows portraying comic characters. In the 1970s, he had roles in Origins of the Mafia, Caravans, Tales of the Unexpected, A Delicate Balance, The Devil’s Daughter, Island of the Fishmen, Guyana: Cult of the Damned, and A Whisper in the Dark.
Lenore Kipp Lamont’s husband retired from acting in 1981 because of health issues. His last acting roles included The Survivor, Delusion, The Love Boat, and The Hearse.
Illness and Death
Lenore Kipp Lamont had Leukemia, but she did not know about it until a week before her death. She fell ill and was admitted to Salvator Mundi International Hospital; she was diagnosed with Leukemia and succumbed to the disease on January 7, 1960, aged 56.
Did Lenore’s Husband Remarry After Her Death?
After the death of Lenore Kipp Lamont, Joseph Cotton did not stay single for a long time. He met actress Patricia Medina, who was 14 years his junior, in 1960 and married on October 20, 1960. Cotten and Medina lived together for over 30 years until Cotton died in 1994.
Death of Her Husband
In his last days, Lenore Kipp Lamont’s husband was ill; he suffered a heart attack and stroke in 1981, which affected his speech. Joseph was diagnosed with cancer nine years later, and his larynx had to be removed. Lenore’s husband died of pneumonia complications on February 6, 1994, aged 88.
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