Although of British origins, soon after her first steps on the Hollywood scene, actress Patricia Medina became an icon for the 1950’s U.S. movie arena. Known as 1950s Hollywood leading actress, Patricia Medina died last weekend at age 92, leaving behind an impressive list of flicks.
Like many actress her caliber back in the 1950, Patricia Medina had a full schedule. She started the decade playing in “Abbott and Costello in the Foreign Legion”, then “Sangaree” and “Plunder of the Sun”, only to continue with “Botany Bay” and “Phantom of the Rue Morgue”. And all these flicks made the screen before 1954.
Perhaps her leading role in Orson Welles’ “Mr. Arkadin”, Patricia Medina died over the weekend in Los Angeles. Her close friend Meredith Silverbach told the Los Angeles Times that the 92-year-old actress had been having issues with her health and eventually passed away last Saturday at Barlow Respiratory Hospital.
Patricia Medina made it into the Hollywood scene 20 years later after her first movie gig in England. The “petite, dark-haired beauty”, as the Los Angeles Times describes the 1950s Hollywood leading lady, has an impressive list of movie titles to show for.
It’s likely that the younger generations know little if nothing about the woman that was once in the casting of all of our favorite movies back in the time. Her parts in adventures films such as “The Lady and the Bandit”, “Fortunes of Captain Blood”, “Captain Pirate” and “Lady in the Iron Mask” have ensured her success in the U.S.
Meredith Silverbach said off Patricia Medina that “she was a stunning woman”, once called, “in her youth” to be “the most beautiful face in England”. And her beauty was enough to mesmerize Joseph Cotton, fellow actor and Richard Greene
Patricia Medina’s love story with Richard Greene kept her in the headlines for a time. She met the actor as soon as she arrived in Hollywood, soon after World War II ended. The two of them separated in 1951, but less than ten years later, Medina was tying the knot with the love of her life, actor Joseph Cotton.
Reporter Vernon Scott with the United Press International Hollywood described their marriage back in 2000. He wrote that although they made “a curious pair” they were “blissfully devoted to one another”.
