 Joseph Cotten was born in 1905 in Petersburg, Virginia, the first of three boys born for Joseph Cheshire Cotten, Sr., an assistant postmaster, and Sally Willson Cotten.He grew up in the Tidewater region and showed an aptitude for drama and a gift for storytelling.In 1923, when Cotten was 18, his family arranged for him to receive private lessons at the Hickman School of Expression in Washington, D.C., and underwrote his expenses.