Patricia Medina, 1950s Hollywood leading lady, dies

(CBS/AP) Patricia Medina, an English actress who made it big in Hollywood in the 1950s starring in Orson Wells' "Mr. Arkadin," died Saturday in Los Angeles of natural causes. She was 92.

Her close friend, Meredith Silverback, told the Los Angeles Times that Medina had been in declining health and that she died Saturday at Barlow Respiratory Hospital.

Medina, who was known for her dark, exotic looks, began her career in England, taking on acting roles as a teen. She then worked her way up to leading roles and arrived in Hollywood after World War II, signing with MGM studios.

She went on to play leads in movies such as "Abbott and Costello in the Foreign Legion," "Sangree" with Fernando Lamas, "Plunder of the Sun" with Glen Ford, "Botany Bay" with Alan Ladd and "Phantom of the Rue Morgue" with Karl Malden.

In 1951, Medina divorced her husband, actor Richard Greene, and in 1960 she married widowed actor Joseph Cotton, who made his feature film debut in Welles' 1941 classic "Citizen Kane." She remained married to Cotton until his death in 1994.

Medina wrote an autobiography, "Laid Back in Hollywood," in 1998.