Randolph Scott | |
|---|---|
 Scott in the early 1930s | |
| Born | George Randolph Scott (1898-01-23)January 23, 1898 Orange County, Virginia, U.S. |
| Died | March 2, 1987(1987-03-02) (aged 89) |
| Resting place | Elmwood Cemetery inCharlotte, North Carolina |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1928–1962 |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 2 |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Army |
| Service years | 1917–1919 |
| Rank |  Second lieutenant |
| Unit | 2nd Trench Mortar Battalion |
| Conflicts | World War I |
George Randolph Scott (January 23, 1898 – March 2, 1987) was an American film actor, whose Hollywood career spanned from 1928 to 1962. As a leading man for all but the first three years of his cinematic career, Scott appeared in dramas, comedies,musicals, adventures,war, horror and fantasy films, andWesterns. Out of his more than 100 film appearances, more than 60 of them were Westerns.[1]
During the early 1950s, Scott was a consistent box-office draw. In the annualMotion Picture HeraldTop Ten Polls, his name appeared on the list for four consecutive years, from 1950 to 1953.[2] Scott also appeared in Quigley'sTop Ten Money Makers Poll, from 1950 to 1953.[3]
Scott was born January 23, 1898, inOrange County, Virginia,[4] and reared inCharlotte, North Carolina, the second of six children born to parents of Scottish descent. His father was George Grant Scott, born inFranklin, Virginia, the first person licensed as acertified public accountant (CPA) in North Carolina. His mother was Lucille Crane Scott, born inLuray, Virginia, a member of a wealthy North Carolina family.[5]
Because of his family's financial status, Randolph was able to attend private schools, such asWoodberry Forest School. From an early age, Scott developed and displayed his athleticism, excelling infootball, baseball, horse racing, and swimming.[5]
In April 1917, the United States enteredWorld War I. In July, Scott joined a unit of theNorth Carolina National Guard. He was trained as anartillery observer and earned promotion tocorporal in October 1917 andsergeant in February 1918.[6] In May 1918, Scott entered active duty atFort Monroe,Virginia, as a member of the 2nd Trench Mortar Battalion.[7] The battalion arrived in France in June 1918, and took part in combat with the U.S.IV Corps in theToul sector andThiaucourt zone. After theArmistice of November 11, 1918, ended the war, the 2nd TM Battalion took part in the post-war occupation of Germany as part of U.S.VI Corps.[6]
Following the armistice, Scott enrolled in the artilleryOfficer Candidate School, which was located inSaumur.[7] He received his commission as asecond lieutenant ofField Artillery in May 1919 and departed for the United States soon afterwards. He arrived in New York City on June 6 and reported toCamp Mills, where he received his honorable discharge on June 13.[6] Scott made use of his wartime experience in his acting career, including his training inhorsemanship and the use offirearms.[8]
With his military career over Scott continued his education atGeorgia Tech, where he was a member of theKappa Alpha Order and set his sights on becoming an all-American football player. However a back injury prevented him from achieving this goal.[9] Scott then transferred to theUniversity of North Carolina, where he majored intextile engineering and manufacturing.[7] He eventually dropped out and went to work as an accountant in the textile firm where his father, a CPA, was employed.[10]
Around 1927, Scott developed an interest in acting and decided to make his way to Los Angeles and seek a career in the motion picture industry. Scott's father had become acquainted withHoward Hughes and provided a letter of introduction for his son to present to the eccentric millionaire film maker.[9] Hughes responded by getting Scott a small part in aGeorge O'Brien film calledSharp Shooters (1928). A print of the film survives in theUCLA Film and Television Archive.
In the next few years, Scott continued working as an extra and bit player in several films, includingWeary River (1929) withRichard Barthelmess,The Far Call (1929),The Black Watch (1929) (directed byJohn Ford withJohn Wayne also uncredited) and uncredited as the Rider inThe Virginian (1929) withGary Cooper. Scott also served as Cooper's dialect coach in the film.[11]
Scott was also uncredited onDynamite (1929) directed byCecil B. DeMille, and Ford'sBorn Reckless (1930).
On the advice ofCecil B. DeMille, Scott gained much-needed acting experience by performing in stage plays with thePasadena Playhouse. His stage roles during this period include:[12]
Scott appeared in the playUnder a Virginia Moon at the Vine Street Theatre inHollywood in 1932. His performance garnered severalscreen test offers from themajor movie studios.[9] Scott eventually signed a seven-year contract withParamount Pictures at a salary of US $400 per week (equivalent to $9,200 in 2024).[13]
In between his Pasadena Playhouse days and Vine Street Theatre performance Scott made his film debut.
In 1931 Scott played his first leading role (withSally Blane) inWomen Men Marry (1931), a film, now apparentlylost, made by aPoverty Row studio called Headline Pictures. He followed it with a supporting part in aWarner Bros. production starringGeorge Arliss,A Successful Calamity (1932).
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Scott's first role under his newParamount contract was a small supporting part in a comedy calledSky Bride (1932) starringRichard Arlen andJack Oakie.
Following that, however, Paramount cast him as the lead inHeritage of the Desert (1932), which established him as aWestern hero. As withWomen Men Marry,Sally Blane was his leading lady.Henry Hathaway made his directorial debut withHeritage of the Desert. The film was popular and Scott went on to make ten "B" Western films loosely based on the novels ofZane Grey.
Many of the Grey adaptations were remakes of earlier silent films or retitled versions of recent movies. In an effort to save on production costs, Paramount used stock footage from the silent version and even hired some of the same actors, such asRaymond Hatton andNoah Beery, to reprise their roles, meaning that sometimes their ages would vary eight or more years during the same scene. For the 1933 filmsThe Thundering Herd andMan of the Forest, Scott's hair was darkened and he sported a trim moustache so that he could easily be matched to footage ofJack Holt, the star of the silent versions.
In between his work in the Zane Grey Westerns, Paramount cast Scott in several non-Western roles, including "the other man" inHot Saturday (1932), withNancy Carroll andCary Grant and the romantic male lead inHello, Everybody! (1933). He made two horror movies,Murders in the Zoo (1933) withLionel Atwill andSupernatural (1933) withCarole Lombard. After the WesternSunset Pass (1933), Paramount loaned Scott toColumbia forCocktail Hour (1933), a minor romantic comedy oppositeBebe Daniels.
Back at Paramount, Scott acted in the WesternsMan of the Forest (1933) andTo the Last Man (1933), both with Hathaway from Zane Grey novels and featuring Noah Beery Sr. as the villain. Scott was loaned toMonogram Pictures forBroken Dreams (1933) then was back with Hathaway forThe Last Round-Up (1934).
Scott did three more Zane Grey Westerns without Hathaway:Wagon Wheels (1934) directed byCharles Barton (a remake of 1931'sFighting Caravans starringGary Cooper),Home on the Range (1935) fromArthur Jacobson, andRocky Mountain Mystery (1935) with Barton.
Film historianWilliam K. Everson refers to the Zane Grey series as being "uniformly good".[14] He also writes:
To the Last Man was almost a model of its kind, an exceptionally strong story of feuding families in the post-Civil War era, with a cast worthy of an "A" feature, excellent direction by Henry Hathaway, and an unusual climactic fight between the villain (Jack LaRue) and theheroine (Esther Ralston, in an exceptionally appealing performance).Sunset Pass… was not only one of the best but also one of the most surprising in presenting Randolph Scott andHarry Carey asheavies.
The Zane Grey series films were a boon for Scott, as they provided him with "an excellent training ground for both action and acting".[15]
Paramount loaned Scott toRKO Radio Pictures to supportFred Astaire,Ginger Rogers andIrene Dunne inRoberta (1935), a hugely popular adaptation of the Broadway musical. RKO liked Scott and kept him on forVillage Tale (1935), directed by John Cromwell, andShe (1935), an adaptation ofthe novel byH. Rider Haggard from the makers ofKing Kong.
Scott went back to Paramount forSo Red the Rose (1935) withMargaret Sullavan, then was reunited with Astaire and Rogers at RKO inFollow the Fleet (1936).[16] It was another big hit.[17] Scott was in a car drama at Paramount,And Sudden Death (1936), then was loaned to independent producerEdward Small, to playHawkeye in another adventure classic,The Last of the Mohicans, adapted from the 1826novel byJames Fenimore Cooper. A big hit, it "gave Scott his first unqualified 'A' picture success as a lead."[18]
At this point Paramount only put Scott in "A" films. He was a love interest forMae West inGo West, Young Man (1936) and was reunited with Irene Dunne in a musical,High, Wide and Handsome (1937). This last film, a musical directed byRouben Mamoulian, featured Scott in his "most ambitious performance."[19]
Scott went to20th Century Fox to play the romantic male lead in aShirley Temple film,Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1938). At Paramount he made a well budgeted WesternThe Texans (1938) withJoan Bennett; then he starred inThe Road to Reno (1938) at Universal. Due to his Southern background, Scott was considered for the role ofAshley Wilkes inGone with the Wind, but the part went toLeslie Howard.
Scott's contract with Paramount ended and he signed with Fox. They put him inJesse James (1939), a lavish, highly romanticized account of the famous outlawoutlaw (Tyrone Power) and his brotherFrank (Henry Fonda). Scott was billed fourth as a sympathetic marshal. It was his first film in color.
Scott was reunited with Temple inSusannah of the Mounties (1939), Temple's last profitable film for Fox. Scott went over to Warner Bros to makeVirginia City (1940), billed third afterErrol Flynn andMiriam Hopkins, playing Flynn's antagonist, a Confederate officer, although the villain was played byHumphrey Bogart. There were frequent disputes on the set about script changes. ButMichael Curtiz said that Scott tried to stay out of these arguments: "Randy Scott is a complete anachronism," said Curtiz. "He's a gentleman. And so far he's the only one I've met in this business..."[20]
Scott was the "other man" in theIrene Dunne–Cary Grant vehicleMy Favorite Wife (1940), a huge hit for RKO. ForUniversal, he starred withKay Francis inWhen the Daltons Rode (1940). Back at Fox, Scott returned toZane Grey country by co-starring withRobert Young in theTechnicolor productionWestern Union, directed byFritz Lang. Scott played a "good bad man" in this film and gave one of his finest performances.Bosley Crowther ofThe New York Times wrote:[21][full citation needed]
Randolph Scott, who begins to look and act more and more likeWilliam S. Hart, herein shapes one of the truest and most appreciable characters of his career as the party's scout.
Scott's only true villain role was inUniversal'sThe Spoilers (1942), an adaptation ofRex Beach's 1905 tale of theAlaskan gold rush also starringMarlene Dietrich andJohn Wayne. Its success ledUniversal to cast the trio again that same year inPittsburgh. Scott was billed above Wayne in both films but Wayne played the hero in each.
Shortly after the United States entered World War II, Scott attempted to obtain an officer's commission in theMarines, but because of a back injury years earlier he was rejected.[9] However, he did his part for the war effort by touring in a comedy act withJoe DeRita (who later became a member ofthe Three Stooges) for the Victory Committee showcases, and he also raised food for the government on a ranch that he owned.[22]
In 1942 and 1943 Scott appeared in several war films, as well asThe Desperadoes (1943),Columbia Pictures' first feature inTechnicolor. The film was produced byHarry Joe Brown, with whom Scott would form a business partnership several years later.
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In 1946, after playing roles that had him wandering in and out of the saddle for many years, Scott appeared inAbilene Town, aUA[23] release which cast him in what would become one of his classic images, the fearless lawman cleaning up a lawless town. The film "cemented Scott's position as a cowboy hero"[24] and from this point on all but two of his starring films wereWesterns.
The BFI Companion to the Western noted:
In his earlier Westerns ... the Scott persona is debonair, easy-going, graceful, though with the necessary hint of steel. As he matures into his fifties his roles change. Increasingly Scott becomes the man who has seen it all, who has suffered pain, loss, and hardship, and who has now achieved (but at what cost?) a stoic calm proof against vicissitude.[1]
Scott renewed his acquaintance with producerHarry Joe Brown at Columbia withGunfighters (1947). They began producing many of Scott's Westerns, including several that were shot in the two-colorCinecolor process. Their collaboration resulted in the filmCoroner Creek (1948) with Scott as a vengeance-driven cowpoke who "predates theBudd Boetticher/Burt Kennedy heroes by nearly a decade,"[25] andThe Walking Hills (1949), a modern-day tale of gold hunters directed byJohn Sturges.
They followed it withThe Doolins of Oklahoma (1949),The Nevadan (1950),Santa Fe (1951),Man in the Saddle (1951),Hangman's Knot (1952),The Stranger Wore a Gun (1953) (shot in 3-D),Ten Wanted Men (1955), andA Lawless Street (1955) (withAngela Lansbury.)
Scott also madeColt .45 (1950) atWarner Bros. where his salary was US$100,000 per picture (equal to $1,300,000 today).
In 1955 screenwriterBurt Kennedy wrote the scriptSeven Men from Now, which was scheduled to be filmed byBatjac Productions withJohn Wayne as the film's star andBudd Boetticher as director. However, Wayne was committed toThe Searchers withJohn Ford, and suggested Scott as his replacement.[26] The resulting film did not make a great impact at the time but is now regarded as one of Scott's best and launched Scott and Boetticher into a successful collaboration on seven films.[27]
Each film is independent and there are no shared characters or settings, but this set of films is often called the Ranown Cycle, for the production company run by Scott and Harry Joe Brown.[28] Kennedy scripted four of them. In these films …
Boetticher achieved works of great beauty, formally precise in structure and visually elegant, notably for their use of the distinctive landscape of theCalifornia Sierras. As the hero of these "floating poker games" (asAndrew Sarris calls them), Scott tempers their innately pessimistic view with quiet, stoical humour, as he matches wits against charming villains.[1]
After7th Cavalry (1956), Boetticher, Kennedy and Scott were reunited forThe Tall T (1957), co-starringRichard Boone. The third in the series wasDecision at Sundown (1957), although it was not written by Kennedy. The unofficial series continued withBuchanan Rides Alone (1958).Westbound (1959) is not considered part of the cycle, although Boetticher directed it. The last two, both written by Kennedy, wereRide Lonesome (1959) andComanche Station (1960).
In 1962 Scott made his final film appearance inRide the High Country. It was directed bySam Peckinpah and co-starredJoel McCrea, an actor who had a screen image similar to Scott's and who also from the mid-1940s on devoted his career almost exclusively toWesterns.
Scott and McCrea's farewell Western is characterized by a nostalgic sense of the passing of the Old West; a preoccupation with the emotionality of male bonding and of the experiential "gap" between the young and the old; and the fearful evocation, in the form of the Hammonds (the villains in the film), of these preoccupations transmuted into brutal and perverse forms.[1]
McCrea's role in the film is slightly larger than Scott's, although Scott was billed above McCrea.
AfterRide the High Country, Scott retired from film at the age of 64.[29] A wealthy man, Scott had managed shrewd investments throughout his life, eventually accumulating a fortune worth a reputed $100 million, with holdings in real estate, gas, oil wells and securities.[30]
He and his wife Patricia continued to live inBeverly Hills.[31][32] During his retirement years, he remained friends withFred Astaire, with whom he attendedDodgers games. An avid golfer with a putting green in his yard, Scott was a member of the Bel Air Country Club, Los Angeles Country Club and Eldorado Country Club inIndian Wells, California.[33] He also became friends with the ReverendBilly Graham. Scott was described by his son Christopher as a deeply religious man.[34] He was anEpiscopalian and the Scott family were members of All Saints' Episcopal Church in Beverly Hills[35] and St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Charlotte, North Carolina.[36]
Scott owned and co-designed Cresta Verde golf course in Corona, California.[37][38]
Randolph Scott married twice. In 1936 he became the second husband of heiressMarion duPont, daughter of William du Pont Sr., and great-granddaughter of Éleuthère Irénée du Pont de Nemours, the founder ofE. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company. Marion had previously married George Somerville, with Scott serving as best man at the wedding. The Scotts' marriage ended in divorce three years later. The union produced no children. Though divorced, she kept his last name nearly five decades until her death in 1983.[39]
In 1944 Scott married the actress Patricia Stillman, who was 21 years his junior. In 1950 they adopted two children, Sandra and Christopher.[40]
Although Scott achieved fame as a motion picture actor, he managed to keep a fairly low profile with his private life. Offscreen he was a good friend ofFred Astaire andCary Grant. He met Grant on the set ofHot Saturday (1932), and shortly afterwards, they moved in together and shared a beach house inMalibu that became known as "Bachelor Hall".[41][42] They lived together off and on for 12 years; whether the relationship was romantic is a matter of biographical dispute.[43] In 1944 Scott and Grant stopped living together, but they remained close for the rest of their lives.[29]
Randolph Scott died of heart and lung ailments in 1987 at the age of 89 inBeverly Hills, California. He was interred at Elmwood Cemetery inCharlotte, North Carolina.[40] He and his wife Patricia had been married for 43 years. She died in 2004 and is buried next to her husband.[40][44] Their mid-century modern home was torn down in 2008.[45] The Randolph Scott papers (which included photos, scrapbooks, notes, letters, articles and house plans) were left to the UCLA Library Special Collections.
Scott's face reportedly was used as the model for theOakland Raiders logo in 1960; the logo was re-designed in 1963. For more than 50 years, the iconic Raiders logo underwent only minor modifications and remained consistent with the original design.[46]
He is caricatured in theLucky Luke comic book albumLe Vingtième de cavalerie (1965) as Colonel McStraggle.[47]
In the movieBlazing Saddles (1974), Sheriff Bart asks townspeople to give him 24 hours to come up with a brilliant idea to save the town of Rock Ridge. They all say, "No!" Bart replies, "You'd do it for Randolph Scott." A hush falls over the crowd, then they begin whispering Scott's name. An unseen choir suddenly sings out "Randolph Scott!" as the townsfolk reverently remove their hats. They then agree to give Bart 24 hours.[48][49]
In 1974, "Whatever Happened to Randolph Scott" was a hit single forThe Statler Brothers.[50][51]
Scott is the subject of aRodney Dangerfield joke told on the 1981NBC special "The Stars Salute the President". In a veiled reference toRonald Reagan (who was in attendance), Dangerfield muses how he is surprised he was invited to perform at the special, because he "voted for Randolph Scott" (both Reagan and Scott were actors in Westerns who later became involved in conservative politics).[52]
In 1975, Scott was inducted into theWestern Performers Hall of Fame at theNational Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum inOklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States. He also received an in MemoriamGolden Boot Award for his work in Westerns.
For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Scott has a star on theHollywood Walk of Fame at 6243 Hollywood Blvd. In 1999 a Golden Palm Star on thePalm Springs, California,Walk of Stars was dedicated to him.[53]
Scott was an activeRepublican and a charter member of the Hollywood Republican Committee.[54] In1944, he attended the massive rally organized byDavid O. Selznick in theLos Angeles Coliseum in support of theDewey-Bricker ticket as well asGovernorEarl Warren of California, who would become Dewey's running mate in 1948. The gathering drew 93,000, withCecil B. DeMille as themaster of ceremonies and short speeches byHedda Hopper andWalt Disney. Among those in attendance wereAnn Sothern,Ginger Rogers,Adolphe Menjou, andGary Cooper.[55] Scott also supportedBarry Goldwater in the1964 United States presidential election andRonald Reagan in the1966 California gubernatorial election.[56]
Bart says something nobody can deny: 'You'd do it for Randolph Scott.'
