Biography

One of the finest American actors of his generation, George C. Scott was born in Virginia and raised in Detroit. After serving in the Marines from 1945 to 1949, Scott enrolled at the University of Missouri, determined to become an actor. Though his truculent demeanor and raspy voice would seem to typecast him in unpleasant roles, Scott exhibited an astonishing range of characterizations during his seven years in regional repertory. He also found time to teach a drama course at Stephens College.

By the time Scott moved to New York in 1957, he was in full command of his craft; yet, because he was largely unknown outside of the rep-theater circuit, he considered himself a failure. While supporting himself as an IBM machine operator, Scott auditioned for producer Joseph Papp. Cast as the title character in Papp's production of Richard III, Scott finally achieved the stardom and critical adulation that had so long eluded him. Amidst dozens of choice TV guest-star assignments, Scott made his movie debut in 1959's The Hanging Tree. That same year, he earned the first of four Oscar nominations for his incisive portrayal of big-city attorney Claude Dancer in Anatomy of a Murder. Over the next few years, Scott appeared in a dizzying variety of roles, ranging from Paul Newman's mercenary manager Bert Gordon in The Hustler (1961) to erudite British detective Anthony Gethryn in The List of Adrian Messenger (1962) to apelike General "Buck" Turgidson in Dr. Strangelove (1963). After turning down several TV series offers, Scott accepted the role of social director Neil Brock on the David Susskind-produced "relevance" weekly East Side: West Side (1963-1964). He left the series in a huff in early 1964, citing the censorial idiocies of the program's network and sponsors as the reason for his departure; he also vowed never, ever to appear in a TV series again -- at least until 1987, when the Fox network offered him 100,000 dollars per episode to star in the nonsensical sitcom Mister President.

In 1971, Scott made international headlines by refusing to accept his Best Actor Academy Award for his performance in the title role of Patton, deriding the Oscar ceremony as a "meat parade." Two years later, he turned down an Emmy for his work in the TV adaptation of Arthur Miller's The Price. Curiously, he had no qualms about accepting such honors as the Golden Globe or Canada's Genie Award for the 1980 film The Changeling. Gravitating toward directing, Scott staged both the Broadway and TV productions of The Andersonville Trial, and he also directed two of his films: Rage (1973) and The Savage Is Loose (1974). In 1976, he added singing and dancing to his accomplishments when he starred on Broadway in Sly Fox, a musicalization of Ben Jonson's Volpone. In the 1980s, Scott played Fagin in Oliver Twist (1982), Scrooge in A Christmas Carol (1984), and Dupin in The Murders in the Rue Morgue (1987); he also starred in a 1987 TV biopic of Mussolini, and enacted one of the most excruciatingly drawn-out death scenes in television history in The Last Days of Patton (1986). Making his cartoon voice-over debut in the anti-drug TV special Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue (1988), Scott served up more vocal villainy in the Disney-animated feature The Rescuers Down Under (1990).

Not until his later years did he show signs of slowing down; in 1996, while appearing as Henry Drummond in the National Actors Theater production of Inherit the Wind, he took suddenly ill in mid-performance, excused himself, and left the stage, obliging director Tony Randall to take over the part for the balance of the show. He made one of his final appearances in an Emmy-winning performance in the all-star TV remake of Twelve Angry Men with Jack Lemmon. Scott was married five times; his third and fourth wife was the distinguished actress Colleen Dewhurst, while wife number five was another stage and film actress, Trish Van Devere. Two of George C. Scott's children, Devon and Campbell Scott, have also pursued acting careers. Scott died on September 22, 1999. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Filmography

Hustler: The Inside Story, The (2001) (V) (archive footage) .... Himself
Inherit the Wind (1999) (TV) .... Matthew Harrison Brady
Rocky Marciano (1999) (TV) .... Pierino Marchegiano
Gloria (1999) .... Ruby
12 Angry Men (1997) (TV) .... Juror #3
Searchers, The (1997) (TV) .... Narrator
Country Justice (1997) (TV) .... Clayton Hayes
... aka Family Rescue (1997) (TV)
Titanic (1996) (TV) .... Captain Edward J. Smith
Angus (1995) .... Grandpa Ivan
... aka Angus - Voll Cool (1996) (Germany)
Tyson (1995) (TV) .... Cus D'Amato
In the Heat of the Night: A Matter of Justice (1994) (TV) .... Judge Barton Walker
Whipping Boy, The (1994) (TV) .... Blind George
... aka Prince Brat and the Whipping Boy (1994) (TV)
... aka Prinz und der Prügelknabe, Der (1994) (TV) (Germany)
"Traps" (1994/I) TV Series .... Joe Trapchek
Curacao (1993) (TV) .... Cornelius Wettering
... aka Deadly Currents (1993) (TV)
Malice (1993) .... Dr. Kessler
"Brute Force" (1991) (mini) TV Series (voice) .... Narrator
Finding the Way Home (1991) (TV) .... Max Mittelmann
Descending Angel (1990) (TV) .... Florian Stroia
Rescuers Down Under, The (1990) (voice) .... Percival C. McLeach
Exorcist III, The (1990) .... Lt. William 'Bill' Kinderman
... aka Exorcist III: Legion, The (1990)
... aka William Peter Blatty's The Exorcist III (1990)
Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue (1990) (TV) (voice) .... Smoke
Ryan White Story, The (1989) (TV) .... Charles Vaughan Sr
"Mr. President" (1987) TV Series .... President Samuel Arthur Tresch
Pals (1987) (TV) .... Jack Stobbs
Last Days of Patton, The (1986) (TV) .... General George S. Patton, Jr.
Murders in the Rue Morgue, The (1986) (TV) .... Auguste Dupin
Indomitable Teddy Roosevelt, The (1986) (voice) .... Narrator
Choices (1986) (TV) .... Evan Granger
"Mussolini: The Untold Story" (1985) (mini) TV Series .... Benito Mussolini
Christmas Carol, A (1984/I) (TV) .... Ebenezer Scrooge
Firestarter (1984) .... John Rainbird
China Rose (1983) (TV) .... Mr. Allen
Oliver Twist (1982) (TV) .... Fagin
Taps (1981) .... General Harlan Bache
All-Star Comedy Birthday Party from West Point (1981) (TV)
Casey Stengel (1981) (TV) .... Host
Mister Lincoln (1981) (TV) .... Host
Formula, The (1980) .... Lt. Barney Caine LAPD
... aka Formel, Die (1980) (West Germany)
Changeling, The (1980) .... John Russell
... aka Enfant du diable, L' (1980) (Canada: French title)
Arthur Miller on Home Ground (1979) (TV) .... Himself
Hardcore (1979) .... Jake VanDorn
... aka Hardcore Life, The (1979) (UK)
Crossed Swords (1978) .... The Ruffler
... aka Prince and the Pauper, The (1978) (UK)
Movie Movie (1978) .... Gloves Malloy/Spats Baxter
Happy Birthday, Bob (1978) (TV) .... Himself
Columbo: Make Me a Perfect Murder (1978) (TV) (uncredited) .... Television Studio Technician
Islands in the Stream (1977) .... Thomas Hudson
Beauty and the Beast (1976) (TV) .... The Beast
NBC: The First Fifty Years - A Closer Look (1976) (TV) .... Himself
30th Annual Tony Awards, The (1976) (TV) .... Himself/Host
Hindenburg, The (1975) .... Colonel Franz Ritter
Fear on Trial (1975) (TV) .... Louis Nizer
Savage Is Loose, The (1974) .... John
... aka Salvaje anda suelto, Un (1974) (Mexico)
Bank Shot (1974) .... Walter Upjohn Ballentine
Day of the Dolphin, The (1973) .... Dr. Jake Terrell
Oklahoma Crude (1973) .... Noble 'Mase' Mason
Rage (1972) .... Dan Logan
New Centurions, The (1972) .... Kilvinski
... aka Precinct 45: Los Angeles Police (1972)
Hospital, The (1971) .... Dr. Herbert 'Herb' Bock
Last Run, The (1971) .... Harry Garmes
They Might Be Giants (1971) .... Justin Playfair
Price, The (1971) (TV) .... Victor Franz
... aka ITV Sunday-Night Theatre: Price (1971) (TV) (UK: series title)
Jane Eyre (1970) .... Edward Rochester
Patton (1970) .... General George S. Patton, Jr.
... aka Blood and Guts (1970) (UK)
... aka Patton: A Salute to a Rebel (1970)
... aka Patton: Lust for Glory (1970) (UK)
This Savage Land (1969) (TV) .... Jud Barker
Petulia (1968) .... Archie Bollen
Flim-Flam Man, The (1967) .... Mordecai Jones
... aka One Born Every Minute (1967) (UK)
Crucible, The (1967) (TV) .... John Proctor
Not with My Wife, You Don't! (1966) .... Tank Martin
Bibbia, La (1966) .... Abraham
... aka Bible, The (1966) (USA)
... aka Bible... In the Beginning, The (1966) (USA)
Car That Became a Star, The (1965) (uncredited) .... Himself
Yellow Rolls-Royce, The (1964) .... Paolo Maltese (Italy)
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) .... General 'Buck' Turgidson
... aka Dr. Strangelove (1964)
"East Side/West Side" (1963) TV Series .... Neil Brock
List of Adrian Messenger, The (1963) .... Ex-General Anthony Gethryn
Brazen Bell, The (1962) .... Arthur Lilly
Power and the Glory, The (1961) (TV) .... Police lieutenant
Hustler, The (1961) .... Bert Gordon
Don Juan in Hell (1960) (TV) .... The Devil
Winterset (1959) (TV) .... Trock Estrella
Anatomy of a Murder (1959) .... Claude Dancer, Assistant Attorney General from Lansing
Hanging Tree, The (1959) .... Dr. George Grubb
Outcasts of Poker Flat, The (1958) (TV)
Tale of Two Cities, A (1958/II) (TV)