George C. Scott
George Campbell Scott was an American stage and film actor, director and producer. He was best known for his stage work, as well as his portrayals of the prosecutor Claude Dancer in Anatomy of a Murder, General Buck Turgidson in Stanley Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove, General George S. Patton in the film Patton, and Ebenezer Scrooge in Clive Donner's film A Christmas Carol.
He was the first actor to refuse the Academy Award for Best Actor, having warned the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences months in advance that he would do so on philosophical grounds if he won. Scott believed that every dramatic performance was unique and could not be compared to others.
Early life
George Campbell Scott was born, the younger of two siblings, on October 18, 1927 on a kitchen table in the modest Wise, Virginia home of his parents, George Dewey Scott and Helena Agnes. His maternal grandfather was a local jurist, Judge Campbell Slemp. His mother died just before his eighth birthday, and he was raised by his father, an executive at Buick. Scott's original ambition was to be a writer like his favorite author, F. Scott Fitzgerald. While attending Redford High School in Detroit, he wrote many short stories, none of which were published. As an adult, he tried on many occasions to write a novel, but never completed one to his satisfaction.After high school, Scott enlisted in the United States Marine Corps, serving from 1945-49. He was assigned to 8th and I Barracks in Washington, D.C., and his primary duty was serving as honor guard at military funerals at Arlington National Cemetery. He later said that during his duty at Arlington, " pick up a solid drinking habit that stayed with me from then on."
Following military service, Scott enrolled in the University of Missouri on the G.I. Bill where he majored in journalism and then became interested in drama. His first public appearance on stage was as the barrister in a university production of Terence Rattigan's The Winslow Boy, directed by H. Donovan Rhynsburger. During rehearsals for that show, he made his first stage appearance—in a student production of Noël Coward's Hands Across the Sea, directed by Jerry V. Tobias. He graduated from the university in 1953 with degrees in English and theater.
Broadway and film career
Early performances
Scott first rose to prominence for his work with Joseph Papp's New York Shakespeare Festival. In 1958, he won an Obie Award for his performances in Children of Darkness, for As You Like It, and for playing the title character in William Shakespeare's Richard III .Scott's Broadway debut was in Comes a Day which had a short run. Scott's television debut was in a 1958 adaptation of A Tale of Two Cities for the Dupont Show of the Month directed by Robert Mulligan. He also appeared in a televised version of The Outcasts of Poker Flat plus episodes of Kraft Theatre, and Omnibus. Scott's feature film debut was in The Hanging Tree, starring Gary Cooper and Maria Schell.
Supporting roles
Scott earned his first Academy Award nomination for his performance in Otto Preminger's Anatomy of a Murder ; later that year he appeared on Broadway in The Andersonville Trial by Saul Levitt directed by Jose Ferrer, winning critical acclaim for his portrayal of the prosecutor. This was based on the military trial of the commandant of the infamous Civil War prison camp in Andersonville, Georgia. It ran for 179 performances from December 1959 to June 1960.Scott received good reviews for The Wall which ran for 167 performances. He guest-starred on episodes of Sunday Showcase, Playhouse 90, Play of the Week, Dow Hour of Great Mysteries, and a Hallmark Hall of Fame production of Winterset, originally written for the stage. Scott received superb notices for his performance in The Hustler. He returned to Broadway to direct General Seeger by Ira Levin but it only lasted two performances. The play Great Day in the Morning, in which he was directed by José Quintero, also had only a brief run.
Scott was in much demand for guest shots on TV shows, appearing in episodes of Ben Casey and Naked City. In 1962, Scott appeared as school teacher Arthur Lilly on NBC's The Virginian, in the episode "The Brazen Bell", in which he recites Oscar Wilde's poem "The Ballad of Reading Gaol". That same year, he appeared in NBC's medical drama The Eleventh Hour, in the episode "I Don't Belong in a White-Painted House". He appeared opposite Laurence Olivier and Julie Harris in Graham Greene's The Power and the Glory in a 1961 television production and also performed in The Merchant of Venice off-Broadway.
Stardom
Scott's first leading role in a feature was The List of Adrian Messenger released in 1963. That year, Scott starred in the hour-long television drama series East Side/West Side. He portrayed a New York City social worker, along with co-stars Cicely Tyson and Elizabeth Wilson. Scott was a major creative influence on the show, resulting in conflicts with James T. Aubrey, the head of CBS. The Emmy Award-winning program had a series of guest stars, including James Earl Jones. The portrayal of challenging urban issues made attracting advertisers difficult, not helped by the limited distribution. Not all CBS network affiliates broadcast the show, and it was canceled after one season. Scott had a success during 1963 in an off-Broadway production of Desire Under the Elms.Scott's highest-profile early role was in the Stanley Kubrick-directed Dr. Strangelove, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, in which he played General "Buck" Turgidson. In later interviews with Kubrick, Scott was revealed to have initially refused to camp it up on camera. As a compromise, Kubrick had Scott go over the top in rehearsal, assuring Scott that the cameras were off, which was untrue. Kubrick proceeded to use this version in the final cut, which Scott supposedly resented. Scott was one of many stars in The Yellow Rolls-Royce.
Scott was cast, under the direction of John Huston in Dino de Laurentiis's , which was released by 20th Century Fox in 1966. Also in 1966, Scott appeared as Jud Barker in the NBC western The Road West, starring Barry Sullivan, Kathryn Hays, Andrew Prine, and Glenn Corbett. He also guest starred in Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre. He co-starred with Tony Curtis in the comedy film Not with My Wife, You Don't! and as John Proctor in a television version of The Crucible.
Scott returned to Broadway in 1967 to direct Dr. Cook's Garden by Ira Levin but quit during tryouts. As an actor, he appeared in a revival of The Little Foxes directed by Mike Nichols, which ran for 100 performances. Scott starred in The Flim-Flam Man and Petulia. He appeared in the made for television movie Mirror, Mirror Off the Wall.
''Patton''
Scott portrayed George S. Patton in the film Patton and researched extensively for the role, studying films of the general and talking to those who knew him. Scott refused the Oscar nomination for Patton, just as he had done for his nomination in 1962 for 'The Hustler', but won the award anyway.In a letter to the Motion Picture Academy, he stated that he did not feel himself to be in competition with other actors. However, regarding this second rejection of the Academy Award, Scott famously said elsewhere, "The whole thing is a goddamn meat parade. I don't want any part of it."
The Best Picture Oscar for Patton was given to the George C. Marshall Foundation Library at the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Virginia, the same institution that generations of Pattons attended, by producer Frank McCarthy a few weeks after the awards ceremony, and is on display there. Scott did not turn down the New York Film Critics Award; his then-wife Colleen Dewhurst said, "George thinks this is the only film award worth having".
Scott did some TV movies: Jane Eyre as Mr Rochester and The Price, a version of the Arthur Miller play. For the latter role, he won an Emmy Award, which he accepted. He also directed but did not appear in, a TV version of The Andersonville Trial.
Early 1970s roles
Scott then focused on movies for a while. He did They Might Be Giants with Joanne Woodward, and The Last Run for director Richard Fleischer, with his wife Colleen Dewhurst and also with Trish Van Devere, who would become his third and last wife. Scott had a big hit with based on a script by Paddy Chayefksy; and The New Centurions directed by Flesicher based on a book by Joseph Wambaugh. He directed Rage, starring himself but it was a flop. So too was Oklahoma Crude directed by Stanley Kramer; and The Day of the Dolphin directed by Mike Nichols, in which Scott appeared with Van Devere.Scott starred in Bank Shot, directed by Gower Champion, which was a flop. So too was The Savage Is Loose, which co-starred Van Devere and which he himself directed. Scott returned to television with Fear on Trial ; and starred in the big-budget disaster movie, The Hindenburg for director Robert Wise.
Return to theatre
Scott had a big Broadway hit with Neil Simon's Plaza Suite, directed by Mike Nichols. The show was composed of three separate one-act plays all using the same set, with Scott portraying a different lead character in each act; it ran for 1,097 performances. Scott directed a production of All God's Chillun Got Wings which starred Van Devere and only had a short run. He directed and played Willy Loman in a 1975 revival of Death of a Salesman, for which he garnered another Tony nomination.Scott received a Tony Award nomination for his performance as Astrov in a 1973 revival of Uncle Vanya, directed by Nichols, which ran for 64 performances. Scott starred in a well-received production of Larry Gelbart's Sly Fox, which ran 495 performances. Scott returned to Broadway for Tricks of the Trade in 1980 with Van Devere, but it ran for a single performance. However, a 1984 Broadway revival of Coward's Design for Living, which he directed, ran for 245 performances. In 1986, on Broadway, Scott did The Boys in Autumn in 1986. In 1993, he appeared off-Broadway successfully with Wrong Turn at Lungfish.
Television and supporting film roles
Scott appeared in a television production of Beauty and the Beast, with Trish Van Devere. He later starred as an Ernest Hemingway-based artist in Islands in the Stream directed by Schaffner and based on Hemingway's posthumously published novel. He had a cameo in Crossed Swords directed by Fleischer, then had the lead in Movie Movie directed by Stanley Donen, costarring with Van Devere, and Hardcore written and directed by Paul Schrader.Scott starred in The Changeling, with Melvyn Douglas, John Colicos, Jean Marsh, and Van Devere, for which he received the Canadian Genie Award for Best Foreign Film Actor for his performance. He followed this with The Formula co-starring Marlon Brando, which was a flop. With one exception, it was the last time he had the lead in a major studio feature film.
Scott appeared alongside Timothy Hutton and rising stars Sean Penn and Tom Cruise in the coming-of-age film Taps, and was cast as Fagin in the CBS made-for-TV adaptation of Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist. On Broadway, he starred in and directed a successful revival of Noël Coward's Present Laughter which ran during 1982–83. He starred in China Rose on television and had a supporting role in Firestarter and portrayed Ebenezer Scrooge in a television adaptation of A Christmas Carol. He was nominated for an Emmy Award for the role. Scott played the title role in the made-for-television-movie .
Scott reprised his role as Patton in a made-for-television sequel, The Last Days of Patton. Based on the final weeks of Patton's life after being mortally injured in a car accident, it contains flashbacks of Patton's life. At the time the sequel was aired, Scott mentioned in a TV Guide interview that he told the academy to donate his Oscar to the Patton Museum, but since the instructions were never put in writing, it was never delivered.
On television, Scott did The Murders in the Rue Morgue and Pals. He also played the lead role in the TV series Mr. President, which ran for 24 turbulent episodes. Scott starred in the television film The Ryan White Story as Charles Vaughan, the lawyer defending Ryan White. The following year, in 1990, he voiced two villainous roles: "Smoke" in the television special Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue and "Percival McLeach" in the Disney film The Rescuers Down Under.
1990s
He was featured in The Exorcist III. For TV, he starred in Descending Angel and Finding the Way Home. On Broadway, he directed and appeared in a revival of On Borrowed Time. He had a support role in Curacao and Malice. Scott had a starring role in Traps but the series only ran for five episodes. He also had a semi-regular role on another short-lived series New York News. Around this time, Scott appeared in such feature films as The Whipping Boy, Tyson, and Angus.Final performances
Scott received another Tony nomination for his performance as Henry Drummond in a revival of Inherit the Wind. In the latter play, he had to miss many performances due to illness, with his role being taken over by National Actors Theatre artistic director Tony Randall. In 1996, he received an honorary Drama Desk Award for a lifetime devotion to theatre.On the small screen, he did Country Justice, Titanic , and The Searchers. Scott portrayed Juror No. 3 in the TV-movie 12 Angry Men, the role played by Lee J. Cobb in the 1957 film, for which he would win another Emmy Award.
He hosted Weapons at War on A&E TV, but was replaced after one season by Gerald McRaney. Weapons at War moved to The History Channel with Scott still credited as host for the first season. Scott was replaced by Robert Conrad after his death in 1999. He had support roles in Gloria for Sidney Lumet and Rocky Marciano. Scott made his last film, the TV movie Inherit the Wind, portraying Matthew Harrison Brady with Jack Lemmon as Henry Drummond, with whom he had also worked in 12 Angry Men.
Scott had a reputation for being moody and mercurial while on the set. "There is no question you get pumped up by the recognition... Then a self-loathing sets in when you realize you're enjoying it", he was quoted as saying. One anecdote relates that one of his stage co-stars, Maureen Stapleton, told the director of Neil Simon's Plaza Suite, "I don't know what to do – I'm scared of him." The director, Mike Nichols, replied, "My dear, everyone is scared of George C. Scott."
Personal life
Scott was married five times:- Carolyn Hughes ; one daughter, Victoria, born December 19, 1952.
- Patricia Reed ; two children: Matthew – born May 27, 1957, and actress Devon Scott – born November 29, 1958.
- He married Canadian-born actress Colleen Dewhurst, by whom he had two sons, writer Alexander Scott, and actor Campbell Scott. Dewhurst nicknamed her husband "G.C."
- He and Dewhurst remarried on July 4, 1967, but divorced for a second time on February 2, 1972.
- He married American actress Trish Van Devere on September 4, 1972, with whom he starred in several films, including the supernatural thriller The Changeling. Scott met Van Devere while shooting The Last Run, which also featured his ex-wife Dewhurst. Scott adopted Van Devere's nephew, George Dressell, and resided in Malibu. They remained married until his death in 1999.
Politics
In 1982, Scott appeared in a campaign commercial for moderate Republican U.S. Senator Lowell P. Weicker of Connecticut. Like Weicker, Scott was, at that time, a resident of Greenwich, Connecticut. Scott identified politically as a moderate conservative and supported the death penalty.Illness and death
Scott suffered a series of heart attacks in the 1980s. He died on September 22, 1999, aged 71, of a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm. He was interred in the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Westwood, California in an unmarked grave located to the right of that of Walter Matthau.Partial filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1958 | The DuPont Show of the Month | Jacques | Episode: "A Tale of Two Cities" |
| 1959 | The Hanging Tree | George Grubb | |
| 1959 | The United States Steel Hour | Asst. State Atty. Gen. Claude Dancer | Episode: "Trap for a Stranger" |
| 1959 | Anatomy of a Murder | Claude Dancer | Nominated—Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor |
| 1961 | The Hustler | Bert Gordon | Nominated—Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture |
| 1961 | Ben Casey | Dr. Karl Anders | Episode: "I Remember a Lemon Tree" Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series |
| 1961 | The Power and the Glory | Police lieutenant | TV movie |
| 1962 | Naked City | Kermit Garrison | Episode: "Strike a Statue" |
| 1962 | The Virginian | Arthur Lilly | Episode: "The Brazen Bell" |
| 1963 | The List of Adrian Messenger | Anthony Gethyrn | |
| 1963–64 | East Side/West Side | Neil Brock | 26 episodes Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series |
| 1964 | Dr. Strangelove | General Buck Turgidson | |
| 1964 | The Yellow Rolls-Royce | Paolo Maltese | |
| 1966 | ' | Abraham | |
| 1966 | Not with My Wife, You Don't! | "Tank" Martin | |
| 1967 | The Crucible | John Proctor | TV movie Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie |
| 1967 | The Flim-Flam Man | Mordecai Jones | |
| 1968 | Petulia | Dr. Archie Bollen | Nominated—New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor |
| 1969 | This Savage Land | Jud Barker | TV movie |
| 1970 | Patton | General George S. Patton, Jr. | Academy Award for Best Actor Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor Laurel Award for Best Dramatic Performance, Male National Board of Review Award for Best Actor National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role |
| 1970 | Jane Eyre | Edward Rochester | TV movie Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie |
| 1971 | The Price | Victor Franz | Hallmark Hall of Fame Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie |
| 1971 | They Might Be Giants | Justin Playfair/"Sherlock Holmes" | Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role |
| 1971 | The Last Run | Harry Garmes | Also starred Colleen Dewhurst and Trish Van Devere |
| 1971 | The Hospital | Dr. Herbert Bock | Nominated—Academy Award for Best Actor Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama |
| 1972 | The New Centurions | Kilvinski | |
| 1972 | Rage | Dan Logan | Also directed |
| 1973 | Oklahoma Crude | Noble Mason | |
| 1973 | The Day of the Dolphin | Dr. Jake Terrell | |
| 1974 | Bank Shot | Walter Upjohn Ballentine | |
| 1974 | The Savage Is Loose | John | Also directed |
| 1975 | The Hindenburg | Colonel Franz Ritter | |
| 1976 | Beauty and the Beast | The Beast | TV movie Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie |
| 1977 | Islands in the Stream | Thomas Hudson | |
| 1977 | Crossed Swords | Ruffler | |
| 1978 | Movie Movie | Gloves Malloy/Spats Baxter | Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy |
| 1979 | Hardcore | Jake Van Dorn | |
| 1980 | The Changeling | John Russell | Fantafestival Award for Best Actor Genie Award for Best Performance by a Foreign Actor |
| 1980 | The Formula | Lt. Barney Caine | |
| 1981 | Taps | Brigadier General Harlan Bache | |
| 1982 | Oliver Twist | Fagin | TV movie |
| 1984 | Firestarter | John Rainbird | |
| 1984 | A Christmas Carol | Ebenezer Scrooge | TV movie Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie |
| 1985 | ' | Benito Mussolini | TV movie |
| 1986 | The Last Days of Patton | General George S. Patton, Jr. | TV movie |
| 1986 | The Murders in the Rue Morgue | C. Auguste Dupin | |
| 1987 | Pals | Jack H. Stobbs John Livingston Spangler | TV movie |
| 1987–88 | Mr. President | President Samuel Arthur Tresch | 24 episodes |
| 1989 | The Ryan White Story | Charles Vaughan, Sr. | |
| 1990 | Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue | Smoke | Voice Made for video |
| 1990 | The Exorcist III | Kinderman | Nominated—Razzie Award for Worst Actor |
| 1990 | The Rescuers Down Under | Percival McLeach | Voice |
| 1990 | Descending Angel | Florian Stroia | |
| 1993 | Curaçao | Cornelius Wettering | |
| 1993 | Malice | Dr. Martin Kessler | |
| 1994 | Traps | Joe Trapcheck | 5 episodes |
| 1994 | The Whipping Boy | Blind George | |
| 1995 | Tyson | Cus D'Amato | |
| 1995 | Angus | Grandpa Ivan | |
| 1996 | Titanic | Captain Edward J. Smith | TV miniseries |
| 1997 | Country Justice | Clayton Hayes | TV movie |
| 1997 | 12 Angry Men | Juror No. 3 | TV movie CableACE Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Movie or Miniseries Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie |
| 1999 | Gloria | Ruby | |
| 1999 | Rocky Marciano | Pierino Marchegiano | TV movie |
| 1999 | Inherit the Wind | Matthew Harrison Brady | TV movie Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie, |