Home > George C. Scott

Scott was born in Wise, Virginia. His mother died when he was only eight-years-old, and he was raised by his father, an executive at Buick Motor Company.

As a young man, Scott joined the U.S. Marine Corps and was assigned to the prestigious 8th and I Barracks in Washington, D.C. In that capacity, he served as a ceremonial guard at Arlington National Cemetery and he taught English literature and radio speaking/writing at the Marine Corps Institute. Scott later complained that his duties at Arlington led to his drinking.

After serving his hitch in the Marines, Scott enrolled in the University of Missouri where he majored in journalism. But he soon left college for an acting career. Scott began as a stage actor on Broadway and achieved critical acclaim portraying the prosecutor in The Andersonville Trial by Saul Levett. This was based on the military trial of the commandant of the infamous Civil War prison camp in Andersonville, Georgia. Scott's performance earned him a mention in Time magazine as a rising young actor of great intensity. Scott also played Richard III on stage and one critic said he was the "angriest" Richard III of all time.

Scott gained wide public attention in the film, Anatomy Of A Murder, in which he played a wiley prosecutor opposite Jimmy Stewart as the defense attorney. He was nominated for an Academy Award for best supporting actor. However, his most famous early role was in where he played the part of General "Buck" Turgidson. It was said that Stanley Kubrick told Scott that he had all the takes for one of the early scenes in that film and asked to redo the scene in an "over the top" fashion. This take was the one that is actually used in Dr. Strangelove.

Scott's greatest role, however, was when he played the swaggering and controversial World War II Army general, George Patton, in the 1970 movie, Patton. Scott had researched extensively for this role studying films of the general and talking to those who knew him. Having declined an Academy Award nomination for his appearance in The Hustler, Scott returned his Oscar for Patton, stating that he didn't feel himself to be in competition with other actors. It was also in 1970 that Scott directed a very highly acclaimed television version of The Andersonville Trial. Jack Cassidy won an Emmy award for his performance as the defense lawyer in this production.

Scott had a reputation for being somewhat moody and mercurial while on the set. There is a famous story that one of his co-stars told the director "I don't know what to do, I am scared of him". The director replied "My dear, the whole world is scared of George C. Scott!"

In 1984, Scott was cast in the role of Ebeneezer Scrooge in a televison adaptation of A Christmas Carol. Critics and the public alike praised his performance. Some have said he was the finest Scrooge of all time next to Alastair Sim. This movie has since become a television favorite at Christmas.

Scott was twice married to and twice divorced from Canadian-born actress Colleen DewhurstColleen Dewhurst ( 3 June 1924 22 August 1991) was a Canadian actress best known for playing Marilla Cuthbert in the various Anne of Green Gables productions from Sullivan Entertainment. Her breakthrough stage role, which made her a major success, came in, with whom he had two sons, one the actor Campbell Scott . He died in 1999 from a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysmAn aortic aneurysm is a general term for any localized dilatation or aneurysm of the aorta, usually representing an underlying weakness in the wall of the aorta at that location. This physical change in the aortic diameter can occur secondary to an intrin. He was interred in the Westwood Village Memorial Park CemeteryThe Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery is located at 1218 Glendon Avenue in the Westwood Village area of Los Angeles, California. It is the resting place of some of the entertainment industry's greatest names, although it was not alwa in Westwood, CaliforniaWestwood or Westwood Village is a district in western Los Angeles, California. It is bounded by Brentwood on the west, Bel-Air on the north, Century City on the east, West Los Angeles on the southeast, and unincorporated Sawtelle on the south and southwes.