George C. Scott Biography

In 1945, he joined the Marine Corps and spent four years with them, no doubt an inspiration for portraying Gen. George S. Patton years later.

When Scott left the Marines he enrolled in a course in journalism at the University of Missouri, but it was while performing in a play there that the acting bug bit him. He was later quoted as saying "it clicked, just like tumblers in a safe."

In the late 1950s, he landed a role in 'Richard III'. The play in a theatre in New York was a hit and brought the young actor to the attention of critics. Soon he began to get work on television, mostly in live broadcasts of plays, and in 1959 he landed the part of the crafty prosecutor in 'Anatomy of a Murder' (1959). It was this role that won him his first Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

Scott first came to public attention in the film 'Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb' 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 portrayal of the controversial General Patton in the 1970 film 'Patton' became his most iconic performance. Scott had researched extensively for the role, studying films of the general and talking to those who knew him. Having declined an Academy Award nomination for his appearance in the 1961 film, 'The Hustler', Scott returned his Oscar for 'Patton', stating in a letter to the Academy that he didn't feel himself to be in competition with other actors. He has been quoted as saying "The (Academy Awards) ceremonies are a two-hour meat parade, a public display with contrived suspense for economic reasons."

Scott found further success in the 1980s with two films in particular. The first of these was 'The Changeling' (1980), a film often packaged as a horror movie but one that's really more of a supernatural thriller. He plays John Russell, a composer who loses his wife and daughter in a tragic accident. Seeking solace, he moves into an old mansion that had been unoccupied for 12 years. It is while researching the house's past that he discovers its horrific secret of long ago.

The following year, he starred alongside the unknown Sean Penn and Tom Cruise in the intense drama 'Taps' (1981). He played the head of a military academy that's suddenly slated for destruction when the property is sold to local developers who plan to build condos. The students take over the academy when they feel that the regular channels are closed to them.

In 1984, Scott was cast in the role of Ebenezer Scrooge in a television adaptation of 'A Christmas Carol'. Critics and the public alike praised his performance. He was nominated for an Emmy Award for the role.

In 1990, he voiced the villain Smoke in the TV special 'Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue', where his character was alongside popular cartoon characters like Bugs Bunny. That same year, he voice acted the villain Percival McLeach in the Disney film, 'The Rescuers Down Under'.

Scott died in 1999 from a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm. He was interred in the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Westwood, California.