Randolph Scott Profile

Birth Name: George Randolph Crane Scott

Date of Birth: January 23, 1898

Place of Birth: Orange County, Virginia

Date of Death: March 2, 1987

Place of Death: Beverly Hills, California (cause unknown)

Personal Life: Married Mariana duPont Somerville March 23, 1936 - divorced 1939 - no children. Married Patricia Stillman in 1944 - until his death in 1987. They had two children Christopher and Sandra. Rumors say Scott was bisexual.

Claim to Fame: Easily playing a tough-looking, uncompromising stoic character, Scott became one of Hollywood's greatest Western stars.

Interesting Trivia: Scott's close friends - Cary Grant, Fred Astaire and the Reverend Billy Graham - came from diverse backgrounds. He inspired the popular 1973 song "Whatever Happened to Randolph Scott?," a top-20 country hit for the The Statler Brothers. Scott was inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in 1975.

Career Highlights: A top box office star of the 1950s with notable films such as Ride the High Country, The Tall T,  Seven Men from Now.

 © Paramount Home Entertainment

About Randolph Scott:

Early Years

Scott was born in Virginia to George and Lucy Crane Scott while they were on a visit there. He was raised in Charlotte, North Carolina. A strapping, energetic man, he started school at Georgia Institute of Technology. After a football injury, he transferred to the University of North Carolina, and graduated with a textile engineering and manufacturing degree. He lied about his age and joined the service to fight in World War I.

Road to Stardom

After the war and earning his degree, Scott went to California and joined the Pasadena Community Playhouse. He got some bit parts after coaching Gary Cooper on a Virginia dialect for The Virginian (1929). His handsome leading man features soon garnered him work in comedies, adventures and dramas. He roomed with Cary Grant. Scott's first film was Sharp Shooters (1928).

Stroke of Luck

Met filmmaker Howard Hughes while golfing, and he helped Scott land some bit parts. Paramount scouts saw him in a play in the late 1920s and offered him a contract. Because of his wise investments in oil wells and real estate, Scott retired from films in the 1960s and spent his retirement in leisure.

Other Stars Scott Appeared With

Charles Laughton Island of Lost Souls (1933), Ginger Rogers Roberta (1935), Maureen O'Hara To the Shores of Tripoli (1942), Gypsy Rose Lee Belle of the Yukon (1944), Lee Marvin The Stranger Wore A Gun (1953), Gail Russell Seven Men from Now (1956).