Editing George C. Scott (section)

== Career ==
===1958–1962: Early roles ===
[[File:George C. Scott - 1958.jpg|thumb|upright|On stage as Richard III, 1958]]
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''<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e2PZrFziBbwC&q=off+broadway+children+of+darkness&pg=PA125 |title=Colleen Dewhurst: Her Autobiography |page=126 |publisher=Scribner |date=April 29, 2002 |isbn=978-0743242707}}</ref> (in which he made the first of many appearances opposite his future wife, actress [[Colleen Dewhurst]]), for ''[[As You Like It]]'' (1958), and for playing [[Richard III of England|the title character]] in [[William Shakespeare]]'s ''[[Richard III (play)|Richard III]]'' (1957–58) (a performance one critic said was the "angriest" Richard III of all time).<ref name="obie">{{cite web|url=http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0153529.html|title=1957–1958 Obie Awards|publisher=Infoplease.com|year=2007|access-date=2011-12-23}}</ref>

Scott's Broadway debut was in ''Comes a Day'' (1958) which had a short run.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Grodin |first1=Charles |title=It Would Be So Nice If You Weren't Here: My Journey Through Show Business |date=September 1990 |publisher=[[Vintage Books]] |isbn=0-679-73134-2 |pages=61–62}}</ref> 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]]'' (1958) plus episodes of ''[[Kraft Theatre]]'', and ''[[Omnibus (U.S. TV series)|Omnibus]]''. Scott's feature film debut was in ''[[The Hanging Tree (film)|The Hanging Tree]]'' (1959), starring [[Gary Cooper]] and [[Maria Schell]].

[[File:George C. Scott - Geraldine Page - 1959.JPG|thumb|left|With [[Geraldine Page]] (1959) in a publicity still for ''People Kill People Sometimes'']]
Scott earned his first Academy Award nomination for his performance in [[Otto Preminger]]'s ''[[Anatomy of a Murder]]'' (1959). 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 [[American Civil War|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'' (1960–61) which ran for 167 performances. He guest-starred on episodes of ''[[NBC Sunday Showcase|Sunday Showcase]]'', ''[[Playhouse 90]]'', ''[[The Play of the Week|Play of the Week]]'' (doing "[[Don Juan in Hell]]"), ''[[Dow Hour of Great Mysteries]]'', and a ''[[Hallmark Hall of Fame]]'' production of ''[[Winterset (play)|Winterset]]'', originally written for the stage. Scott received superb notices for his performance in ''[[The Hustler]]'' (1961). He returned to Broadway to direct ''General Seeger'' (1962) by [[Ira Levin]] but it only lasted two performances. The play ''Great Day in the Morning'' (1962), in which he was directed by [[José Quintero]], also had only a brief run.{{citation needed|date=July 2020}}

Scott was in much demand for guest shots on TV shows, appearing in episodes of ''[[Ben Casey]]'' and ''[[Naked City (TV series)|Naked City]]''. In 1962, Scott appeared as school teacher Arthur Lilly on [[NBC]]'s ''[[The Virginian (TV series)|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 (1962 TV series)|The Eleventh Hour]]'', in the episode "I Don't Belong in a White-Painted House". He appeared opposite [[Laurence Olivier]] and [[Julie Harris (American actress)|Julie Harris]] in [[Graham Greene]]'s ''[[The Power and the Glory (1961 film)|The Power and the Glory]]'' in a 1961 television production<ref name="olivier">{{cite book|title=Olivier|author=Terry Coleman|publisher=Henry Holt & Co|year=2005|page=[https://archive.org/details/olivier00cole/page/591 591]|isbn=0-8050-7536-4|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/olivier00cole/page/591}}</ref> and also performed in ''[[The Merchant of Venice]]'' (1962) off-Broadway.

===1963–1969: Breakthrough ===
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 [[Dramatic programming|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 affiliate]]s broadcast the show, and it was [[Cancellation (television)|canceled]] after one season.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.classictvhistory.com/EpisodeGuides/east_side_west_side.html|title=''East Side/West Side''|last=Stephen |first=Bowie|publisher=classictvhistory.com}}The official reason for the series' death, and the one maintained to this day by most of the individuals who worked on the show, was a decline in ratings and a loss of sponsorship resulting from many Southern affiliates' refusal to broadcast ''East Side''. This explanation conveniently locates the bigotry behind the series' cancellation with backward Southern viewers, rather than with the top brass of CBS. But it doesn't hold up to close scrutiny. As Edith Efron pointed out in a 1964 ''TV Guide'' article, ''East Side / West Side'' was dropped by no more affiliates in the South than in any other region of the country, and ultimately only six percent of the potential viewing audience had the series blacked out in their areas. It's more likely that Aubrey and his subordinates gave ''East Side'' the axe because they were caught in a no-win situation: they couldn't allow the show to remain as openly liberal as it was for fear that the voluminous hate mail would scare off sponsors, but they couldn't eliminate the hot-button elements of the series without endangering its critical cachet and existing viewer loyalty. Had the show been a smash in the ratings, its controversial nature would not have been an issue.</ref> Scott had a success during 1963 in an off-Broadway production of ''[[Desire Under the Elms]]''.

[[File:Dr. Strangelove - General Buck Turgidson.png|thumb|left|Scott as General Buck Turgidson in ''Dr. Strangelove'', 1964]]
Scott's highest-profile early role was in the [[Stanley Kubrick]]–directed ''[[Dr. Strangelove|Dr. Strangelove, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb]]'' (1964), 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. Somehow, Scott was unable to hear the very loud motor on the 35mm film cameras of the time. Kubrick proceeded to use this version in the final cut, which Scott supposedly resented.<ref name="jones">{{cite web|title=James Earl Jones on Dr. Strangelove|url=http://paul.kedrosky.com/archives/2004/11/james_earl_jone.html|first=Paul|last=Kedrosky|publisher=Infectious Greed|date=November 17, 2004|access-date=2011-12-23|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130127082200/http://paul.kedrosky.com/archives/2004/11/james_earl_jone.html|archive-date=January 27, 2013}}</ref> Scott was one of many stars in ''[[The Yellow Rolls-Royce]]'' (1964).

Scott was cast, under the direction of [[John Huston]] in [[Dino de Laurentiis]]'s ''[[The Bible: In the Beginning]]'', which was released by [[20th Century Fox]] in 1966.<ref>{{IMDb name|0001715|George C. Scott|section=bio}} Retrieved: April 9, 2012</ref> Also in 1966, Scott appeared as Jud Barker in the NBC western ''The Road West'' (also known as ''This Savage Land''), starring [[Barry Sullivan (actor)|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!]]'' (also 1966) and as John Proctor in a television version of ''[[The Crucible]]'' (1967).

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]]'' (1967–1968) directed by [[Mike Nichols]], which ran for 100 performances. Scott starred in ''[[The Flim-Flam Man]]'' (1967) and ''[[Petulia (film)|Petulia]]'' (1968). He appeared in the television film ''Mirror, Mirror Off the Wall'' (1969).

===1970–1979: Established star ===
Scott played [[George S. Patton]] in the film ''[[Patton (film)|Patton]]'' (1970) and researched extensively for the role, studying films of the general and talking to those who knew him. Scott declined the Oscar nomination for ''Patton'', just as he had done for his nomination in 1962 for ''The Hustler'', but won the award anyway.<ref name="post">{{cite news|title=Actor George C. Scott Dead at 71|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/aponline/19990923/aponline075119_000.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305023944/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/aponline/19990923/aponline075119_000.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 5, 2016|agency=[[Associated Press]]|date=September 23, 1999|newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=2011-12-23}}</ref>

In a letter to the [[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|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."<ref name="bbc"/><ref name="time">{{cite magazine|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,904789,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071001001937/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,904789,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 1, 2007|title=Show Business: Meat Parade|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|date=March 8, 1971 |access-date=2011-12-23}}</ref> 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 (producer)|Frank McCarthy]] a few weeks after the awards ceremony, and is on display there. Scott accepted the [[New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor|New York Film Critics Award]]. His then-wife Colleen Dewhurst said, "George thinks this is the only film award worth having".<ref name="oscar">{{cite book|title=Inside Oscar|author=Mason Wiley and [[Damien Bona]]|publisher=Ballantine Books|date=February 12, 1986|isbn=978-0-345-31423-9}}</ref>

During the early 1970s, Scott appeared in the made-for-television films ''[[Jane Eyre (1970 film)|Jane Eyre]]'' (1970) as [[Mr. Rochester]] and ''[[The Price (play)|The Price]]'' (1971), a version of the Arthur Miller play. For the latter role, he won an [[Emmy Awards|Emmy Award]], which he accepted. He also directed a TV version of ''[[The Andersonville Trial (film)|The Andersonville Trial]]'' (1970). Scott then returned his focus to feature films. He appeared in ''[[They Might Be Giants (film)|They Might Be Giants]]'' (1971) with [[Joanne Woodward]], and ''[[The Last Run]]'' (1971) for director [[Richard Fleischer]], with his wife Colleen Dewhurst and also with [[Trish Van Devere]], who would become his fourth and last wife. Scott had a big hit with ''{{sortname|The|Hospital}}'' (1971) based on a script by [[Paddy Chayefksy]]; and ''[[The New Centurions (film)|The New Centurions]]'' (1972) directed by Flesicher based on a book by [[Joseph Wambaugh]].

Scott then appeared in a series of [[Box-office bomb|box office flops]], beginning with ''[[Rage (1972 film)|Rage]]'' (1972), which he both directed and starred in. He then appeared in ''[[Oklahoma Crude (film)|Oklahoma Crude]]'' (1973) directed by [[Stanley Kramer]]; ''[[The Day of the Dolphin]]'' (1973) directed by [[Mike Nichols]], in which Scott appeared with Van Devere; ''[[Bank Shot]]'' (1974), directed by [[Gower Champion]]; and ''[[The Savage Is Loose]]'' (1974), which co-starred Van Devere and which Scott himself directed. Scott returned to television with ''[[Fear on Trial]]'' (1975); and starred in the disaster film ''[[The Hindenburg (film)|The Hindenburg]]'' (1975) for director [[Robert Wise]].

Scott had a big Broadway hit with [[Neil Simon]]'s ''[[Plaza Suite]]'' (1968), 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 (play)|All God's Chillun Got Wings]]'' (1975) 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.<ref>{{cite web |title=George C. Scott (Performer) |url=https://www.playbill.com/person/george-c-scott-vault-0000018886 |website=Playbill |access-date=19 March 2023}}</ref> Scott received a [[Tony Awards|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]]'' (1976; based on [[Ben Jonson]]'s ''[[Volpone]]''), which ran 495 performances. 

Scott appeared in a television production of ''[[Beauty and the Beast (1976 TV film)|Beauty and the Beast]]'' (1976), with Trish Van Devere. He later starred as an [[Ernest Hemingway]]-based artist in ''[[Islands in the Stream (film)|Islands in the Stream]]'' (1977) directed by Schaffner and based on Hemingway's posthumously published novel. He had a cameo in ''[[The Prince and the Pauper (1977 film)|Crossed Swords]]'' (1977) directed by Fleischer, then had the lead in ''[[Movie Movie]]'' (1978) directed by [[Stanley Donen]], costarring with Van Devere, and ''[[Hardcore (1979 film)|Hardcore]]'' (1979) written and directed by [[Paul Schrader]].

===1980–1989===
Scott starred in ''[[The Changeling (1980 film)|The Changeling]]'' (1980), 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.<ref name="changeling">{{cite web| url=http://www.reelfilm.com/chngling.htm| title=The Changeling| date=December 17, 2001|author=David Nusair| publisher=Reel Film Reviews|access-date=2011-12-23}}</ref> He followed this with ''[[The Formula (1980 film)|The Formula]]'' (1980) 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 returned to Broadway for ''Tricks of the Trade'' in 1980 with Van Devere, but it ran for a single performance. 

Scott appeared alongside [[Timothy Hutton]] and rising stars [[Sean Penn]] and [[Tom Cruise]] in the coming-of-age film ''[[Taps (film)|Taps]]'' (1981), and was cast as [[Fagin]] in the CBS made-for-TV adaptation of [[Charles Dickens]]'s ''[[Oliver Twist]]'' (1982). 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'' (1983) on television, and in 1984, had a supporting role in ''[[Firestarter (1984 film)|Firestarter]]'' and portrayed [[Ebenezer Scrooge]] in a television adaptation of ''[[A Christmas Carol (1984 film)|A Christmas Carol]]''. He directed the 1984 Broadway revival of Noël Coward's ''[[Design for Living]]'', which 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''. He was nominated for an Emmy Award for the role. Scott played the title role in the television film ''[[Mussolini: The Untold Story]]'' (1985).

{{quote box|title=On Influences:|quote=I think I learned to act from people like [[James Cagney]] and [[Paul Muni]]. And I'm sure I learned more from [[Bette Davis]] than anyone. She has enormous presence, a sense of surprise. She sets you up like a great boxer and BAM! she gives you something else. She does have a certain consistent style, but when you examine her work you find enormous variety of color and intelligence.|source=''Scott on Some Aspects of Acting'', ''Time'', March 22, 1971||width=40%||quoted=1}}

Scott reprised his role as Patton in a made-for-television sequel, ''[[The Last Days of Patton]]'' (1986). 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 [[General George Patton Museum of Leadership|Patton Museum]], but since the instructions were never put in writing, it was never delivered.<ref name="Roberts">{{cite book |last1=Roberts |first1=Jerry |title=The Hollywood Scandal Almanac: Twelve Months of Sinister, Salacious, and Senseless History |date=2012 |publisher=Arcadia Publishing |location=Charleston, S.C. |isbn=978-1-61423-786-0 |page=15 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JGZ_CQAAQBAJ&q=what+became+of+George+C+Scott%27s+oscar++%22Patton+Museum%22&pg=RA3-PA15 |access-date=18 October 2018}}</ref>

On television, Scott appeared in ''[[The Murders in the Rue Morgue]]'' (1986) and ''[[Pals (1987 film)|Pals]]'' (1987; with [[Don Ameche]]). He also played the lead role in the TV series ''[[Mr. President (TV series)|Mr. President]]'' (1987–88), and appeared on ''[[The Johnny Carson Show]]'' in March 1987. Scott starred in the television film ''[[The Ryan White Story]]'' (1989) as Charles Vaughan, the lawyer defending [[Ryan White]].

===1990–1999===
In 1990, he voiced two villainous roles: Smoke in the television special ''[[Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue]]'' and Percival McLeach in the [[The Walt Disney Company|Disney]] film ''[[The Rescuers Down Under]]''. He was featured in ''[[The Exorcist III]]'' (1990). For TV, he starred in ''[[Descending Angel]]'' (also 1990) and ''Finding the Way Home'' (1991). On Broadway, he directed and appeared in a revival of ''[[On Borrowed Time]]'' (1991–92). He had a supporting role in ''Curacao'' (1993) and ''[[Malice (1993 film)|Malice]]'' (1993). Scott had a starring role in ''[[Traps (TV series)|Traps]]'' (1994) but the series only ran for five episodes. He also had a semi-regular role on another short-lived series ''[[New York News]]'' (1995). Around this time, Scott appeared in such feature films as ''[[The Whipping Boy]]'' (1994), ''[[Tyson (1995 film)|Tyson]]'' (1995), and ''[[Angus (film)|Angus]]'' (1995). Scott received another Tony nomination for his performance as Henry Drummond in a revival of ''[[Inherit the Wind (play)|Inherit the Wind]]'' (1996). 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]].<ref name="obit">{{cite news |author=Mel Gussow |date=September 24, 1999 |title=George C. Scott, Celebrated for ''Patton'' Role, Dies at 71 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/09/24/movies/george-c-scott-celebrated-for-patton-role-dies-at-71.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231223161411/https://www.nytimes.com/1999/09/24/movies/george-c-scott-celebrated-for-patton-role-dies-at-71.html |archive-date=2023-12-23 |access-date=2011-12-23 |work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> In 1996, he received an honorary [[Drama Desk Award]] for a lifetime devotion to theatre.

On the small screen, Scott appeared in ''[[Country Justice]]'' (1996), ''[[Titanic (1996 miniseries)|Titanic]]'' (1996) (as the ship's captain), and ''The Searchers'' (1996). Scott portrayed Juror No. 3 in the television film ''[[12 Angry Men (1997 film)|12 Angry Men]]'' (1997), the role played by [[Lee J. Cobb]] in the [[12 Angry Men (1957 film)|1957 film]], for which he would win another Emmy Award. He hosted ''Weapons at War'' on [[A&E (TV network)|A&E TV]], but was replaced after one season by [[Gerald McRaney]]. ''Weapons at War'' moved to [[History (American TV network)|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 (1999 American film)|Gloria]]'' (1999) for [[Sidney Lumet]] and ''[[Rocky Marciano (film)|Rocky Marciano]]'' (1999). Scott made his last film, the television film ''[[Inherit the Wind (1999 film)|Inherit the Wind]]'' (1999), portraying Matthew Harrison Brady (ironically opposite the role he had played on stage) 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.<ref name="people">{{cite news| title=The Beauty Who Tamed the Beast|url=http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20067401,00.html|access-date=2011-12-23|work=[[People (magazine)|People]]|date=February 7, 1977}}</ref> 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."<ref name="Time Terrible Fire">{{cite magazine|title=George C. Scott: Tempering a Terrible Fire|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,904935,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081221203634/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,904935,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 21, 2008|access-date=February 19, 2011| magazine=Time|date=March 22, 1971 }}</ref>