Editing George C. Scott (section)

===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).