Randolph Scott

Born: January 23, 1898, Orange County, Virginia
Died: March 2, 1987 (aged 89), Beverly Hills, California

Randolph Scott was an American motion picture actor whose career spanned from 1928 to 1962. As a leading man for all but the first three years of his cinematic career, Scott appeared in a variety of genres, including social dramas, crime dramas, comedies, musicals , adventure tales, war films, and even a few horror and fantasy films. 

His most enduring image is that of the tall-in-the-saddle Western hero. Out of his more than 100 film appearances more than 60 were in Westerns; thus, "of all the major stars whose name was associated with the Western, Scott most closely identified with it."

1. In Blazing Saddles, when the townspeople refuse to support the town's sheriff, they relent after the sheriff tells them: "You'd do it for Randolph Scott."

• True or False?

2. Fortunately, Scott's father had become acquainted with a Hollywood filmmaker and provided a letter of introduction for his son to present to the eccentric millionaire filmmaker. The filmmaker responded by getting Scott a small part in a George O'Brien film called Sharp Shooters (1928). Who is the filmmaker?

• Louis B. Mayer
• Jack Warner
• Howard Hughes

3. On the advice of director Cecil B. DeMille, Scott also gained much-needed acting experience by performing in stage plays. Where did he act on stage?

• Pasadena Playhouse
• Broadway
• Bucks County Playhouse

4. Under contract to Paramount Pictures, in 1932, they cast him as the lead in his first significant starring role and also the one that establish him as a Western hero. What was the movie?

5. In 1935 and 1936, he made two musicals. He plays a lunkheaded but likable pal. Who was the star?

• Richard Rogers
• Gene Kelly
• Fred Astaire

6. In 1936, Scott, on another loan starred in yet another adventure classic. A big hit in its day, the film gave Scott his first unqualified 'A' picture success as a lead. What is the movie?

7. For 20th Century Fox Scott supported their child star in Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1938) and Susanna of the Mounties (1939). Who was the child star?

• Judy Garland
• Shirley Temple
• Mickey Rooney

8. In 1946, after playing roles that had him wandering in and out of the saddle for many years, Scott appeared in Abilene Town, an RKO release which cast him in what would become one of his classic images, the fearless lawman cleaning up a lawless town. The film "cemented Scott's position as a cowboy hero" and from this point on all but two of his starring films would be Westerns.

• True or False?

9. In 1962 Scott made his final film appearance in Ride the High Country, a film now regarded as a classic. It co-starred Joel McCrea. Who directed the film?

• John Ford
• Sam Peckinpah
• Budd Boetticher

10. Scott died of heart and lung ailments.

• True or False?

11. Where is Randolph Scott buried?

• Elmwood Cemetery, Charlotte, North Carolina
• Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery, Glendale, California
• Orange County Memorial Park, Orange, Virginia

Randolph Scott Answers

1. True
2. Howard Hughes
3. Pasadena Playhouse
4. Heritage of the Desert
5. Fred Astaire
6. The Last of the Mohicans
7. Shirley Temple
8. True
9. Sam Peckinpah
10. True
11. Elmwood Cemetery, Charlotte, North Carolina
    Plot: Section R