I wondered why Scott never inspired a biography until now – he was a genuine box office star for a time there as well as being one of the most critically acclaimed actor of his generation, and a very colourful character. Maybe he was just too much of a wanker – constantly smacking women and getting drunk on location, wasting his talent in inferior films. I’ve always wished there was one, because he did an excellent interview reproduced on the Images website which piqued my curiosity.
Scott discovered acting while studying journalism at the University of Missouri; his first acting job was the defence lawyer in The Winslow Boy and it’s not hard to imagine even a green George C Scott being sensational in the role. It’s hard to break into acting but easier for good looking, masculine men with tremendous presence – there’s always jobs going for bosses and presidents.
He married while still at uni (to an actor), soon fathering two children. This didn’t stop him from going off to New York to establish himself as an actor with his girlfriend (another actor), leaving the wife and kids back home. The girlfriend got pregnant, so Scott hit her and later tried to smother her with a pillow. Both the wife and girlfriend left him (and remarried), then Scott got married again (a third actor) and became a father again.
A second move to New York saw his career finally take off via an impressive turn on stage as Richard III. He soon established himself off Broadway (William Goldman says when he saw him on stage in Children of Darkness it was like being hit with a powerful force, a recognition of greatness, only comparable to Al Pacino in The Indian Wants the Bronx and Brando in Streetcar). There was also small screen success in the Golden Years of TV. He left wife number three and their child for Colleen Dewhurst (another actor).
During all this time Scott was always getting drunk and into fights – he would hit strangers in bars, his wives and girlfriends. He constantly cheated (he tried to leave Dewhurst for Ava Gardner and later left her for another actor, Trish Van Dere), brawled (he seriously beat Gardner and Dewhurst) and gave magnificent performances. Always respected as an actor, for a brief moment Patton turned him into a genuine box office name and he enjoyed some follow up hits (The Hospital and New Centurions) before a series of flops reduced his status as a star… although never as a name actor. (He turned down a number of major films including Network and The Godfather.) He constantly returned to stage, having two big hits in Plaza Suite and Sly Fox. In the 80s and 90s the quality of his output (performances and works in which he appeared) steadily declined, but he remained in demand until his death.
I don't think I've ever read a biography were I kept thinking "this guy should have gone to gaol". A month or two behind bars in the 60s might have done Scott the world of good. Obviously a tormented man, but even after reading this I'm not sure why - I don't think Sheward is, either. But being a good biographer (solid research, lucid writing) he sets out the facts as best he can and lets the reader draw his own conclusions. The million dollar question - would Scott have been as good an actor without his demons?
It's a thorough overlook of Scott's life and career - marriages, family, kids, houses, directorial career (a lot more extensive than I'd thought). Sheward is particularly strong on theatre, with lively recreations of some of Scott's productions, including working with Nathan Lane, Larry Gelbart, etc. Scott was intelligent - but not as intelligent as I think he needed so be. Certainly not enough to lay off the booze or be a decent producer. Marvellous actor, though.
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