Zachary Scott

Zachary Scott epitomized the type of Hollywood scoundrel in possession of qualities women could not resist. The actor was suave and handsome, cut a dashing figure and owned a profile John Barrymore might have envied. From his initial screen appearance, Scott became an instant star, a hot property for Warner Brothers, and established the pattern for his screen career.

For Scott's film debut, Warner Brothers chose a plum role in a first rate production, "The Mask of Dimitrios" (1944) featuring Faye Emerson as Scott's love interest. Scott played the title role of a vicious and ruthless smuggler pursued by Sydney Greenstreet as the man he betrayed and Peter Lorre's writer looking for a story.

Throughout his career, Scott would be cast to play a vast array of cads, villains, and murderers even to his final film, "It's Only Money" (1962), a Jerry Lewis vehicle. The film exhibits the typical brand of Lewis silliness with Jerry's television repairman marked for murder by crooked lawyer Scott. In 18 years of screen acting, Zachary Scott never truly progressed beyond portraying a disreputable character in support of other stars and he did it well. Scott once stated he didn't mind playing villains because they are usually the more interesting parts.

Success did not come quickly. Scott achieved stardom at 30 after years of being a struggling stage actor. However, unlike most actors, Scott had the advantage of falling back on the affluence of his wealthy Texas family. Scott once said if he had not become an actor, he would have taken up ranching and farming on the family's Long S Ranch.

Zachary Scott was born February 24, 1914 in Austin, Texas to a family claiming ancestors who arrived in America in 1694 at Fredricksburg, Virginia. His father was a retired surgeon was Johns Hopkins Hospital who settled down to a life of performing agricultural experiments on the ranch. Scott had visions of making a western about his family but this never came to pass.