Ken Scott (born Kenneth E. Schibath; October 13, 1928 – December 2, 1986) was an American actor best known for his work in the film industry during the 1950s, and career in television beyond that.

Biography

Born in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, Scott was the son of interior decorator Ernst Schibath and attended school at

Erasmus Hall High School Erasmus Hall High School was a four-year public high school located at 899–925 Flatbush Avenue between Church and Snyder Avenues in the Flatbush, Brooklyn, Flatbush neighborhood of the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Brookly ...

and Colby Academy. He worked as a truck driver, an artist, an actor, a salesman, and finally a TV announcer at

WDSU-TV WDSU (channel 6) is a television station in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States, affiliated with NBC and owned by Hearst Television. The station's studios are located on Howard Avenue in the city's New Orleans Central Business District, Centra ...

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

. Discovered by producer

Buddy Adler E. Maurice "Buddy" Adler (June 22, 1906 – July 12, 1960) was an American film producer and production head for 20th Century Fox studios. In 1954, his production of '' From Here to Eternity'' won the Academy Award for Best Picture and in 1956, h ...

on a television show, he was contracted to

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...

on Oct. 8, 1956, with his first work narrating the film ''

Three Brave Men ''Three Brave Men'' is a 1956 American drama film directed by Philip Dunne and starring Ray Milland, Ernest Borgnine and Frank Lovejoy. The film was based on real-life events arising in Greenbelt, Maryland,Knepper, Cathy D. ''Greenbelt, Maryla ...

''. Scott had lead roles in several of the studio's

API An application programming interface (API) is a connection between computers or between computer programs. It is a type of software interface, offering a service to other pieces of software. A document or standard that describes how to build ...

second feature A B movie, or B film, is a type of cheap, low-budget commercial motion picture. Originally, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, this term specifically referred to films meant to be shown as the lesser-known second half of a double feature, s ...

s and made appearances in some of Fox's major films. Following his years at Fox he appeared as a guest star on numerous American television series, Scott was cast as

Johnny Ringo John Peters Ringo (May 3, 1850 – July 13, 1882) was an American Old West outlaw loosely associated with the Cochise County Cowboys in frontier boomtown Tombstone, Arizona Territory. He took part in the Mason County War in Texas during which h ...

in the 1963 episode, "The Melancholy Gun", of the

syndicated television Broadcast syndication is the practice of content owners leasing the right to broadcast their content to other television stations or radio stations, without having an official broadcast network to air it on. It is common in the United States whe ...

anthology series An anthology series is a written series, radio, television, film, or video game series that presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a different ca ...

, ''

Death Valley Days ''Death Valley Days'' is an American Western (genre), Western anthology series featuring true accounts of the American Old West, particularly the Death Valley country of southeastern California. Created in 1930 by Ruth Woodman, the program was ...

'', hosted by

Stanley Andrews Stanley Martin Andrews (born Andrzejewski; August 28, 1891 – June 23, 1969) was an American actor perhaps best known as the voice of Daddy Warbucks on the radio program ''Little Orphan Annie'' and later as "The Old Ranger", the first host of ...

. In the storyline, Ringo, an expert gunslinger with a mysterious past, seeks to lead a more respectable life. However, many want to build their reputations by challenging Ringo's shooting skills. Other stars cast in the episode include

Elizabeth MacRae Elizabeth Hendon MacRae (February 22, 1936 – May 27, 2024) was an American actress who performed in dozens of television series and in nine feature films, working predominantly in productions released between 1958 and the late 1980s. Among h ...

who was cast as Ringo's romantic interest, Myra Engles, as well as

Denver Pyle Denver Dell Pyle (May 11, 1920 – December 25, 1997) was an American film and television actor and director. He was well known for a number of television roles from the 1960s through the 1980s, including his portrayal of Briscoe Darling i ...

, cast as a physician. In the 1964 ''Death Valley Days'' episode, "Trial at Belle Springs", Scott played historical figure

Virgil Earp Virgil Walter Earp (July 18, 1843 – October 19, 1905) was an American lawman. He was both deputy U.S. Marshal and City Marshal of Tombstone, Arizona, Tombstone, Arizona Territory, Arizona, when he led his younger brothers Wyatt Earp, Wyatt a ...

, who goes undercover to break a robbery ring run by Belle Wilgus (

Lynn Bari Lynn Bari (born Marjorie Schuyler Fisher, December 18, 1919 – November 20, 1989) was an American film actress who specialized in playing sultry, statuesque man-killers in roughly 150 films for 20th Century Fox, from the early 1930s through t ...

). In 1965, Scott teamed up again with McRae (under a more jaded romantic interest) in the season 10, episode 20 offering “Circus Trick” on ''

Gunsmoke ''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centered on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central charact ...

''.

Select credits

*''

'' (1956) – Naval Investigator (uncredited) *''

The True Story of Jesse James ''The True Story of Jesse James'' is a 1957 American Western drama film adapted from Henry King's 1939 film ''Jesse James'', which was only loosely based on James' life. It was directed by Nicholas Ray, with Robert Wagner portraying Jesse Jame ...

'' (1957) *''

The Way to the Gold ''The Way to the Gold'' is a 1957 American adventure film directed by Robert D. Webb and starring Jeffrey Hunter, Sheree North, and Barry Sullivan. It was released by 20th Century-Fox. Plot After serving his time in prison, Joe Mundy (Hunter) ...

'' (1957) – Intern *''

The Three Faces of Eve ''The Three Faces of Eve'' is a 1957 American drama film presented in CinemaScope, based on the book of the same name about the life of Chris Costner Sizemore, which was written by psychiatrists Corbett H. Thigpen and Hervey M. Cleckley, who a ...

'' (1957) – Earl *'' Stopover Tokyo'' (1957) – Tony Barrett *''

From Hell to Texas ''From Hell to Texas'' is a 1958 American Western film directed by Henry Hathaway and starring Don Murray and Diane Varsi. Plot Ruthless cattle baron Hunter Boyd orders his riders to capture a former ranch-hand, Tod Lohman, suspected of murde ...

'' (1958) – Otis Boyd *''

The Bravados ''The Bravados'' is a 1958 American Cinemascope Western film (color by DeLuxe) directed by Henry King, starring Gregory Peck and Joan Collins. The CinemaScope film was based on a novel of the same name, written by Frank O'Rourke. Plot Jim ...

'' (1958) – Primo – Deputy Sheriff *''

The Fiend Who Walked the West ''The Fiend Who Walked the West'' is a 1958 American Western film based on the 1947 film noir '' Kiss of Death''. Almost a horror western, the story involves a psychotic ex-convict terrorising his former cellmate and his family. The director wa ...

'' (1958) – Paul Finney *''

Woman Obsessed ''Woman Obsessed'' is a 1959 American romantic drama film directed by Henry Hathaway and starring Susan Hayward, Stephen Boyd, Barbara Nichols, Dennis Holmes, Theodore Bikel, Ken Scott, James Philbrook, and Florence MacMichael. The screenpl ...

'' (1959) – Sergeant Le Moyne *'' This Earth Is Mine'' (1959) – Luigi Griffanti *''

A Private's Affair ''A Private's Affair'' is a 1959 American musical comedy film directed by Raoul Walsh. It stars Sal Mineo and Christine Carère. The film was nominated for a Golden Globe in 1960. Plot Two men from New York—Luigi, a hip wanna-be beatnik, an ...

'' (1959) – Sgt. Tevlin (uncredited) *'' Five Gates to Hell'' (1959) – Dr. John Richter *''

Beloved Infidel ''Beloved Infidel'' is a 1959 American DeLuxe Color biographical drama film made by 20th Century Fox in CinemaScope and based on the relationship of F. Scott Fitzgerald and Sheilah Graham. The film was directed by Henry King and produced by ...

'' (1959) – Robinson *''

Desire in the Dust ''Desire in the Dust'' is a 1960 American neo noir crime film released by the Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation, directed by William F. Claxton, produced by Robert L. Lippert and starring Raymond Burr, Martha Hyer and Joan Bennett. The sc ...

'' (1960) – Lonnie Wilson *'' The Fiercest Heart'' (1961) – Harry Carter *''

Pirates of Tortuga ''Pirates of Tortuga'' is a 1961 American swashbuckler film which invented an alternate history for the actual Welsh privateer Henry Morgan. It was released in October 1961 in the United States in CinemaScope. Plot In the 17th century, a Welsh c ...

'' (1961) – Bart Paxton *'' The Second Time Around'' (1961) – Sheriff Burns *''

Police Nurse ''Police Nurse'' is a 1963 American drama film directed by Maury Dexter and written by Harry Spalding. The film stars Ken Scott, Merry Anders, Oscar Beregi (Jr.), Barbara Mansell, John Holland and Byron Morrow. The film was released in May 1963, ...

'' (1963) – Art Devlin *'' Raiders from Beneath the Sea'' (1964) – Bill Harper *''

'' (1965) - Ken Scott, Episode: The Red Shawl *'' The Naked Brigade'' (1965) – Christo *'' The Murder Game'' (1965) – Steve Baldwin *''

Fantastic Voyage ''Fantastic Voyage'' is a 1966 American science fiction adventure film directed by Richard Fleischer and written by Harry Kleiner, based on a story by Otto Klement and Jerome Bixby. The film is about a submarine crew who is shrunk to microsco ...

'' (1966) – Secret Service *''

Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...

'' (1967) – Riddler henchman (Down) *'' The St. Valentine's Day Massacre'' (1967) – Policeman (uncredited) *''

Psych-Out ''Psych-Out'' is a 1968 American psychedelic film about hippies, psychedelic music and recreational drugs starring Susan Strasberg, Jack Nicholson (the film's leading man despite being billed under supporting player Dean Stockwell) and Bruce ...

'' (1968) – Preacher *''

The Roommates ''The Roommates'' is a 1973 American thriller film directed by Arthur Marks, starring Pat Woodell, Marki Bey, Roberta Collins, Laurie Rose, and Christina Hart. Plot Five young women named Beth, Brea, Carla, Heather, and Heather's cousin Paula ...

'' (1973) – Marty *''

The Gumball Rally ''The Gumball Rally'' is a 1976 American action comedy film, directed and co-written by Charles Bail, a former stunt coordinator also known as Chuck Bail, about an illicit coast-to-coast road race. It was inspired by the Cannonball Baker Sea-t ...

'' (1976) *''The Boob Tube Strikes Again!'' (1977) – Rabbi *''Double Exposure'' (1983) – Husband

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, Ken 1928 births 1986 deaths 20th Century Studios contract players American male film actors American male television actors Male actors from Brooklyn 20th-century American male actors