Zachary Thomson Scott, Jr. was an actor. He was born in Austin, Texas to Zachary Thomson Scott, Sr. (1880 – 1964) and Sallie Lee Masterson Scott (1888 – 1983) on February 21, 1914. His father was a medical doctor who practiced most of his career in Austin. Zachary, Sr. happened to be studying medicine in Galveston in September 1900 when the hurricane struck the island. A 1978 newspaper account from the Galveston Daily News related that the future Dr. Scott was there at an infirmary working as an orderly when he decided to try and make a quick trip to see his parents in Central Texas. Zachary Sr.’s father, Richmond Lewis Scott was a dairy farmer in Bosque County in the Clifton area. The young man walked to the station and was told that they weren’t selling any tickets because the tracks were already partially submerged by water. So, he returned to the infirmary where he continued to work and helped others as the storm pounded the island. He survived the storm, completed medical school and in 1909, he married Sallie Lee Masterson. The couple had three children: Abigail Ann, Zachary, Jr. and Mary Lewis.
Of Zachary, Jr.’s sisters, not as much is known about Abigail Ann. Mary Lewis married Richard Mifflin Kleberg, Jr., grandson of Robert Justus Kleberg of the King Ranch. For many years Richard Kleberg, Jr. was manager of the ranch.
Sallie Masterson, their mother, was the daughter of Robert Benjamin Masterson and Annie Exum Masterson. On his own, R. B. had built a successful cattle operation in the Lampasas area, using the Long S brand. He first married Sallie Lee Exum. They had two children before she died in 1884. He then married her sister Anna Eliza Exum with whom he would have seven children. Soon after their marriage, R. B. and Annie relocated to Mobeetie in the Texas Panhandle and were living there in 1898 when a tornado struck the town, destroying the family home and resulting in the death of their newly born son. R. B. lived well into his 70s before he passed in 1931. Annie survived him another twenty years. Zachary, Jr. sometimes wore a pair of cuff links fashioned out of two gold pieces that had been the first two coins his R. B. Masterson had earned for tilling an acre of land with a team of oxen.
Zachary, Jr.’s Hollywood biographies sometimes mention a connection to the family of William Barclay “Bat” Masterson, a well known figure in the west who once also resided in Mobeetie. These screen biographies sometimes included statements that could not be verified. In the case of Zachary, Jr., according to online genealogy sources, there is no obvious direct connection between the two Masterson families in the United States, though both family lines had roots in Ireland.
Zachary, Jr. attended University of Texas at Austin for a brief time, but withdrew to pursue a career in theater. He is said to have signed on to a freighter that sailed to England. Once there in the United Kingdom, he found work in theatrical productions. He remained in England for about a year and a half until he returned to Texas, still committed to a career in theater. When he was twenty-one, he married an actress named Elaine Anderson. The couple remained married for about fifteen years. While Elaine and Zachary were working in the theater in Austin and Zachary had returned to pursue a degree at University of Texas, they came to the attention of actor Alfred Lunt, a well known actor and husband of actress Lynne Fontanne. Lunt and Fontanne were often cast together in theatrical productions and films. Alfred Lunt recommended the Scotts to producers on Broadway and for a time the Scotts were active in these productions. Zachary was signed by Jack L Warner to a film contract and for the next seven years, he was quite active in films.
His first film, released in 1944, was “The Mask of Dimitrious” in which he was cast as Dimitrous, a mysterious criminal. Actors also cast in the film were Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre and others. His second film for Warner was called “Hollywood Canteen” and included Scott among an enormous cast of current entertainers and future headliners.
After his divorce from Elaine, he suffered an injury from an accident. Scott and another actor named John Emery had gone on a pleasure excursion on a rubber raft off California’s Topanga Canyon. Swamped by a riptide, the raft capsized and Scott was thrown against a rock, knocking him unconscious. Emery was able to get hold of Scott and bring him to shore, saving his life. After being treated by Dr. William Branch for head and side injuries, he recovered and returned to acting. At the time, he had been cast the villain in the feature film “Colt .45” along with actors Randolph Scott, Lloyd Bridges and others. Zachary was able to complete the film, released in 1950.
His former wife Elaine soon married writer John Steinbeck after she and Scott divorced. Scott was married again in 1952 to Ruth Ford to whom he would remain married until his death. Zachary returned to theater and also did numerous television engagements along with selected film appearances. Most of his television roles were single eposodes, although many were in long running series such as “Rawhide,” “The Defenders,” “DuPont Show of the Week. “DuPont Show of the Month,” “U. S. Steel Hour,” “Alfred Hitchcock Presents,” “General Electric Theater” and the like. His last credit was in 1965 and was an appearance in a television series called “The Rogues.” Scott’s typical role, if there was one, might be described as a dark and sometimes sinister character. Scott humorously described it himself as “a heel with charm.”
Image credit: IMDB.com
Scott died in Austin at the home of his mother on October 3, 1965 from a malignant brain tumor. He was fifty-one years old. The actor had complained of not feeling well earlier in the year and had taken radiation treatments for the tumor. Family members described his passing as peaceful after he had lain in a coma for two days. Friends and associates mentioned his civic and charitable activities such as inspiring Hollywood fan clubs to adopt and support war orphans following World War II. A private memorial service was held for the immediate family after which the actor was interred in the family plot at Austin Memorial Park Cemetery.
His honors include a star in the Hollywood Walk of Fame, placed there in 1960. The former Austin Civic Theater was renamed the Zachary Scott Theater in the late 1960s. Now it goes by the shorter name Zach Theater. The theater company there also is called the Zach Theater company and bills itself as the oldest continuously operating theater company in Texas. Founded in 1932, it is also said to be the tenth oldest theater company in the United States.
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