SCOTTY BECKETT BIOGRAPHY & FILMOGRAPHY:
Scotty Beckett was born on October 4th, 1929 in Oakland, California with the birth name Scott Hastings Beckett. He became a very well known child actor during the 1930's and 1940's.
He was raised in Los Angeles, California and in 1933 he made his film debut at the age of four in, "Gallant Lady". Soon he was adding such film credits to his resume as, "Dante's Inferno" (1935) starring Spencer Tracy, Claire Trevor, Rita Hayworth, Alan Dinehart, Morgan Wallace, Henry B. Walthall and Willard Robertson, "The Charge of the Light Brigade" (1936) starring Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Patric Knowles, C. Henry Gordon and David Niven, Nigel Bruce, Spring Byington, Henry Stephenson, J. Carrol Naish, Charles Sedgwick and Donald Crisp, "Conquest" (1937) starring alongside Greta Garbo, Charles Boyer, Reginald Owen, Alan Marshal, Henry Stephenson, Leif Erickson, Dame May Whitty, George Zucco, Stanley Andrews, Dennis O'Keefe, Charles Middleton, George Houston and Maria Ouspenskaya, "Marie Antoinette" (1938) starring Norma Shearer, Tyrone Power, John Barrymore, Anita Louise, Robert Morley, Joseph Schildkraut, Gladys George, Reginald Gardiner, Barry Fitzgerald, George Meeker, Ruth Hussey, Henry Daniell, Cora Witherspoon and Henry Stephenson, "My Favorite Wife" (1940) starring Irene Dunne, Cary Grant, Randolph Scott, Ann Shoemaker, Pedro de Cordoba, Donald MacBride, Granville Bates and Gail Patrick, "Kings Row" (1942) starring Ann Sheridan, Robert Cummings, Ronald Reagan, Betty Field, Charles Coburn, Claude Rains, Maria Ouspenskaya, Minor Watson, Harry Davenport and Judith Anderson "Heaven Can Wait" (1943) starring Gene Tierney, Don Ameche and Charles Coburn. The supporting cast includes Marjorie Main, Laird Cregar, Spring Byington, Allyn Joslyn, Eugene Pallette, Signe Hasso, Louis Calhern, Tod Andrews and Clara Blandick and "Dangerous Years" (1947) starring Billy Halop, Ann E. Todd, Marilyn Monroe, Jerome Cowan, Dickie Moore, Gil Stratton and Darryl Hickman.
He also starred in a total of fifteen, "Our Gang" shorts in just a two year time period. He played, George 'Spanky' McFarland's best friend. His role was later taken over by Carl 'Alfalfa' Switzer in 1935. He did make a return to appear in 1939 in two more "Our Gang" shorts, "Cousin Wilbur" and "Dog Daze".
Along with working as a child actor he still managed to attend a public high school, Los Angeles High in 1943 and still worked as an actor appearing on Broadway in such productions as, "Slightly Married".
As his career progressed more substantial film roles came his way starring in, "My Reputation" (1946) starring Barbara Stanwyck, Lucile Watson, George Brent, Warner Anderson, Jerome Cowan and Esther Dale, "The Jolson Story" (1946) starring Larry Parks as Al Jolson with Evelyn Keyes, William Demarest, Ludwig Donath and Bill Goodwin, "Cynthia" (1947) starring Elizabeth Taylor, George Murphy, S.Z. Sakall, Mary Astor and Louise Bishop, "A Date with Judy" (1948) starring Wallace Beery, Jane Powell, Elizabeth Taylor, Robert Stack, Carmen Miranda, Xavier Cugat, Leon Ames, Clinton Sundberg and George Cleveland, "Battleground" (1949) starring Van Johnson, John Hodiak, Ricardo Montalban and George Murphy, James Whitmore, Leon Ames, James Arness, Richard Jaeckel, Douglas Fowley, Marshall Thompson, Herbert Anderson, Don Taylor, Jerome Courtland and Bruce Cowling, "Nancy Goes to Rio" (1950) starring Ann Sothern, Jane Powell, Barry Sullivan, Glenn Anders, Carmen Miranda, Louis Calhern, Fortunio Bonanova and Hans Conried and "The Happy Years" (1950) with Dean Stockwell, Darryl Hickman, George Chandler, Leon Ames and Leo G. Carroll.
Although his acting career was quite successful, his personal life was filled with turmoil due to his addiction to drugs and alcohol. He was often headlining the tabloids for the wrong reasons and with numerous failed relationships, his career began to head downhill.
He did add a couple more film roles to his resume such as, "You're Only Young Twice" (1952) starring Duncan Macrae, Joseph Tomelty and Patrick Barr, "Hot News" (1953) with Stanley Clements, Gloria Henry, Ted DeCorsia and Veda Ann Borg and " Rocky Jones, Space Ranger " (1954) starring Richard Crane.
In 1949 he eloped with tennis star, Beverly Baker, however this only lasted five months. He then began dating actress, Sunny Vickers in 1951 and after she became pregnant with his child they married. The couple at one point fled to Mexico after a robbery occurred at a hotel. They were eventually caught and he served four months in a Mexican jail.
Trying to get his life back together, he decided to enroll at USC, however, when "Our Gang" was reissued to return to television he left college trying to make a comeback in the entertainment industry.
He appeared on such films as, "Three for Jamie Dawn" (1956) with Laraine Day, Ricardo Montalban, June Havoc, Regis Toomey and Richard Carlson, "The Oklahoman" (1957) starring Joel McCrea, Barbara Hale, Gloria Talbott, Verna Felton and Brad Dexter and "Monkey on My Back" (1957) starring Cameron Mitchell, Jack Albertson, Paul Richards, Dianne Foster, Kathy Garver and Richard Benedict. Although he felt he was back on track, he again was in trouble with the law trying to bring illegal drugs from Mexico into the United States. With a wife suffering from alcohol abuse herself, he was soon headed for divorce in 1959 and lost custody of his son.
He could not break back into the acting industry and found various other types of employment to support himself. He eventually married for a third time to Margaret C. Sabo in 1961 and they remained together during all his additional arrests, drug abuse, and eventually died of an overdose of barbiturates on May 10th, 1968 in Los Angeles, California at the age of thirty eight.
Filmography
1957 The George Sanders Mystery Theater
1957 Monkey on My Back
1957 The Oklahoman
1957 Public Pigeon No. One
1957 Navy Log
1956 The Millionaire
1956 Three for Jamie Dawn
1956 Telephone Time
1954 Rocky Jones, Space Ranger
1954 The High and the Mighty
1953 Hot News
1953 Armstrong Circle Theatre
1952 Mark Saber
1951 Corky of Gasoline Alley
1951 Gasoline Alley
1950 The Happy Years
1950 Louisa
1950 Nancy Goes to Rio
1949 Battleground
1949 Any Number Can Play
1948 Michael O'Halloran
1948 A Date with Judy
1947 Dangerous Years
1947 Cynthia
1946 The Jolson Story
1946 The Swindlers
1946 Her Adventurous Night
1946 My Reputation
1945 Junior Miss
1945 Circumstantial Evidence
1944 The Climax
1944 Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves
1943 Heaven Can Wait
1943 Good Luck, Mr. Yates
1943 The Boy from Stalingrad
1943 The Youngest Profession
1942 Between Us Girls
1942 It Happened in Flatbush
1942 Kings Row
1942 The Vanishing Virginian
1941 Aloma of the South Seas
1941 Father's Son
1940 Street of Memories
1940 The Flag of Humanity
1940 Gold Rush Maisie
1940 Cinderella's Feller
1940 My Favorite Wife
1940 My Son, My Son!
1940 The Blue Bird
1939 Days of Jesse James
1939 The Royal Rodeo
1939 Our Neighbors - The Carters
1939 The Escape
1939 Mickey the Kid
1939 Dog Daze
1939 Cousin Wilbur
1939 Blind Alley
1939 The Flying Irishman
1939 Love Affair
1938 Listen, Darling
1938 Marie Antoinette
1938 The Devil's Party
1938 No Time to Marry
1937 The Bad Man of Brimstone
1937 Wells Fargo
1937 Conquest
1937 The King Without a Crown
1937 Life Begins with Love
1937 It Happened in Hollywood
1937 Slave Ship
1937 A Doctor's Diary
1937 When You're in Love
1936 The Charge of the Light Brigade
1936 Old Hutch
1936 Anthony Adverse
1936 M-G-M Miniature: Little Boy Blue
1936 The Case Against Mrs. Ames
1936 The Lucky Corner
1935 Our Gang Follies of 1936
1935 I Dream Too Much
1935 Little Papa
1935 Pursuit
1935 Dante's Inferno
1935 Sprucin' Up
1935 Teacher's Beau
1935 Beginner's Luck
1935 Anniversary Trouble
1934 Babes in Toyland
1934 Shrimps for a Day
1934 Mama's Little Pirate
1934 Washee Ironee
1934 Mike Fright
1934 Romance in the Rain
1934 Whom the Gods Destroy
1934 Honky Donkey
1934 The First Round-Up
1934 Stand Up and Cheer!
1934 For Pete's Sake!
1934 George White's Scandals
1934 Hi'-Neighbor!
1934 Sailor Made Widow
1933 I Am Suzanne!
1933 Gallant Lady
