Rage and Glory: The Volatile Life and Career of George C. Scott [Hardcover]

David Sheward (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2008

George C. Scott (1927-1999) born in Wise, Virginia, created some of the 20th century's most memorable performances on stage and screen - the cunning prosecutor in Anatomy of a Murder, the manipulative gambler in The Hustler, the buffoonishly warmongering chief of staff in Dr. Strangelove, and, of course, the brilliant and rebellious Patton. He also played Willy Loman, Richard III, Mussolini, Scrooge, Fagin, and countless others. But his offstage life was as filled with drama and controversy as any of the lives he portrayed with such intensity. He refused the Oscar for Patton, battled with TV networks to include realistic elements in his series East Side/West Side, invested (and lost) his own money on Broadway and in the scandalous film The Savage is Loose, married five times (twice to Colleen Dewhurst) and had a tempestuous affair with Ava Gardner, traveled to Vietnam at the height of the war to write an article for Esquire magazine, and weathered a damaging sexual harassment suit. In the first complete biography of this great star, David Sheward documents Scott's artistry as well as his roller-coaster career. Featuring interviews with numerous colleagues including Nathan Lane, Karl Malden, Piper Laurie, and Eva Marie Saint, as well as friends and family members, Rage and Glory pays tribute to one of our finest and fieriest actors.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

David Sheward (Queens, New York) is the executive editor and theatre critic for Back Stage, the weekly publication for the performing artist. He is also the author of It's a Hit: The Back Stage Book of Broadway's Longest Running Hits and The Big Book of Show Business Awards. He appears regularly on the New York City cable television station New York-1 News' On Stage program as a contributing correspondent.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 430 pages
• Publisher: Applause Books (October 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1557836701
• ISBN-13: 978-1557836700
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #686,008 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars To Have and Have Not, December 6, 2008

By 

Nicholas E. Sarantakes (Newport, RI) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Rage and Glory: The Volatile Life and Career of George C. Scott (Hardcover)

I am currently writing a book on the making of "Patton" and was eager to read this George C. Scott biography, given the actor's key role in that film. I write this review with mixed feelings. David Sheward has done an impressive job of interviewing Scott's friends and family in an effort to develop the man's personality and character. He has also consulted the numerous interviews that Scott did throughout the years. These resources are usually the only type of primary resources available for doing the history of the film industry. When I was in school at USC, I quickly learned that Hollywood does a horrible job of preserving its written records.

The result is that Sheward has some news stories tell about Scott. The man was a brilliant actor with few peers, but he was horrible insecure and full of self-loathing. When things went wrong, be it on the set or in his personal life, he got angry, really, really angry. He overcompensated with the bottle and alcohol only fueled his rage. Film buffs, however, have known about Scott's personal demons for years; he was quite upfront about them.

The ultimate problem with this book is that it offer its readers no new insights into the man. Sheward--through no fault of his own--never interviewed his subject and had no direct access to letters, diaries, or oral histories. As a result, you get a feel for how Scott moved through the acting profession and how many people felt about him, but the man himself seems a little absent from his own story.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent study of Scott -- One of cinema's giants, March 21, 2009

By 

John H. Foote "John H. Foote" (Toronto, Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Rage and Glory: The Volatile Life and Career of George C. Scott (Hardcover)

FINALLY A BOOK ON GEORGE C. SCOTT...AND A DAMNED FINE ONE!!!
George C. Scott was among the greatest actors in movie history, his performance in Patton (1970) one of the greatest pieces of acting ever put on film. But he was a man plagued with rage, self loathing and a ferocious temper that exploded it seems at the most inopportune times. He was a difficult interview (trust me, I tried) but possessed the ability to channel most of his rage into his work.
Sheward's book is excellent, a fine study of a man we will never understand because he never understood himself. The author captures the many contradictions that made Scott the prickly personality he was, but the writer also captures the sublime artist that was Scott.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Lightweight Look at a Heavyweight, November 2, 2008

By 

Richard Masloski (New Windsor, New York USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rage and Glory: The Volatile Life and Career of George C. Scott (Hardcover)

On page 295 of Mr. Sheward's bio of the great George C. Scott, mention is made of Scott's desire to star in an unrealized film of "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee" -"the best-selling book on an Indian massacre of 1876." Well, Custer's Last Stand happened in that centennial year...but not Wounded Knee. That atrocity happened in 1890. A trifling error...perhaps.

On page 275 of the book here under discussion, according to the author Scott - in preparation for the make-up applications for his role in "Beauty and the Beast" - had a "death mask" made. Well, since George C. was alive at the time, the correct phrase would be "life mask." Only dead people can have death masks made of their features. Many, most people on some level realize this. A trifling error, perhaps.

On page 104, the author writes with regards to Stanley Kubrick's approach to film: "Singular in his vision, Kubrick was most concerned with the grand sweep of his overall design. ...the director was most intrigued with the look of his films, and not as focused on the acting, music or script." Now, anyone who knows anything at all about Kubrick knows that this take on his approach to cinema is absolute nonsense. Kubrick cared about EVERYTHING with regards to his movies - even down to poster design and the sound systems of the theatres wherein his films played. A trifling error, perhaps.

Perhaps not, though. These few trifling errors are ones I was able to catch. However, not being an authority on the life of George C. Scott makes one wonder, therefore, how much else in this book is fallacious. How many other errors slipped under the radar? I think I also got a sense of a book written more for profit than privilege when Scott's magnificent performance in "The Hustler" is touched upon and not a word is said of his interactions with either of his costars Paul Newman or Jackie Gleason. From then on the book seems cobbled together by press clippings, movie and theatre reviews and somewhat shallow interviews with some of the players in Scott's life. The book, basically, has none of the "rage and glory" of the book's very title: it ends up being little more than a linear laundry list. The great actor deserves better and will hopefully get a truly in-depth treatment in the future, something along the lines of Peter Manso's Herculian take on "Brando." I hope so, anyway.