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(Courtesy of Minard Coons)

Above - Harry Harvey Sr. and Fred Scott. Harvey was Fred's helper in the final four films produced by C. C. Burr and directed by Raymond K. Johnson. Harvey did many character roles in movies and television - examples: he was manager Joe McCarthy in THE PRIDE OF THE YANKEES (1942), the saga of Yankee baseball player Lou Gehrig (played by Gary Cooper); he was the doctor describing June Allyson's medical issues to James Stewart in THE GLENN MILLER STORY (1954); and he portrayed "Sheriff Tom Blodgett" on the ROY ROGERS TV show.



(From Old Corral collection)

Jean Carmen has won the negotiations on who does the clothes washin' in this still with Fred Scott from IN OLD MONTANA (Spectrum, 1939). Jean Carmen is best remembered when she was billed as "Julia Thayer" and rode the paint horse in THE PAINTED STALLION (Republic, 1937) cliffhanger.



(Courtesy of Les Adams)

Left to right are Harry Harvey, John Ward, and Fred Scott in a still from RIDIN' THE TRAIL (Arthur Ziehm, 1941?). Filmed in late 1939, this C. C. Burr production got lost or forgotten during the death throes of Spectrum Pictures. It got picked up and released by Arthur Ziehm, and the earliest review I found was in the January 14, 1942 issue of The Exhibitor tradezine. And that review was very negative.



(Courtesy of Scott Thompson)

Several years after his Spectrum series ended, Fred Scott starred in RODEO RHYTHM (PRC, 1942) which featured Roy Knapp's Juvenile Rough Riders Kids. Scott Thompson's Mom, Donna Jean Meinke, was in the film as a lil' girl named Juanita, and she's standing next to Scott in the above photo.



(Courtesy of Andy Southard)

Fred Scott, circa 1942 ... with a mustache. Fred's note to Andy Southard reads:

Dear Andy -
This is the last still I ever made in westerns.
Your friend
Fred Scott



On the trail of Frederick Leedom Scott
The Family Search website (free), Ancestry.com (subscription), newspapers, trade publications, and the California Death Index provide more on Fred Scott and family:

  • Ancestry.com had the Fresno, California birth registration ledger - Frederick L. Scott was born February 14, 1902 to Chancellor Scott and Violet Patterson.
  • 1910 census summary and census takers worksheet - 33 year old Chance H. Scott (born California; occupation "Mason and Builder - house"), his 27 year old wife Violet N. (born California), 8 year old son Fred (born California) and 6 year old daughter Margaret (born California) reside in Fresno, California: https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MV2F-LY6
  • 1920 census summary and census takers worksheet - renting in Fresno, California are 41 year old Chancellor H. Scott (born California; occupation "Inspector - Building"), his 39 year old wife Violette N. (born California), 17 year old son Fred N. (born California), 16 year old daughter Margaret (born California) and 8 year old son Leedom (born California): https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MH3G-J85
  • 1930 census summary and census takers worksheet - 53 year old Chancellor H. Scott (born California; occupation "Builder - Building Trade"), his 50 year old wife Violet N. (born California), 28 year old son Fred L. (born California; occupation "Motion P. Actor"), and 18 year old son Leedom S. (born California) are renting in Los Angeles. Also residing there are brother- and sister-in-law Charles Leedom (61 years old; born Ohio) and his wife Helen M. (56 years old; born Illinois): https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XCVS-N2Q
  • June 18 or 19, 1932 Los Angeles marriage license of 30 year old Fred Leedom Scott (born California; single) to 25 year old Audrey Farncroft (born California; her second marriage). His parents were Chancellor H. Scott and Violet Peterson (both born California). Occupations of Fred and Audrey are "Singer - Radio concert":
    https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G93H-SKL6?mode=g&i=2378&cc=1804002
    https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L93H-SFSK?mode=g&i=2379&cc=1804002
  • Newspaper Archive had several mid June, 1935 Nevada newspapers - Audrey Farncroft Scott filed for divorce in Reno, Nevada and her divorce from Fred Leedom Scott was finalized on/about June 19, 1935.
  • There was a second marriage for Fred. Sometime in the mid 1930s, he tied the knot with Mary Kathryn Grable and they were together through his death in 1991.
    According to Family trees on Ancestry.com, Mary Kathryn Grable was born in Florida about 1910.
  • August 16, 1937 issue of Film Daily: "Fred Scott, cowboy star appearing in Jed Buell Prods., is the father of a baby girl, Helen May, born Aug. 7."
    California Birth Index has a record for Helen May Scott, born August 7, 1937, and mother's maiden name was Grable: https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V2Q6-LPZ
  • 1940 census summary and census takers worksheet - owning their home at 2626 Corinth Avenue, Los Angeles are 38 year old Fred Scott (born California), his 29 year old wife Mary (born Florida), 2 year old daughter Helen May (born California) and Fred's uncle and aunt, 70 year old Charles Leedom (born Ohio) and 66 year old Helen May Leedom (born Illinois). Fred's occupation is "Actor - Moving Pictures" and in 1939, he worked 3 weeks and earned $3000.00: https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K9CR-56V
  • California Birth Index has a record for Brenda Lee Scott, born July 17, 1940 and mother's maiden name was Grable: https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V2QG-L9V
  • Ancestry.com had the World War II draft registration dated February 16, 1942 for 40 year old Fred Leedom Scott. He was born February 14, 1902 in Fresno, California. He and wife Mary reside at 2626 Corinth Avenue, West Los Angeles, California. Employment is "Florintine [sic] Gardens, Hollywood Boulevard and Gower, Los Angeles". Fred is 6 feet tall and weighs 195 pounds.
  • 89 year old Fred Scott passed away from a heart attack on December 16, 1991 at the Desert Hospital in Palm Springs, California. Death notice at the The Desert Sun (Palm Springs, California) newspaper: https://www.newspapers.com/clip/64296714/death-notice-on-singing-cowboy-fred/
  • California Death Index has a record for Fred Leedom Scott, born February 14, 1902 and passed away December 16, 1991 in Riverside County, California: https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VPXV-RK9
  • California Death Index has a record for Mary Kathryn Scott, born March 16, 1910 in Florida and passed away on September 4, 1995 in the San Bernardino, California area: https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VPV2-JVF

Links
  Although some of the data is incomplete or inaccurate, the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) has film information on Fred Scott, Al "Fuzzy" St. John, Harry Harvey, Jed Buell, and C. C. Burr:

     Fred Scott: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0779148/
     Al 'Fuzzy' St. John: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0820607/
     Harry Harvey, Sr.: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0367543/
     Cliff Nazarro: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0623400/
     Jed Buell: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0119148/
     C. C. Burr: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0122991/

Newspaper clippings:

December, 1935 - January, 1936 - both Fred Scott (singing) and future wife Mary (as dancer "Marietta") were performing at the Biltmore Bowl at the Los Angeles Biltmore Hotel:
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/74241133/the-los-angeles-times/
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/74241207/daily-news/

Photo and article on realtor Fred Scott, 1961 president of the Allied Brokers of California (realtor association): https://www.newspapers.com/clip/74601210/los-angeles-evening-citizen-news/

1962 newspaper ad for Fred Scott, Realtor, with offices at 3303 Cahuenga Boulevard, Los Angeles: https://www.newspapers.com/clip/74722769/1930s-western-movie-hero-fred-scott/

YouTube has Fred doing a pirate impression in the 1945 soundie titled "Treasure Chest": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dhp7QlPAc_A

Sunset Carson interviewed many western movie personalities for his "Hollywood Nostalgia Theater". Here's Sunset in a couple interviews with Fred Scott:
     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftSu4WZXH9A
     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cv4IMJyPs24

Several of Fred Scott's westerns can be downloaded or streamed from YouTube and the Internet Archive:
     Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/moviesandfilms?and%5B%5D=%22fred+scott%22&sin=
     YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=%22fred+scott+westerns%22

Fred's daughter Brenda donated many production stills from her dad's films to the Autry Museum of the American West: http://collections.theautry.org/mwebcgi/mweb.exe?request=advanced;_t1103=fred%20scott;dtype=d

Fred Scott received his Golden Boot award at the 1988 awards program. If you want more info, go to the Golden Boot Awards page on the Old Corral.

Boyd Magers' Western Clippings website has reviews of Scott's westerns: http://www.westernclippings.com/westernsof/fredscott_westernsof.shtml


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