Scott Forbes Biography

Conrad Scott-Forbes (11 September 1920 – 25 February 1997), popularly known as Scott Forbes, was a film and television actor and screenwriter. In his later career as a screenwriter, he was credited as C. Scott Forbes.

Early years

Forbes was born in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. He attended Repton, and then studied Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at Balliol College, Oxford. He worked for the Ministry of Defence before settling on a performing career.

Acting career

In the 1940s Forbes used the name Julian Dallas, appearing in Night Boat to Dublin (1946), Mrs. Fitzherbert (1947), But Not in Vain (1948), This Was a Woman (1948) and The Reluctant Widow (1950). He also appeared on the stage as Julian Dallas, spending a year with the Liverpool Old Vic, and in London under the direction of John Gielgud in The Cradle Song, among other plays.

Following his few British productions, he moved to the U.S. and quickly found film work. Consigned mainly to action roles in Warner Bros. films such as Rocky Mountain (1950) and Operation Pacific (1951), Forbes played more in-depth characters on TV. He was Maxim de Winter in "Rebecca" in a live performance for the Broadway Television Theatre in 1952. He played the Duke of Cornwall in Peter Brook's 1953 television adaptation of King Lear with Orson Welles as Lear. One of his best known roles was on The Deep Six, which was a 1953 installment of NBC's Robert Montgomery Presents. In the 1955-56 season, he guest starred in NBC's western anthology series Frontier, hosted by Walter Coy.

On Broadway, Forbes appeared in two plays with Cedric Hardwicke, one of them directed by Hardwicke. Horses in Midstream had only four performances in 1953, while The Burning Glass played a slightly more successful twenty-eight performances the following year.

In 1956, Forbes starred in the title role of CBS's The Adventures of Jim Bowie. This historically based series was an immediate hit with younger viewers, even though some adult reviewers criticised it for having too much violence. In preparation for the part Forbes trained with a former Miss Alabama, Jeanne Moody, to perfect a convincing Southern accent. He and Moody had married in 1954. The series rocketed Forbes to fame, but made it hard for him to find other parts. On 3 December 1959 Forbes appeared as a homesteader, Cass Taggart, in the episode "Rebel Ranger" of CBS's Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theater. Joan Crawford is cast as Stella Faring, a Confederate widow from Texas who tries to reclaim her former home and the birthplace of her son Rob, played by Don Grady, from the Unionist owner Taggart. Character actor John Anderson is cast as Fisk Madden, who tries to drive Taggart off his land and gain Stella's favor. The episode ends with Stella and Rob heading into a nearby town with the understanding that Taggart would call upon Stella for possible courtship.

After Jim Bowie ended its two-year run in 1958, Forbes returned to Great Britain, where he became a frequent guest star in television dramas. In 1963, he played the lead in the world premier of Harold Pinter's play "The Lover" on the London stage.

Writing career

Pinter encouraged him to pursue his interest in writing, and in 1964 Forbes's own play, "The Meter Man", was produced. It was later made into the film called The Penthouse. Forbes remained active as a screenwriter and television actor into the 1970s. In his later years, he shunned public life, pursuing his interests in writing and classical music.

Death

He died in 1997 in Swindon, Wiltshire, at the age of 76.

Selected filmography

Actor

• Night Boat to Dublin (1946)
• Mrs. Fitzherbert (1947)
• But Not in Vain (1948)
• This Was a Woman (1948)
• The Reluctant Widow (1950)
• Rocky Mountain (1950)
• Operation Pacific (1951)
• Charade (1953)
• Subterfuge (1968)
• The Mind of Mr. Soames (1970)

Screenwriter

• Perfect Friday (1970)