George C. Scott Dead At 71

(CBS)  Just three weeks shy of his 72nd birthday, movie legend George C. Scott died late Wednesday at his California home of a ruptured aneurysm.

The lasting image of the actor is a man in full military uniform, standing at attention in front of a huge American flag, reports CBS News Correspondent Frank Settipani. The gruff, fiercely private man became Patton, in the 1970 movie that propelled him to an Oscar and super-stardom.

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George C. Scott's early years may have prepared him for Patton more than anything he ever learned about acting. Born in 1927 to a Virginia coal mining family, Scott felt the depths of the Depression.

He served in the Marines in the years following World War II, then struggled to make a living as an actor on the New York stage in the early 50s.

Then came Patton. Scott snubbed the Hollywood establishment by never accepting his Oscar. And for years he wrestled with how he felt about the role.

Patton helped give Scott a larger-than-life presence in the roles that followed. He played a bitter cop, an outraged father and an alcoholic doctor among others. He watched 13 hours of newsreels to prepare for a TV mini-series about Mussolini. His temper made co-stars cower. He became a demanding director.

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George C. Scott in Patton

Scott also was recognized by the Academy with nominations in 1959 for Best Supporting Actor (Anatomy of a Murder); 1961 for Best Supporting Actor (The Hustler); and 1971 Best Actor (The Hospital). He has also won four New York Film Critics Circle Awards.

By the mid-1980's, George C. Scott was grumbling that the roles he was being offered were "junk." His solution was to put on the four-star general's uniform once again--for the TV movie, The Last Days of Patton. It told the story of the last 40 days of Patton's life.

Married five times – twice to actress Collen Dewhurst - Scott was forced by sudden illness to leave the stage in a 1996 theater production of Inherit the Wind.

©1999, CBS Worldwide Inc., All Rights Reserved. CBS Radio News producer Steve Kathan contributed to this report