American actor Randolph Scott was BOTD in 1898. Born in Orange County, Virginia to a wealthy Southern family, he was raised in North Carolina, attending private schools and excelling in sports. He joined the Army in 1917, fighting in France during World War One, and was honorably discharged in 1919. After working as an accountant, he moved to Los Angeles to pursue a film career. Tall, athletic, rakishly handsome and an expert horseman and sharpshooter, he was a natural for Westerns, becoming a star as the lead in Heritage of the Desert and The Last of the Mohicans. He also appeared in a number of romantic comedies, including My Favourite Wife with his close friend Cary Grant. Scott and Grant lived together at a beach house in Malibu for many years (nicknamed “Bachelor Hall”), remaining roommates even after Grant’s first marriage. Scott’s career as a cowboy hero was confirmed in Abeline Town, and he worked into his 60s, making seven Westerns with Budd Boetticher. After starring in Sam Peckinpah’s 1962 film Ride the High Country, he retired to his mansion in Beverly Hills, partying with Fred Astaire and voting for the Republican Party. Briefly married to heiress Marion DuPont, he married Patricia Stillman in 1944, with whom he had a son, remaining together until his death in 1987, aged 89. Biographers and historians continue to debate whether Scott and Grant were lovers, a claim supported by friends including director George Cukor but vigorously denied by their respective families.