Appearances

Title	Role	Year	Approx. Age
Rocky Jones, Space Ranger	Winky	1954	25
The Happy Years	Tennessee Shad	1950	21
Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves	Ali Baba as a child	1944	15
The Boy from Stalingrad	Pavel	1943	14
Listen Darling	Billie Wingate	1938	9
Anthony Adverse	Anthony Adverse Jr.	1936	7

Scott Hastings Beckett, better known as Scotty Beckett was an American child actor born in Oakland, California. He got his start in show business at age 3 when a casting director heard him singing by chance. Beckett was in a hospital visiting his father who was recovering from an illness and was entertaining him by singing songs. A studio casting director who happened to be nearby noticed the child and told his proud parents he had movie potential. Scotty auditioned and landed a part in Gallant Lady (1933), the same year, his father passed away. Scotty Beckett was one of the cutest, most successful child actors of the 1930s and 1940s. His descent into a life of alcoholism, drugs, and crime remains one of the most tragic of Hollywood stories.

Scotty appeared in fifteen Our Gang shorts in two years. Hal Roach noted a resemblance to Jackie Coogan, and dressed Beckett accordingly, with an oversized cap and turtleneck sweater reminiscent of Coogan's outfit in The Kid (1921). He was paired with Spanky McFarland as a kind of team within the gang, and their sideline observations and wisecracks highlighted the series from 1934 until 1936, just as Porky and Buckwheat sparked the one-reelers from 1936 on.

After leaving Our Gang, Beckett ran with the "A" crowd of top stars of the late 30s and early 40s. Among his major credits were Dante's Inferno (1935) with Spencer Tracy, Anthony Adverse (1936) with Fredric March, The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936) with Errol Flynn, Conquest (1937) with Greta Garbo, My Favorite Wife (1940) with Cary Grant, and Kings Row (1942) with Claude Rains, just to name a few.

In 1943 Scotty attended Los Angeles High School, and was named treasurer of his freshman class. He also appeared on Broadway that same year in the play Slightly Married and received the only favorable notices of the production, and played Junior in the hit radio show The Life of Riley. Adolescence did not slow down his film career, as Scotty continued to win roles, most notably The Jolson Story (1946), where he played the young Al Jolson.

He enrolled at USC, but had to drop out when he began receiving more offers from MGM, beginning with Cynthia (1947) with Elizabeth Taylor, A Date with Judy (1948) again with Taylor and Jane Powell, Battleground (1949) with Van Johnson and The Happy Years (1950) with fellow child stars Dean Stockwell and Darryl Hickman.

At around the same time, Scotty began to gain notoriety not only for his acting but also for his nocturnal activities. Part of the young Hollywood jet set, Beckett was a fixture at parties and would frequently be seen with young stars like Roddy McDowall, Jane Powell, Elizabeth Taylor, and Edith Fellows. This started a trend of reckless, irresponsible behavior which plagued Beckett the rest of his life and he began making headlines most Hollywood stars try to avoid.

In 1948 he was arrested for drunk driving after he crashed into another car after attending a frat party where he had "five bourbons". Scotty tried to run from the booking office after being arrested and refused to surrender his possessions. In September of 1949, he eloped with tennis star Beverly Baker. The couple separated after 5 months of marriage, divorcing in June of 1950. Newspapers covered the divorce, citing Baker's allegations of Beckett's jealousy and controlling, abusive behavior.

He went on to play the co-pilot "Winky" on the 1954 TV space opera Rocky Jones, Space Ranger. Winky was to be his last major role; the character was dropped when Beckett was jailed on weapons charges. He made only a few subsequent TV and film appearances, some uncredited bit parts, before leaving show business forever.

On May 8, 1968, Beckett checked into a Hollywood nursing home for injuries caused by a beating (possibly related to a drug deal that went bad). He was found dead in his room two days later. Sleeping pills and a note were found near his body, but an autopsy ruled the cause of death "inconclusive". He was 38.