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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.

Born Scott Hastings Beckett on September 30, 1929 in Oakland, California, he and his family moved to Los Angeles when Scotty was 3 years old. Shortly after arriving in LA, Beckett`s father was hospitalized and Scotty would frequently entertain his dad by singing songs. During one such visit, a Hollywood casting director happened to notice the cherubic youngster and told his parents he had movie potential. Scotty made his debut in Gallant Lady (1933) starring Clive Brook and Ann Harding. Scotty played a boy of three in the film, and was succeeded by Dickie Moore, who played the same character at the age of six in the story. It was the first of several connections between the two child stars. The next year, he filled the hole vacated by Moore in Our Gang, and they later appeared as the same character in Heaven Can Wait (1943), portraying Don Ameche as a child. He and Moore finally appeared together in Dangerous Years (1947), which was Marilyn Monroe`s screen debut.

Scotty appeared in fifteen Our Gang shorts in two years. Hal Roach noted a resemblance to Jackie Coogan, and dressed Beckett accordingly, with an over sized 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.

n 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 in such movies as My Reputation (1946) with Barbara Stanwyck and most notably The Jolson Story (1946), where he played the young Al Jolson.

Later on, 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. His nightlife seemed to become more of a priority than his burgeoning acting career, and it started a trend of reckless, irresponsible behavior which plagued Beckett the rest of his life. Early success without any sacrifice often breeds a sense of entitlement and a lack of responsibility or consequence. This seems to be an overriding theme as Beckett began making headlines most Hollywood stars try to avoid.

In 1951, Becket met actress Sunny Vickers. The couple began dating and shortly thereafter, Vickers was pregnant. They married in Phoenix om June 27, 1951. Five months later, Scott Hastings Beckett, Jr. was born. The bad publicity of the divorce from Baker plus the forced marriage to Vickers in the conservative 1950`s immediately made Beckett a Hollywood outcast. Between 1952 and 1954, Scotty only landed two roles in relatively minor films, You`re Only Young Twice (1952) and Hot News (1953). He was beginning to get desperate.

In September of 1963, he was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon. B

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