Reynolds Gilmore “Rey” Scott was born on January 9, 1905 in St. Louis, Missouri according to the Missouri Birth Register and his World War II draft card, both at Ancestry.com. Scott’s parents were Raymond Gilmore Scott (1872–1936) and May Reynolds (1882–1906) who married in St. Louis on October 5, 1903.
On June 13, 1906, Scott’s mother died shortly after the birth of his sister, May (1907*–1972). Later, Scott and May were placed in the care of their paternal grandparents, Clark (1846–1916) and Catherine Scott (1844–1941). The 1910 United States Census counted Scott, his sister, grandparents, two aunts, an uncle, a servant and four lodgers on Main Street in Buffalo, West Virginia. Scott’s grandfather operated a general store.
The Cleveland Plain Dealer (Ohio), February 12, 1913, published the first prize essay on Abraham Lincoln by eight-year-old Scott who lived at 1854 East 93rd Street in Cleveland.
On June 13, 1906, Scott’s mother died shortly after the birth of his sister, May (1907*–1972). Later, Scott and May were placed in the care of their paternal grandparents, Clark (1846–1916) and Catherine Scott (1844–1941). The 1910 United States Census counted Scott, his sister, grandparents, two aunts, an uncle, a servant and four lodgers on Main Street in Buffalo, West Virginia. Scott’s grandfather operated a general store.
The Cleveland Plain Dealer (Ohio), February 12, 1913, published the first prize essay on Abraham Lincoln by eight-year-old Scott who lived at 1854 East 93rd Street in Cleveland.
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Scott’s father signed his World War I draft card on September 12, 1918. He lived in St. Louis at 5105 Delmar Street.
According to the 1920 census, Scott and his sister lived with their paternal grandmother (a widow), an uncle and aunt in Cleveland at 1854 East 93rd Street.
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Cleveland Plain Dealer,
November 12, 1925
After graduating high school, Scott enrolled at Bethany College in West Virginia. He was published in the 1925 yearbook, Bethanian. In Scott’s sophomore year, he was a member of the fraternity, Beta Theta Pi. (Scott’s father was also in Beta Theta Pi. In 1942, Scott returned to Bethany and lectured on China.)
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 20, 1928, reported the marriage of Scott’s sister. The newspaper said “The bride entered on the arm of her brother, Reynolds Scott, who gave his sister in marriage.”
Scott’s marriage to Thirma Lockart was reported in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 31, 1931. The marriage ended in divorce.
In Gamblers with Fate (1945), Doug Allan profiled Scott. As a reporter on a St. Louis paper, Scott interviewed Julian Bryan who was a roving photographer. Scott decided to become a photographer and see the world. He traveled to Europe in 1936. Scott was aboard the ship Normandie when it departed Le Havre, France on June 10, 1936. Scott arrived at the Port of New York on June 15. His address on the manifest was 800 Chestnut Street, St. Louis, Missouri.
Scott’s father passed away on June 15, 1936. His estate consisted of two items for his son and daughter.
Thirty-two year-old Scott went to Los Angeles, California where he boarded the ship Lurline which departed on April 3, 1937. Eight days later he arrived in Honolulu, Hawaii. Gamblers with Fate said Scott found work at the Honolulu Advertiser. He was assigned to interview Li Ling-ai who convinced him to witness and film the devastation in China by the Japanese. Four months later on August 28, Scott sailed on the ship Taiyo Maru from Honolulu bound for Kobe, Japan. Scott sailed to either Shanghai or Hong Kong. Two-and-a-half months later, Scott was aboard the same ship when it left Yokohama, Japan. He arrived in Honolulu on November 26, 1937. The manifest listed his address as 2216 Kalia Road, Honolulu.
Aboard the Taiyo Maru, Scott returned to Yokohama. The sailing time was from September 14 to 25, 1938. From there, Scott made his way to China. The Hongkong Telegraph, November 12, 1938, published Scott’s photographs of destruction in Canton here and here.
At Hong Kong, Scott boarded the ship Empress of Japan on November 11, 1938. The ship arrived at Honolulu November 24. Scott’s return to the Mainland began December 9, 1938 on the ship Matsonia. Five days later he was in Los Angeles.
The December 5, 1938 issue of Life published Scott’s photograph as its Picture of the Week. A similar image by Scott was published by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on April 2, 1939.
Scott’s five-day return trip, aboard the Lurline, to Honolulu began on July 7, 1939. His next ship, the Empress of Canada, launched on July 14. Scott disembarked at Hong Kong on July 28, 1939. The Motion Picture Herald, July 15, 1939, said
Scott’s father passed away on June 15, 1936. His estate consisted of two items for his son and daughter.
Thirty-two year-old Scott went to Los Angeles, California where he boarded the ship Lurline which departed on April 3, 1937. Eight days later he arrived in Honolulu, Hawaii. Gamblers with Fate said Scott found work at the Honolulu Advertiser. He was assigned to interview Li Ling-ai who convinced him to witness and film the devastation in China by the Japanese. Four months later on August 28, Scott sailed on the ship Taiyo Maru from Honolulu bound for Kobe, Japan. Scott sailed to either Shanghai or Hong Kong. Two-and-a-half months later, Scott was aboard the same ship when it left Yokohama, Japan. He arrived in Honolulu on November 26, 1937. The manifest listed his address as 2216 Kalia Road, Honolulu.
Aboard the Taiyo Maru, Scott returned to Yokohama. The sailing time was from September 14 to 25, 1938. From there, Scott made his way to China. The Hongkong Telegraph, November 12, 1938, published Scott’s photographs of destruction in Canton here and here.
At Hong Kong, Scott boarded the ship Empress of Japan on November 11, 1938. The ship arrived at Honolulu November 24. Scott’s return to the Mainland began December 9, 1938 on the ship Matsonia. Five days later he was in Los Angeles.
The December 5, 1938 issue of Life published Scott’s photograph as its Picture of the Week. A similar image by Scott was published by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on April 2, 1939.
Scott’s five-day return trip, aboard the Lurline, to Honolulu began on July 7, 1939. His next ship, the Empress of Canada, launched on July 14. Scott disembarked at Hong Kong on July 28, 1939. The Motion Picture Herald, July 15, 1939, said
RKO Pathe News has dispatched ... Rey Scott to Rangoon, following the new military and supply road through French Indo-China to Chungking, provisional capital of the Chinese government for the purpose of filming the present situation in the Orient. ...
Scott was profiled in the Hong Kong Sunday Herald, October 29, 1939.
Three Japanese aeroplanes, flying in formation, were heading south in the direction of Hong Kong. Two young men, lounging in a sampan, watched them and wondered idly where they were going. A single plane might have caused them apprehension, but three or four, flying together, were certain to have a specific objective. Suddenly the planes wheeled, spiralled downwards, and began to drop bombs at the ribbon of water below. The first exploded harmlessly in a rice-field. The second flattened out a corrugated-iron shed. Their aim improved and little fountains spurted up from the river as the shots came nearer to the sampan in which two young men were now crouching. They lay inert as the planes swooped down, released the remainder of their bombs all around them, then mounted into the sky and sped north again. Newsreel Scott and Epstein of United Press breathed with relief and pulled them selves together.
This was but one of Scott’s adventures in his effort to smuggle out of Canton the first and only complete newsreel picture of the evacuation, burning and occupation of the Kwangtung capital. He stayed there whilst the streets were beset by snipers, looters, marauders and a fleeing, panic-stricken population, taking colour pictures of the devastation. As he clicked his camera, whole districts went up in flames and explosions threw massive buildings into the sky and chopped them, in a million fragments, back into the city. The subject of one of his best pictures was a Chinese coolie, who, with fire and death raging around him, sat on a doorstep nonchalantly eating a bowl of rice. It was given a double page in “Life” [December 5, 1938] and now first prize in a ballot for the best picture of the China War. He had another effective, unique of its kind, of the blowing-up of Canton’s ammunition dump, minded by the Chinese, but exploded by the Japanese.
With the roads full of Japanese and the countryside filled with armed and disorganised militia bandits and guerrillas, no one could be found to accompany him on his dash to Hong Kong until he met Epstein. Together they set out. After days of sleeping in ditches, evading outposts and sentries, walking incredible distances across country and being bombed, they were forced to return to the city. Scott had the finest newsreel ever made of the China War. It was in colour, it held the only complete story of the fall of Canton, and it was red-hot news. But it was valueless unless he could get it out. So a day or two later he headed south again, this time accompanied only by a coolie, who carried his kit on a bamboo pole.
The secret of his getaway was that his precious film was in the hollow of the pole. Twice he was arrested and both he and the coolie were searched. His cameras were examined and found empty of spools. Once he found himself in the middle of a skirmish, with Japanese tanks and armoured cars blazing from the roads and guerrillas sniping from the fields. But he reached Hong Kong in safety, with the first newsreel to get out of Canton. He sent it by air for the Pathe News Reel in America. Together with stills for Life and the New York Times. [Black-and-white footage by A.T. Hull, of British Pathe, is here]
Newsreel Scott has been on the move all his life. While still at the University of Wisconsin, he had tramped through almost every state in America, had ridden thousands of miles in freight trains in company with professional hoboes and had spent months picking peaches in Georgia. When he graduated he tried for a cadetship in the U.S. Air Force, but a defective ear disqualified him. After a few months picking beets in Colorado, he walked into the office of the “St. Louis Star Times” and asked for a job as a reporter. Turned down, he offered to work for a fortnight for nothing. This stunt had not then reached its height, but even at that time every newspaper office, radio station and film studio was besieged by out-of-work college graduates, offering to work for nothing. His offer was treated with greater derision than had he asked for a $1,000 a month. So he went out into St. Louis with his camera, brought back unusual stories illustrated with his own photographs and handed them to the city editor. After three days they put him on the salary list. Meanwhile, he went on making pictures, always taking three times as many as he needed and offering for sale only the best of them. Soon he found he could make twice as much money with his camera than he could as a reporter.
Confident in his new found ability, he went to France, landing in Paris with his camera, 24 plates and 12 dollars. He took a garret in Montmartre, slept on the floor, grew his hair long and made friends with poets, painters, and revolutionaries. These friendships gave him a knowledge of the city which enabled him to make an intimate series of pictures of Parisian life.
Then to Hawaii, for a new and profitable profession. He went to join the staff of the “Honolulu Advertiser” and stayed with it till he came to China. [Scott also sold photographs to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.] On the side, however, he worked as a beach photographer. There were already several people “working” Waikiki, all making the poorest of livings. Deciding they used the wrong technique, he evolved a new one. Having inspected the hotel registers, he would go up to a visitor from, say, London and tell him he was making pictures for the “Times” or “Express.” It would be pleasant if they included the photograph of a distinguished Londoner. Would he mind? Generally the visitor was delighted, especially after he was assured that there was nothing to pay. Scott then made 20 or thirty photographs, destroying all but 5 or 6 of the best. Meeting his “victim” by accident next day, he would take the pictures out of his pocket, and, after much argument, would allow himself to be persuaded to sell them. In 9 months he made U.S.$2,500, which he used to buy the best newsreel cameras he could find.
One night, when working in the office of the “Honolulu Advertiser,” came news of the appalling carnage at Shanghai. Next afternoon he was on his way to China, met Pembroke Stevens, who gave him a job with the London “Daily Telegraph,” and at the same time, he made colour films of the war in Shanghai. Soon afterwards Matsui issued his famous edict, in which he threatened to bomb Nanking until every building had been razed to the ground, and every living thing blown off it. Pembroke Stevens sent Scott to film the event. Every inch of the railway was bombed continuously. Scott had to travel 450 miles across country to cover the 90 miles which separate the two cities. He stayed for several weeks during one of the world’s worst bombardments. He was standing on a roof when a bomb, missing him by a few yards, knocked him off his feet and, crashing into the next building, demolished it. Among his best pictures of Nanking are some of Madame Chiang, dressed in beach pyjamas, and W. H. Donald, in his shirt sleeves, directing the rescue of the wounded.
After his adventures in Canton, he toured U.S. for ten months, showing his films and lecturing on the China War. So successful was his tour that he was induced to come East again to make a picture record of China’s effort to re-build her national life in the free areas, and this is the reason for his presence in Hong Kong. He has just come back from Chungking, after taking some hundreds of photographs and color films of the Chinese Red Cross, the new industries which are springing up in the west and south, and the Chinese Industrial Co-operatives. He has some interesting pictures of the new but little publicised “side-door of China,” the road from Haiphong which joins the Chinese road systems at Kweiyung, and of the Miaos, “the shy people,” natives of South-west China concerning whom so little is known.
A record of Scott’s return has not yet been found. In November 1939, photographs of Scott and a panda appeared in numerous newspapers including the Redwood City Tribune (California), November 7, Times Herald (Washington DC), November 14, and Shelby County Democrat (Columbiana, Alabama), November 16.
Scott visited several cities where he lectured and showed footage of his color film. The Evanston Review (Illinois), September 14, 1939, said Scott was scheduled to show his film of the war in China to the North End Men’s Club.
Scott’s photographs appeared in Life, December 11, 1939, on pages 16, 21, 22, 23, 24 and 25. I believe the 1943 book, China, included two photographs by Scott here and here.
On December 14, 1939, the Evanston Review said
Scott visited several cities where he lectured and showed footage of his color film. The Evanston Review (Illinois), September 14, 1939, said Scott was scheduled to show his film of the war in China to the North End Men’s Club.
... Also on the program is Rey Scott, newsreelman and correspondent associated with Life magazine, Pathe Newsreel, the New York Times and the North American Newspaper alliance. Mr. Scott will show a complete motion picture of his experiences in China during the last year of the Japanese-Chinese war at the December meeting of the club. ...The New York Times, November 26, 1939, published Scott’s assessment of travel in China.
Scott’s photographs appeared in Life, December 11, 1939, on pages 16, 21, 22, 23, 24 and 25. I believe the 1943 book, China, included two photographs by Scott here and here.
On December 14, 1939, the Evanston Review said
Rey Scott to Speak for North End Men’s ClubFrom January to April 1940, Scott showed his film at several cities including Chicago, Milwaukee, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Toledo, South Bend (Indiana), Pontiac (Michigan), Washington, DC, and Los Angeles. In Chicago and Milwaukee, Scott’s film was titled, “China’s Comeback”.
The first documentary pictures in natural color of China at war will be brought to Evanston Dec. 21 at which time Rey Scott, lecturer, photographer and noted China war correspondent will address the December meeting of the North End Men’s club at Haven school, Douglas McKay, in charge of the meeting, announced this week. ... His lecture is entitled “China Unconquered—Builds Anew.”
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Chicago Daily News, January 20, 1940
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Milwaukee Journal, January 21, 1940
Near the end of May or in early June, Scott started his return to China. The China Weekly Review, June 29, 1940, noted Scott’s location.
On November 16, 1940, Scott signed his draft card. His address was 800 Chestnut, St. Louis, Missouri. He was described as five feet ten inches, 158 pounds, with hazel eyes and brown hair.
Ray [sic] Scott, photographer on the staff of Life was in Shanghai this week on his way to Hong Kong and Chungking where he plans to make a series of pictures for his magazine.The Hongkong Telegraph, July 1, 1940, said
Ace “Time” Cameraman Back in H.K.Scott’s return home was mentioned in the Hongkong Telegraph, October 15, 1940.
Editors sigh when Rey Scott arrives in town. Other cameramen dust their lens and correspondents wonder what the big story is going to be this time.
Scott, camera-man for “Life” magazine and movie-camera-man for Pathe news-reel, just can’t help being on the spot when the big stories break. Tell anyone in the Far East who knows him that he’s left San Francisco for Shanghai, of Chungking, or Hongkong, and they prepare for the worst.
There was no reason why Rey should have left the United States for China by the President Coolidge. Everything in the Far East was quiet and the obvious place for the camera-man was in Europe. But Rey had a hunch.
He arrived in Hongkong during the week-end, just in time to get his cameras working on evacuation scenes.
He’s been here twice before, guided by his hunches. The first time was when the Japanese landed in Bias Bay and invaded Canton. Scott obtained the best pictures of the China War when the Japanese entered the city and the Chinese set it afire.
Then he came back again last August. He was here for the Tientsin blockade and Hongkong’s first evacuation scare. Many readers will have seen his pictures of these events in “Life” and on the screen.
Scores New Film ScoopThe Hongkong Telegraph, October 16, 1940, said
Rey Scott’s Adventures in China’s Interior
Back in town after a series of fascinating and exciting adventures in search of new and dramatic pictures of little known China, is Rey Scott, ace American cameraman, whose pictures of the Canton and Chungking air raids provided a world-wide scoop.
Scott sails for the United States to-morrow to show what he feels certain are the most spectacular films ever taken of air raids—the bombing of Chungking on September 19 and 20, described as the worst raids the Chinese capital has ever experienced.
Nearly Killed
In addition Scott has during the past few months travelled to Tibet, pictured warfare between the Chinese and Mohammedans in the mystical Northwest China and secured the first pictures of the famous Lake Kokoner.
He also narrowly escaped death when the lorry on which he was travelling suddenly ran over a 100-foot embankment, hurling one man to his death and causing injuries to seven others. Scott escaped unscathed by leaping off the top of the lorry as it was turning over the embankment.
Mr. Rey Scott, American cameraman who filmed the bombing of Chungking on September 19 and 20, left for San Francisco this morning by the City of Newport News. ...Scott arrived in San Francisco on November 1 according to a manifest at Ancestry.com.
On November 16, 1940, Scott signed his draft card. His address was 800 Chestnut, St. Louis, Missouri. He was described as five feet ten inches, 158 pounds, with hazel eyes and brown hair.
Scott resumed touring to promote assistance for China. During the last two months of 1940, he traveled to Oakland, San Diego, San Francisco and Cleveland. From January to May 1941, he went to Toledo, Chicago, Evansville (Indiana), Providence (Rhode Island), Worcester and Springfield (Massachusetts), Knoxville, Springfield (Illinois), Trenton, New York City, Dallas, Cincinnati, Milwaukee, Washington DC (below), and Boston.
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Atlanta Constitution (Georgia), January 4, 1941, excerpt
The Bulletin of the American Bureau for Medical Aid to China, February 1941, announced the screening of “Free China—1941” on February 15 at Town Hall. An order form (below) was included.
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Dallas Morning News, March 14, 1941
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Evening Star (Washington DC), April 24, 1941
American Cinematographer, June 1941, said Scott opened his Camera Clinic, in Burbank, California.
The New York Times, June 15, 1941, profiled Scott.
Scott’s film, titled “Kukan” by Lin Yutang, premiered in New York on June 23, 1941. The film has distributed by Adventure Films, Inc.
The New York Times, June 15, 1941, profiled Scott.
Scott’s film, titled “Kukan” by Lin Yutang, premiered in New York on June 23, 1941. The film has distributed by Adventure Films, Inc.
Main Street in Chungking immediately following the bombing.
Note buildings burning at the far end of the street, in
Rey Scott’s “Kukan”
View of Burma Road featured in Rey Scott’s “Kukan”
Film reviews appeared in several publications including the Brooklyn Eagle, The New York Times, Daily Worker, Variety, The Film Daily, Motion Picture Herald, The Exhibitor and Time.
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New York Post and New York Sun, June 24, 1941
The Honolulu Star-Bulletin, July 22, 1941, highlighted the Honolulans at the premiere. After the “Kukan” premiere, the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, July 21, 1941, described the party at Robert Ripley’s apartment. Many newspapers including the High Point Enterprise (North Carolina), July 28, 1941 and Edmonton Bulletin (Canada), August 1, 1941, published Ripley’s “Believe It or Not” which featured “Kukan”.
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“Kukan” received a Special Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences at the 14th Academy Awards on February 26, 1942. Scott did not attend the ceremony. (Image of the plaque is on page 15.) The award was mentioned in American Cinematographer, March 1942 and Amateur Movie Makers, August 1942.
The Film Daily, May 4, 1942, said
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Los Angeles Daily News, August 15, 1941
The Los Angeles Daily News, August 16, 1941, published a full-page “Kukan” pictorial.
“Kukan” received a Special Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences at the 14th Academy Awards on February 26, 1942. Scott did not attend the ceremony. (Image of the plaque is on page 15.) The award was mentioned in American Cinematographer, March 1942 and Amateur Movie Makers, August 1942.
The Film Daily, May 4, 1942, said
UA Acquires “Ku-Kan”; To Re-issue “Real Glory”A similar report appeared in Motion Picture Herald, May 16, 1942.
“Ku-Kan,” Chinese feature in color, produced by Ray [sic] Scott, has been acquired for distribution by United Artists in a deal closed with Herb Edwards, it was reported at the week-end. UA, it is understood, will release the picture as “Battle Cry of China.” Featured was filmed in 16 mm. but has been blown up to standard 35 mm. ...
Business Screen, Volume 4, Number 3, 1942, said
Cinecolor Expands Laboratory and Color Service Facilities
... In blowing up 16mm. Kodachrome to 35mm. color prints of theatrical quality, Cinecolor has just completed the first feature-length production ever handled in this manner—Ray [sic] Scott’s “Ku Kan,” photographed in China. This subject received honorable citation among the last Academy Awards. ...
The British Journal of Photography, February 9, 1945, review of “Kukan” said
United Artists are distributing a most interesting half-hour colour film of the above title, taken in China by a unit known as Adventure Films, the story and camera work being by Ray [sic] Scott. The colour process used is not named in the credits, but it is obviously two-colour from the quality and from the glimpses of the two components which we have at cue marks. The film proves on enquiry to be on American Chemicolor. I saw it in a programme which included one of the glossiest of Technicolor musicals, and the two-colour actuality picture made a most interesting contrast.
The first part is rather ordinary, with many shots of colour-conscious crowds and with a harshness of contrast, greeny-blue skies and an overall blueness, especially in grass and in any- thing such as a hat which reflects the sky. Definition is passably good. The views of the mountains, of the Chinese guerrillas, of the child refugees, the Tibetan fighting men and of the end of the Russian Red Route supply road at Lanchow are all of unusual interest, while there are some informal scenes of Generalissimo and Mme. Chiang Kai-shek.
At this stage in his tour the producer received a message that a major raid on Chingking was imminent, and he hurried back to the capital by air to secure a remarkable record in colour of the bombing of the city. The increased dramatic quality of these colour records, compared with the black-and-white news reel shots which we saw at the time, is very remarkable and stresses once more the future which exists for colour in the actuality film. Scott went with the inhabitants across the river when the second “imminent danger” warning lantern was hoisted on the flagstaff. There, while the population sheltered in caves in the hillside, he secured some extraordinary shots of the bombing. The Japanese aircraft flying overhead in the blue sky are, I suspect, printed from a monochome [sic] negative, using the blue-printer alone. The bombing and the fires which follow are rendered most dramatic by the colour process, which presents the smoke and debris in a brownish tone, stabbed here and there by yellowish bomb-bursts and fires. The very effusive commentary is mercifully silent here, so that we may look for ourselves at the horror of this bombing of the lowly crowded-together houses of the people and at the pitifully inadequate efforts of the local fire services to deal with the subsequent conflagrations. The film ends with some more delightful scenes of the countryside and with a display of national flags, providing again a valuable yardstick for the appraisal of the colour range of the process used.
United Artists, one sheet, 1942, courtesy Heritage Auctions
United Artists, half sheet, 1942, courtesy Heritage Auctions
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Times-News (Twin Falls, Idaho), August 24, 1942
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Ithaca Journal (New York), August 27, 1942
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Ogden Standard-Examiner (Utah), September 11, 1942
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San Francisco Examiner, September 15, 1942
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The Gazette (Montreal, Canada), October 1, 1942
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Key West Citizen (Florida), June 1, 1943
Scott enlisted in the Army on May 4, 1942. He served in the Signal Corps. Life, October 19, 1942, published a photograph of Scott with Colonel Darryl F. Zanuck and Lieutenant Jules Buck. Report from the Aleutians was a 1943 film by the Signal Corps. It was written and directed by John Huston and photographed by Scott, Lt. Jules Buck, Sgt. Freeman C. Collins, Cpl. Buzz Ellsworth, and Cpl. Herman Crabtrey. The film was reviewed in The New York Times, July 31, 1943. The film’s delayed release was reported on August 8, 1943. Mechanix Illustrated, January 1944, published Lieutenant Virgil Ellsworth’s account of filming, with Scott and Huston, in the Aleutians.
The Bethany College Bulletin, Volume 37, Number 1, 1944, printed news about its servicemen.
The Bethany College Bulletin, Volume 37, Number 1, 1944, printed news about its servicemen.
Capt. Rey Scott, ex ’27, now somewhere in Italy, was recently awarded the Air Medal for photographing aerial combat in the Aleutian Islands. The citation stated he “made aerial combat pictures at close range, regardless of personal safety, and his example is worthy of emulation by all military personnel.”Scott had a listing in the 1943 Officers of the Army in or Near the District of Columbia. Scott’s veteran’s file and the 1951 Official Army Register said he was a captain discharged on May 25, 1945.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Missouri), June 23, 1950, reported Scott’s upcoming marriage.
Miss Rolinitis, R. G. Scott to WedThe 1955 Fort Lauderdale, Florida city directory listed Scott at 1531 NW 12th Terrace. His occupation was photographer.
Miss Lenore Rolinitis, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. George T. Rolinitis, Shenandoah, Pa., and Reynolds Gilmore Scott will be married late tomorrow afternoon by the Rev. Dr. Hampton Adams in the chapel of Union Avenue Christian Church. Mr. Scott’s brother-in-law and sister, Mr. and Mrs. Robert McCann Larmore, will give a small reception at their home, 5261 Westminster place. Mr. Scott, son of the late Mr. and Mrs. Raymond G. Scott, St. Louis, makes his home in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
The bride will be given in marriage by Mr. Scott’s uncle, Oreon E. Scott, and will have as her only attendant the Larmores’ daughter, Miss Constance Ann Larmore. She will wear a white organdy afternoon gown with a short veil, fastened to a wreath of orange blossoms, and will carry a bouquet of lilies of the valley and white orchids. Miss Larmore is to wear a pale blue chiffon frock with matching hair-braid hat. Her flowers will be blue delphinium.
John Huston, son of the late Walter Huston, noted actor, will arrive tomorrow from Hollywood, Calif., to be Mr. Scott’s best man. Ushers are to be Theodore Link and Burrus Schumacher.
Miss Rolinitis, a graduate of New York University and Newark (N.J.) Hospital School of Nursing, was a lieutenant, junior grade, in the Navy Nurse Corps in the war. Mr. Scott was graduated from Western Military Academy, Alton, and Butler University, Indianapolis. He belongs to Beta Theta Pi fraternity, the Overseas Press Club of New York and the Bahi-Mai Yacht Club, Fort Lauderdale. He and his bride will cruise on his boat through the Bahamas on their honeymoon and will live in Fort Lauderdale.
Art Direction, August 1961, published a list of members of the Professional Photographers of America which included Scott.
Scott attended the 1968 reunion of the China National Aviation Corporation Association.
Scott passed away on February 12, 1992 in Marietta, Georgia. Obituaries appeared in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Florida) on February 14 and 16. Scott was laid to rest at Myrtle Hill Cemetery. Three years later, his wife, Lenore, died.
* Headstone at Find a Grave said Scott’s mother, May, died on June 13, 1906. Scott’s father, Raymond, did not remarry. Our Bobbitt Family with Beck, Elliott, Goodloe, Hurd and Allied Lines (1972) said Scott’s sister, May, was born on June 13, 1907. I believe her birth year was 1906.
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SIDEBAR
Amos Tyler Hull Jr. was born on May 12, 1906 in Hampton, Virginia according to his World War II draft card. He was a year and four months younger than Rey Scott.
In 1927 Hull and Scott attended a summer session at the University of Wisconsin. It’s not clear if they met.
Both of them were photographers and film cameramen who traveled throughout China during the Japanese invasion. Hull was associated with British Pathé and Scott with RKO Pathé News. The Chicago Daily Times, August 6, 1941, published a 1938 photograph of Maj. George Chen, Hull, Scott, and a Chinese girl interpreter.
In the United States, Hull lectured and screened footage of events in China. Additional information about Hull is at Live Journal.
The Social Security Death Index said Hull passed away in February 1969.
Amos Tyler Hull Jr. was born on May 12, 1906 in Hampton, Virginia according to his World War II draft card. He was a year and four months younger than Rey Scott.
In 1927 Hull and Scott attended a summer session at the University of Wisconsin. It’s not clear if they met.
Both of them were photographers and film cameramen who traveled throughout China during the Japanese invasion. Hull was associated with British Pathé and Scott with RKO Pathé News. The Chicago Daily Times, August 6, 1941, published a 1938 photograph of Maj. George Chen, Hull, Scott, and a Chinese girl interpreter.
... Scott recalled the day in 1938 when he and another newsreel man and a girl interpreter brought the news to Maj. Chen and about 200,000 other Chinese that the Japs were considerably closer to Canton than Chinese calculations had led them to suspect. The picture men, in a hired car, ran smack into five tanks that were the vanguard of the Japanese advance. They didn’t wait to find out how many more tanks were behind those they had seen, but spun about and reported their interesting discovery to Maj. Chen, whom they had left with the army in front of Canton. ...Boys’ Life, August 1942, described the situation Hull faced in Canton.
In the United States, Hull lectured and screened footage of events in China. Additional information about Hull is at Live Journal.
The Social Security Death Index said Hull passed away in February 1969.
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Further Reading and Viewing
Nest Egg Productions, Finding Kukan, Viewer’s Guide
PBS Hawai‘i, How Finding Kukan Was Found
China Daily, Lost war film finds new life
Cineaste, Raiders of the Lost Archives
Los Angeles Revisited, And the Oscar goes to...Li Ling Ai!
Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale Museum, Rey Scott
Next Shark, Meet the Chinese-American Woman Behind the Very First Oscar-Winning Documentary
Alamy, “Kukan”—The Battle Cry of China
Nest Egg Productions, Finding Kukan, Viewer’s Guide
PBS Hawai‘i, How Finding Kukan Was Found
China Daily, Lost war film finds new life
Cineaste, Raiders of the Lost Archives
Los Angeles Revisited, And the Oscar goes to...Li Ling Ai!
Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale Museum, Rey Scott
Next Shark, Meet the Chinese-American Woman Behind the Very First Oscar-Winning Documentary
Alamy, “Kukan”—The Battle Cry of China
This Week Magazine, August 10, 1941, Sidelines
“We Made a Mistake”—Hitler (1941), Rey Scott quoted
International Photographer, February 1942, Bell & Howell advertisement
“We Made a Mistake”—Hitler (1941), Rey Scott quoted
International Photographer, February 1942, Bell & Howell advertisement
eBay, Rey Scott postcards
Related Posts
Li Ling Ai in Censuses, Passenger Lists, Immigration Files, and City Directories
Li Ling Ai’s Life Is for a Long Time
Li Ling-Ai’s Children of the Sun in Hawaii
Li Ling Ai, 1935–1939
Li Ling Ai, 1940–1949
Li Ling Ai, 1950s–1970s
Li Ling Ai in Censuses, Passenger Lists, Immigration Files, and City Directories
Li Ling Ai’s Life Is for a Long Time
Li Ling-Ai’s Children of the Sun in Hawaii
Li Ling Ai, 1935–1939
Li Ling Ai, 1940–1949
Li Ling Ai, 1950s–1970s
(Next post on Wednesday: Li Ling-ai “Believe It or Not”)
