Gordon Westcott

Gordon Westcott
Gordon Westcott
	From Murder in the Clouds (1934)
Born	Myrthus Hickman; November 6, 1903; St. George, Utah, U.S.
Died	October 30, 1935 (aged 31); Hollywood, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1929–1935
Spouse(s)	Margaret Cardon (1922–19??; divorced); Hazel Beth McArthur (19??–1935; his death)
Children	2, including Helen Westcott

Gordon Westcott (born Myrthus Hickman, November 6, 1903 – October 30, 1935) was an American film actor.

Biography

Born in St. George, Utah, in 1903, Westcott studied architecture at the University of Chicago, where he was also lightweight boxing champion of the university.^[1]

Westcott acted on stage in New York, Utah, and California, before he made the move to film.^[2]

He became a contract player with Warner Brothers and appeared in 37 films between 1928 and 1935,^[3] starring alongside such up and comers as Bette Davis, Loretta Young and James Cagney.

After appearing in a string of Pre-Code productions, and working with such directors as William A. Wellman, Busby Berkeley and William Dieterle, his film career ended with his death on October 30, 1935 from a skull fracture^[4] sustained in a polo accident that occurred three days earlier. He was 31 years old and survived by his second wife and two children.^[5]

Family

His son, from a brief 1922 marriage to Margaret Cardon Hickman (1902–1991), was Louis C. Hickman (1922–2016).^{[citation needed]} His daughter, by Hazel Bethea McArthur, was actress Helen Westcott (1928–1998).^{[citation needed]}

Partial filmography

Queen Kelly (1929) (unbilled)
Heroes for Sale (1932)^[6]
Convention City (1933)
Footlight Parade (1933)
The Working Man (1933)
Dark Hazard (1934)
Fashions of 1934 (1934)
Kansas City Princess (1934)
I've Got Your Number (1934)
Murder in the Clouds (1934)
The Case of the Howling Dog (1934)
Going Highbrow (1935)

References

^ "Fight Training Is Aid to Actor Now". The Los Angeles Times. California, Los Angeles. August 31, 1927. p. 25. Retrieved July 5, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Gordon Wescott [sic] Dies from Skull Injury". The Oshkosh Northwestern. Wisconsin, Oshkosh. Associated Press. October 31, 1935. p. 4. Retrieved July 5, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Hunter, James Michael (2013). Mormons and Popular Culture: The Global Influence of an American Phenomenon. ABC-CLIO. pp. 253–254. ISBN 9780313391675. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
^ "Polo Game Injuries Take Actor's Life". Star Tribune. Minnesota, Minneapolis. Associated Press. October 31, 1935. p. 12. Retrieved July 5, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "The Ogden Standard-Examiner from Ogden, Utah on October 31, 1935 · Page 18". newspapers.com.
^ "Warner Brothers film release; aired on TCM, 12 January 2013