Scott Brady

The Man Who Refused to Be a Tierney

Gerard Kenneth Tierney changed his name because his older brother was already a star with legal troubles. He started using Scott Brady after serving in the Navy and trying his luck as an amateur boxer. His square jaw and tough-guy stare that asks no questions opened doors for him at smaller studios. He signed with Eagle-Lion in 1948 to star in Canon City, and from that point on, crime cinema was his natural habitat.

The ring taught him to take the industry's punches.

Unlike his brother Lawrence, who racked up arrests and bar fights, Scott kept a more professional profile on set. In 1948, he shot He Walked by Night, in which he played a police sergeant hunting an elusive killer. The film's realism helped define the style of low-budget film noir of the era. But being the good brother of a dangerous man always cast a shadow over his career in Los Angeles.

The Dangerous Dance with Joan Crawford

In 1954, he took part in the most toxic shoot of his life. Nicholas Ray cast him as Dancin' Kid in Johnny Guitar. During the weeks of filming, he witnessed the visceral hatred between Joan Crawford and Mercedes McCambridge. The atmosphere was so unbearable that the cast preferred to stay in their trailers to avoid Crawford's screams.

And the film ended up becoming a strange cult classic.

Brady was not the absolute lead, but his physical presence balanced the tension between the characters played by Sterling Hayden and the two lead actresses. At the time, studios tried to sell him as an action heartthrob to female audiences. He earned 30,000 dollars for his role in this psychological western, which is still studied in film schools today for its use of color and political subtext.

A Refuge in Television and Obscurity

When contracts with the major studios started to dry up, he turned to television. In 1959, he accepted the lead role in Shotgun Slade, playing a private detective in the Old West who carried a sawed-off shotgun. The series ran for two seasons and produced a total of 78 episodes, which gave him financial stability but permanently pulled him away from prestige film roles.

But the movie business doesn't always give back what you put into it.

He turned down the role of Joe Cartwright in Bonanza because he did not want to be tied to a long-running series. It was a strategic mistake that cost him millions of dollars in image rights and a fame he never regained. In the 70 years, his health began to deteriorate due to pulmonary emphysema. Even so, he took on smaller projects and had a brief appearance in The China Syndrome in 1979, playing a security guard.

His last role in front of the camera was in 1984 for Gremlins by Joe Dante. He played Sheriff Frank, in a small town attacked by strange creatures. He died on April 16, 1985, in Los Angeles from pulmonary fibrosis. He was 60 years old and was buried in Saint Rose of Lima Cemetery in Simi Valley.