Malcolm Scott

Malcolm Dalkeith Scott (7 March 1872 – 8 September 1929) was an English actor, female impersonator, comic entertainer and broadcaster.

Biography He was born in Bloomsbury, London, the son of a solicitor, and the younger brother of the naval officer Sir Percy Scott. Contrary to some sources, he was not directly related to Antarctic explorer Robert Falcon Scott. Malcolm Scott was orphaned at the age of 14, and was sent to live with relatives in Canada, where he worked on a farm and a railway. On his return to England in the early 1890s, he found work in theatres and music halls as a singer and actor with several companies, and also worked in theatres in Germany.

By 1902, he determined to become a female impersonator, presenting "a feminine character of a higher tone than the average dame", while always retaining "a masculine face". It was said of his first appearance in New York in 1909: "Nothing funnier.. has been seen in a New York vaudeville theatre. The burlesque is pure artistry, subtle and screamingly funny."

Scott remained popular through the 1910s, and was known for his ready wit and personal generosity. He wrote and starred in a short film, How a Housekeeper Lost Her Character in 1913, and made a second tour of the U.S. in 1916. The following year he appeared in his first revue, The Bing Girls, replacing Wilkie Bard. He continued performing through the 1920s, despite illness, and also regularly featured on BBC radio, becoming "a great broadcasting favourite". In retirement, he kept a sweet shop in Brighton.

He died in 1929, aged 57, in Burgess Hill, Sussex, from cancer.