Horses of Hollywood: Randolph Scott and Stardust

Beloved cowboy actor Randolph Scott made some 60 Westerns in his 30-plus-year Hollywood career, among them Ride the High Country, Gunfighters, The Stranger Wore a Gun, Hangman’s Knot, The Tall T, Ride Lonesome, and Comanche Station. That’s a lot of time in the saddle. Luckily, not only was Scott an expert horseman, but as a true horse lover, he also developed a bond with the animals.

As was common in the early days of Hollywood Westerns, horses were trained specifically for movie work and were provided to studios by independent stables, like Fat Jones Stables of North Hollywood, which leased movie horses used for riding, driving, and stunts from 1912 to 1975, when they closed the barn doors permanently. If you watch carefully, you’ll notice that some horses were favorites of the actors, becoming their “co-stars.” For example, Lorne Green (Ben Cartwright/Bonanza) and James Arness (Matt Dillon/Gunsmoke) both rode similar sturdy buckskin Quarter Horses named Buck (some say it was the same horse), James Stewart adored Pie, a sorrel Quarter Horse/Arabian cross; and John Wayne often rode Dollor, a sorrel Quarter Horse, said to be the only horse that Wayne liked.

While Scott rode many horses over the decades, he said Stardust was his favorite. He didn’t own the striking dark palomino with the long, flowing flaxen mane and tail, white blaze, and four white stockings, but it was understood that if he wanted to ride Stardust in a film, the horse would be made available to him.

Unlike Dollor, Pie, and Buck, whose riders shared stories about the horses they preferred, not much is known about Stardust’s personality or history, partially because Scott himself was very private and rarely granted interviews. As for Stardust’s breeding, most claim he was an American Saddlebred. A 2013 article in The American Cowboy Chronicles mentions a reader inquiring if Stardust was a Haflinger, and though of similar coloring, the answer was decidedly, no.

We get a small glimpse into just how important Stardust was to Scott in the 1994 memoir, Whatever Happened to Randolph Scott, written by his adopted son Chris. It’s a tender portrayal of the star as a devoted family man and loving father. Chris recalls a time when he was a child, and his dad was asked to be the Grand Marshal in a rodeo parade. He agreed, but only if Chris could ride with him. Scott had Stardust and another horse tacked up and ready, but instead of getting on Stardust, Scott lifted young Chris onto the famous horse’s back to the boy’s delight.

Scott rode Stardust for the last time in Comanche Station, the film that was supposed to mark Scott’s retirement from acting. What happened to Stardust after their partnership ended is unknown. But when Scott came out of retirement to make one more film, Ride the High Country, in 1962, he rode a buckskin horse, not the stunning palomino Stardust.