Fred Scott

Pioneer TV actor and announcer best known as 'Communications Officer Rogers' on 'Captain Video and His Video Rangers'. He served in the Army Medical Corps during World War II and then moved to Long Island, New York where he participated in summer stock theater and in radio. He started his television career in 1946 at experimental television station W2XJT, and joined New York's WABD TV Channel 5 in 1948, the flagship station on the DuMont Television Network. In 1949 he began his role as Ranger Rogers, which lasted until the 'Captain Video' series ended in May of 1955. At one point he was doing eight programs a day and fourteen network shows a week. His announcing role on "Captain Video and His Video Rangers" is spoofed by Frank Marth on "TV or Not TV", the first episode of "The Honeymooners" (1955). After the Dumont Television Network faded out in 1956, Fred Scott remained an announcer for Channel 5 television in New York (later WNEW and WNYW) hosting a television cartoon show from New York as "Uncle Fred". Fred Scott became the fourth and last host/performer of "Bugs Bunny Presents" seen weekday evenings on WNEW TV Ch.5 in NYC from Monday February 2, 1959 to Friday May 2, 1959. The show's title changed to "Nuts & Bugs" (because the series aired reruns of old movie comedies that featured Charlie Chase, Edger Kennedy, Leon Errol and Ben Turpin) along with "The Bugs Bunny" movie cartoons. "Nuts & Bugs" was seen weekday evenings on WNEW TV Ch.5 in NYC from Monday May 25, 1959 to Thursday August 13, 1959. Fred Scott succeeded Sonny Fox as the second and last host of WNEW TV Ch.5 NYC's Saturday-morning kids' TV game show "Just For Fun". Scott presented the show from Saturday August 7, 1965 to Saturday September 4, l965. At one point he was doing eight programs a day and fourteen network shows a week. He filled in for Soupy Sales for one week on his WNEW-TV show in January 1965, during Sales' suspension as a result of his infamous New Year's Day show. A son, Fred Scott, Junior, was born on June 4th, 1950.