Randolph was born to George and Lucy Crane Scott during a visit to Orange County, Virginia. However, he was reared in Charlotte, , North Carolina. Southern-bred, he lied about his age when - as a mere lad of fourteen - he wished to join the World War I effort.

He returned home unscathed and entered Georgia Institute of Technology. But after being injured playing football, he transferred to the University of North Carolina. There he graduated with a degree in textile engineering and manufacturing.

He discovered acting and went to California, where he met Howard Hughes, who got him extra work in films. Randolph studied briefly at the Pasadena Community Playhouse. He was hired to coach Gary Cooper in a Virginia dialect for The Virginian (1929) and played a bit part the film.

Paramount scouts saw Randolph in a play and offered him a contract. He moved rapidly into leading roles at Paramount, although his easy-going charm was not enough to suggest the success that would come later. He was a pleasant figure in comedies, dramas, and the occasional adventure, but it was not until he began focusing on Westerns in the late Forties that he reached his greatest stardom.

Randolph and Cary Grant became secret lovers, and their relationship lasted for about 15 years. They denied a romantic relationship, of course. But that's not surprising, considering that back when Grant and Scott were living together, being gay was about as much of a career booster as being a Communist.

Besides, Grant's public image was that of a lady-killer, and Scott also played romantic movie roles. We'll never know the pressures they endured while keeping their secret in intolerant times. And we'll never know the joy they shared through the years.

But this much we do know: Grant and Scott shared a house or apartment together for a decade - including before and after Grant's 1934 marriage to Virginia Cherrill; they posed for publicity shots, happily playing with the dog at the breakfast table and bare-chested on a diving board, only inches apart; their comfy companionship had '30s gossip columnists all at witter, with one suggesting they were "carrying the buddy business a bit too far".

Randolph appeared in over 100 movies in a career that stretched from 1928 to 1962. His screen persona altered into that of a stoic and uncompromising figure, a tough, hard-bitten man.

In 1962, following a role in one of the classics of the genre, Ride the High Country, Randolph retired from films. He was worth several hundred million dollars as a result of superb investments. So screen cowboy Randolph spent his remaining years playing golf and avoiding film industry affairs.

Randolph died at Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, survived by his second wife, Patricia, and his two children, Christopher and Sandra. His remains are buried in the Elmwood Cemetery in Charlotte, North Carolina.