Scott Wilson Biography: Wife, Height, Ethnicity, Age, Net Worth, Siblings, Parents, Obituary, Awards, Movies

Scott Wilson was an American actor whose breakthrough came in 1967 with his role as a suspect in the film In the Heat of the Night.

Born William Delano Wilson, he went on to portray Richard Hickock in the same year’s adaptation of Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood, earning him widespread attention and a cover feature in Life magazine.

Over a career that stretched from the late 1960s until his passing in 2018, he delivered memorable performances in films such as The Great Gatsby, Dead Man Walking, and Pearl Harbor.

Profile

• Full name: William Delano Wilson
• Date of birth: March 29, 1942
• Age: 76 (at death)
• Gender: Male
• Place of birth: Thomasville, Georgia, U.S.
• State of origin: Georgia
• Nationality: American
• Profession: Actor
• Height: 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
• Eye color: Blue
• Hair color: Gray
• Parents: Thomas Wilson and Jewel Wilson
• Siblings: N/A
• Spouse: Heavenly Wilson (m. 1977–2018)
• Children: None
• Relationship status: Married (until his death)
• Religion: N/A
• Ethnicity: Caucasian
• Net worth: US$2 million

Early Life and Education

Scott Wilson would have been 83 years old in 2025. He was born on March 29, 1942, in Thomasville, Georgia, to Thomas Wilson and Jewel Wilson.

His family spent his earliest years in nearby Atlanta before returning to Thomasville, where he completed his high school education in 1960 at Thomasville High School.

Details of any further formal education are not publicly documented. During his youth in Georgia, he was exposed to the rural landscapes and small-town communities that would later inform the authenticity he brought to many of his characters.

Personal Life

Scott Wilson married Heavenly Wilson in 1977, and the two remained together until he died in 2018. The couple had no children and did not publicly share details about their private life beyond this long-standing marriage.

Career

Scott Wilson launched his acting career in 1967 with two standout roles: a murder suspect in In the Heat of the Night and convicted criminal Richard Hickock in In Cold Blood.

Director Richard Brooks cast him alongside Robert Blake, favoring their unfamiliarity over established stars such as Steve McQueen and Paul Newman.

His early success led to parts in The Great Gatsby (1974) and The Ninth Configuration (1980), for which he received a Golden Globe nomination.

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, he built a diverse résumé with roles in Dead Man Walking, Young Guns II, and Pearl Harbor.

On television, he appeared in CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and Enlightened before joining The Walking Dead in 2011 as Hershel Greene, a role that introduced him to a new generation of viewers. In later years, he portrayed Dr. Guyot in Amazon’s Bosch and Abel Johnson in Netflix’s The OA.

Awards

• Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture for The Ninth Configuration (1980)
• Ralph Morgan Award, Screen Actors Guild (2007)

Net worth

As of his death in 2018, Scott Wilson’s net worth stood at approximately US$2 million, accumulated through more than fifty film and television credits over five decades.

Death

Scott Wilson died from leukemia at his home in Los Angeles, California, on October 6, 2018, at the age of 76. He was interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Hollywood Hills.

Social Media

• N/A

Filmography

• In the Heat of the Night (1967)
• In Cold Blood (1967)
• Castle Keep (1969)
• The Gypsy Moths (1969)
• The Grissom Gang (1971)
• The New Centurions (1972)
• Lolly-Madonna XXX (1973)
• The Great Gatsby (1974)
• The Passover Plot (1976)
• La Ilegal (1979)
• The Ninth Configuration (1980)
• The Right Stuff (1983)
• A Year of the Quiet Sun (1984)
• Río Abajo (On the Line) (1984)
• The Aviator (1985)
• Blue City (1986)
• Malone (1987)
• Johnny Handsome (1989)
• Young Guns II (1990)
• The Exorcist III (1990)
• La Cruz de Iberia (1990)
• Femme Fatale (1991)
• Pure Luck (1991)