The Disappearance of Miss Scott – Hazel Scott documentary

The Disappearance of Miss Scott chronicles Hazel Scott’s meteoric rise as a jazz talent and major Hollywood star before being blacklisted during the Red Scare.

Hazel Scott was one of the most revered stars of the early 20th century. Not only was Scott a beloved musical sensation, but she also channeled her talents into Hollywood stardom, becoming the first Black American to host their own television show. Discover her storied life, from her childhood as a musical prodigy in Trinidad to her prolific career on stage and the silver screen in the new documentary American Masters – The Disappearance of Miss Scott, premiering nationwide Friday, February 21 at 9 p.m. ET on PBS (check local listings), pbs.org/americanmasters and the PBS App in honor of Black History Month.  

Featuring archival footage and stills, performance clips, animation, and interviews, The Disappearance of Miss Scott is the first known documentary centering on the jazz virtuoso’s life, detailing her awe-inspiring talents on the piano, how she used her star power to be an influential voice of the nascent Civil Rights Movement, and her life in Paris after being blacklisted from Hollywood during the 1950s Red Scare. Her career in the US ultimately ended after she defended herself and her colleagues in front of the House Un-American Committee, and her story has been mostly silenced until this film. Excerpts of Scott’s unpublished autobiography are voiced by Emmy Award-winning actress Sheryl Lee Ralph, revealing Scott as a woman who would not compromise on her beliefs, and are complemented by interviews with country star Mickey Guyton, actresses Amanda Seales and Tracie Thoms, jazz musicians Camille Thurman and Jason Moran, and Adam Clayton Powell III, Hazel Scott’s only son. 

Born in Port of Spain, Trinidad in 1920, Hazel Scott was a musical wonder and was trained by her mother, a classically trained pianist and music teacher. Four years later, she left the Caribbean for Harlem, New York with her mother and grandmother, and by the age of eight she was a pupil of Professor Walter Damrosch at the Juilliard School of Music.  

Scott’s undeniable talent led to a vibrant jazz career performing with the likes of Max Roach and Charles Mingus in some of New York City’s most iconic venues, including Café Society, Cotton Club, and Carnegie Hall. Subsequently, she brought her musical skills to the silver screen, starring as herself in films like Something to Shout About, I Dood It, and Rhapsody in Blue. In 1950, DuMont Television Network offered Scott her own television program. “The Hazel Scott Show” featured musical performances from Scott, along with musicians Charles Mingus and Max Roach, and was nationally syndicated during its run. 

As one of the biggest faces in entertainment at that time, Hazel Scott notably used her star power to stand up for those who were marginalized. She refused to play before segregated audiences, and as a Hollywood screen siren, she spoke out against unfair treatment. She led an actors strike when a film director insisted on putting his Black actors in dirty costumes and took a restaurant to court because it refused to serve her. In 1945, Scott married Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., the first Black American Congressman from the state of New York, and together they were a formidable pair advocating for social progress. 

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