PART ONE: The Case of the Multiple Raymond Scotts

There were several Raymond Scotts. In 1991 Irwin Chusid and Will Friedwald re-introduced Scott as "THE MAN WHO MADE CARTOONS SWING" with a CD of his famous 1930s 'jazz.' Eight years later Gert-Jan Blom and I produced the MANHATTAN RESEARCH INC. book & CD set to reveal another Raymond Scott — the electronic music pioneer and inventor. And there were others: the Broadway composer, the TV star, and the Motown tech-wiz.

Scott had a wild imagination, yet the man born Harry Warnow chose a rather banal pseudonym. A Google search reveals plenty of Raymond Scotts who are not our Raymond Scott. Here's part one of a continuing series:

Raymond Scott:
THE SHAKESPEARE THIEF

This Raymond Scott has been getting lots of press lately. Reportedly, he's an "eccentric playboy" who lives with his mother in England. He's also a book dealer who is accused of stealing a first edition Shakespeare, printed in 1623, that could be worth millions. Following a world-wide manhunt conducted by the FBI, he was arrested in June of 2008 for the alleged theft. Following a court hearing on February 10th, the flamboyant Mr. Scott, who denies the charges, told reporters, "Like Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, I have had to suffer not only the whips and scorns of time but also the law’s delay." The self-described dilettante is currently out on bail, awaiting a trial scheduled for late-August of this year. He faces a total of ten charges; three counts of theft, three of handling stolen goods, and four additional counts relating to crimes of fashion. I'll keep you posted. Meanwhile, check this: video news report.

August, 2010 update: He was sentenced to 8 years in prison.