Belle Montrose, born Isabelle Donohue in

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, (April 23, 1886 – October 26, 1964) was an Irish-American actress and vaudeville performer. She appeared on stage with her husband Carroll Abler (stage name: Billy Allen, 1888–1923) in the comedy team of Allen and Montrose (with Allen as the straight man), touring with the Orpheum vaudeville circuit. On December 26, 1921, Montrose and Carroll Abler became the parents of

Steve Allen Stephen Valentine Patrick William Allen (December 26, 1921 – October 30, 2000) was an American television personality, radio personality, musician, composer, actor, comedian, and writer. In 1954, he achieved national fame as the co-cre ...

. After Carroll Abler died in 1923, young Steve Allen began living with the Montrose family on Chicago's South Side, near Hyde Park, while his mother toured. After Carroll's death, Belle continued in vaudeville, working as a solo act and with other comedians. In 1925, the 17-year-old comedian

Milton Berle Milton Berle (born Mendel Berlinger; ; July 12, 1908 – March 27, 2002) was an American actor and comedian. His career as an entertainer spanned over 80 years, first in silent films and on stage as a child actor, then in radio, movies and tel ...

toured with Montrose.Greppi, Michele. ''Hollywood Reporter'', November 1, 2000.
/ref> Years later, Steve Allen wrote about her in his memoir, ''Mark It and Strike It: An Autobiography'' (1960).

Television

Milton Berle once described Montrose as "the funniest woman in vaudeville." In her later years, Montrose acted on television, including several appearances on Steve Allen's Sunday show (1956–59), ''The Steve Allen Plymouth Show'' (1959–60), and later on ''The New Steve Allen Show'' (1961). She was a regular on ''

The Hathaways ''The Hathaways'' is a 26-episode situation comedy, which aired on ABC from October 6, 1961, to March 30, 1962, starring Peggy Cass and Jack Weston as suburban Los Angeles "parents" to a trio of performing chimpanzees. Weston portrayed Walter Hath ...

'' (1961), starring

Peggy Cass Mary Margaret "Peggy" Cass (May 21, 1924 – March 8, 1999) was an American actress, comedian, game show panelist, and announcer. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting ...

and

Jack Weston Jack Weston (born Morris Weinstein; August 21, 1924 – May 3, 1996) was an American actor. He was nominated for a Golden Globe Award in 1976 and a Tony Award in 1981. Career Weston, a native of Cleveland, Ohio, usually played comic roles in f ...

Films

Montrose's movie credits include ''

The Absent-Minded Professor ''The Absent-Minded Professor'' is a 1961 American science fiction comedy film produced by Walt Disney Productions and based on the short story "A Situation of Gravity" by Samuel W. Taylor, originally published in the May 22, 1943 issue of ''Li ...

'' (1961) and its sequel ''

Son of Flubber ''Son of Flubber'' is a 1963 American science fiction comedy film directed by Robert Stevenson and produced by Walt Disney Productions. The sequel to ''The Absent-Minded Professor'' (1961), Fred MacMurray reprises his role from the first film as ...

'' (1963). At the age of 78 Montrose died of a heart attack in Hollywood. She is buried in

San Fernando Mission Cemetery The San Fernando Mission Cemetery is a Catholic cemetery located in the Mission Hills community of the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles. The property adjoins the San Fernando Mission and Bishop Alemany Catholic High School. ThSan Fernando Mi ...

San Fernando, California San Fernando (Spanish language, Spanish for "Ferdinand III of Castile, St. Ferdinand") is a General-law municipality, general-law city in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles County, California, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. It ...

, not far from actor

Walter Brennan Walter Andrew Brennan (July 25, 1894 – September 21, 1974) was an American actor and singer. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performances in '' Come and Get It'' (1936), ''Kentucky'' (1938), and '' The Westerner ...

Filmography

References

Sources

*Allen, Steve. ''Mark It and Strike It: An Autobiography'', 1960. *Steve Allen, Jr. MD

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Montrose, Belle 1886 births 1964 deaths American people of Irish descent American television actresses American film actresses Vaudeville performers 20th-century American actresses