George Montgomery (actor)

George Montgomery (born George Montgomery Letz; August 27, 1916 – December 12, 2000) was an American actor, best known for his work in Western films and television. He was also a painter, director, producer, writer, sculptor, furniture craftsman, and stuntman.
He was married to Dinah Shore and a boyfriend of Hedy Lamarr.

Early years

Montgomery was born George Montgomery Letz in 1916, the youngest of 15 children of German immigrant parents, from Mykolaiv in southern Ukraine. He was born in Brady, in Pondera County, northern Montana near Great Falls. He was reared on a large ranch, where he learned to ride horses and work cattle as a part of daily life.

Letz boxed as a heavyweight for a short while before enrolling in the University of Montana in Missoula. He was active in school athletics and majored in interior design, but he left after one year.

Career

Montgomery was more interested in a career in film than in a college education. Therefore, he left Montana for Hollywood. Two days after his arrival there, he was working as a stunt man on a Greta Garbo film at MGM, ''Conquest'' (1937).

Republic Pictures

At Republic Pictures, his cowboy skills gained him stunt work and a small acting part at the age of 18 in a 1935 Gene Autry film, '' The Singing Vagabond''.

He followed this with bit parts and additional stunt work as "George Letz" in mostly low-budget films. These included ''Springtime in the Rockies'' (1937) with Autry; ''The Purple Vigilantes'' (1938) with Robert Livingston; the serial ''The Lone Ranger'' (1938); ''Outlaws of Sonora'' (1938) with Livingston; ''The Old Barn Dance'' (1938) and '' Gold Mine in the Sky'' (1938) with Autry; ''Under Western Stars'' (1938), with Roy Rogers; ''Shine On, Harvest Moon'' (1938) with Rogers.

Those had all been Westerns. He was in an African adventure tale ''Hawk of the Wilderness'' (1938) with Bruce Bennett (billed as Herman Brix, his real name) and the bigger-budgeted ''Army Girl'' (1938).

In 1938, he appeared as one of the six men suspected of being the titular hero in ''The Lone Ranger''. That year, ''Life'' included him in a photo montage of "Hollywood's Movie-struck Kids" and described Montgomery, still using his full name, as "6 ft. 3 in. tall, weighs 210 lb., rides well, is superlatively handsome."

He went back to Westerns in ''Southward Ho'' (1939) and '' The Arizona Kid'' (1939) with Rogers. He was in some non-Westerns such as ''The Mysterious Miss X'' (1939), and ''I Was a Convict'' (1939), but mostly it was films such as '' South of the Border'' (1939) and ''In Old Monterey'' (1939) with Autry, '' Saga of Death Valley'' (1939); ''Wall Street Cowboy'' (1939), ''Frontier Pony Express'' (1939), ''Rough Riders' Round-up'' (1939) and ''In Old Caliente'' (1939) with Rogers; ''The Night Riders'' (1939) with John Wayne. He worked on Republic's (relatively) big-budget ''Man of Conquest'' (1939).

20th Century Fox

In 1939, he signed with 20th Century Fox, which billed him as George Montgomery.

His first film at the studio was '' The Cisco Kid and the Lady'' (1939), the first of the Cisco Kid series. Montgomery was billed fourth. He had a small role in '' Star Dust'' (1940), and a bigger one in ''Young People'' (1940), Shirley Temple's last film for Fox.

Montgomery was fourth-billed in a "B" about pilots, ''Charter Pilot'' (1940) with Lloyd Nolan and Lynn Bari, and third-billed in '' Jennie'' (1940).

Leading man

Montgomery was promoted to leading roles in a melodrama written by Dalton Trumbo, ''Accent on Love'' (1941). Fox then starred him in some B Westerns: '' Last of the Duanes'' (1941), ''Riders of the Purple Sage'' (1941), and ''The Cowboy and the Blonde'' (1941).

Montgomery was teamed with Carole Landis in '' Cadet Girl'' (1941). He was given the lead in an "A" when he top-lined ''Orchestra Wives'' (1942) with Ann Rutherford, a film best remembered today for giving a co-star role to Glenn Miller.

He starred in ''Ten Gentlemen from West Point'' (1942) with Maureen O'Hara, playing a role originally intended for Tyrone Power.

He was Ginger Rogers' love interest in ''Roxie Hart'' (1942) and played opposite Gene Tierney in ''China Girl'' (1942) for Henry Hathaway. All these films were popular at the box office.

The following year, Montgomery starred with Betty Grable in the Walter Lang-directed film ''Coney Island'', which was his biggest hit to date. According to one obituary, "The actor's vocal mannerisms were often uncannily reminiscent of Clark Gable, and when he grew a moustache his similarities to the greater star were even more apparent. This was never more so than in ''Coney Island''.

He also starred in ''Bomber's Moon'' (1943).

World War II

Montgomery was announced for several films originally intended for Fox leading men Tyrone Power, who had joined the Marine Corps, and Henry Fonda, who had joined the Navy, including '' Down the Sea to the Ships'' and ''Bird of Paradise'' with Tierney. However, Montgomery wound up joining the U.S. Army Air Forces First Motion Picture Unit in 1943 where he appeared in such training films as ''Survival of the Fittest'' (1944).

He returned to Fox in 1946, and played the lead in a musical ''Three Little Girls in Blue'' (1946). Fox then cast him as Philip Marlowe in ''The Brasher Doubloon'' (1947), a B-picture version of the novel ''The High Window'' by Raymond Chandler.

Montgomery was unhappy at Fox. The song "This is Always", Montgomery's major duet (albeit dubbed) with June Haver in ''Three Little Girls in Blue'', was cut, and he was assigned to a minor Western, ''Belle Starr's Daughter'' (1948). Montgomery left Fox in September 1947 unhappy with his roles.

Low-budget action star

Montgomery appeared in '' Lulu Belle'' (1948) and ''The Girl from Manhattan'' for Benedict Bogeaus.

In 1950, he starred as the title role in ''Davy Crockett, Indian Scout'' for Edward Small. He went back to Fox for ''Dakota Lil'' (1950) and made ''The Iroquois Trail'' (1950) and '' The Texas Rangers'' (1951) for Small.

Montgomery tried a swashbuckler at Fox, ''The Sword of Monte Cristo'' (1951), then returned to Small for '' Indian Uprising'' (1951) and '' Cripple Creek'' (1952), ''Gun Belt'' (1953), and ''The Lone Gun'' (1954). For Sam Katzman, he made '' The Pathfinder'' (1952), ''Fort Ti'' (1952), ''Jack McCall, Desperado'' (1953), ''The Battle of Rogue River'' (1954), and ''Seminole Uprising