George Montgomery
Acting • Born 1916-08-29 – Died 2000-12-12
Biography
George Montgomery was boxing champion at the University of Montana, where he majored in architecture and interior design. Dropping out a year later, he decided to take up boxing more seriously, and moved to California, where he was coached by ex-heavyweight world champion James J. Jeffries. While in Hollywood, he came to the attention of the studios (not least, because he was an expert rider) and was hired as a stuntman in 1935. After doing this for four years, George was offered a contract at 20th Century Fox in 1939, but found himself largely confined to leads in B-westerns. He did not secure a part in anything even remotely like a prestige picture, until his co-starring role in Roxie Hart (1942), opposite Ginger Rogers. Next, in Orchestra Wives (1942), he played the perfunctory love interest for Ann Rutherford -- though both, inevitably, ended up playing second trombone to Glenn Miller and His Orchestra. In 1947, George got his first serious break, being cast as Raymond Chandler's private eye Philip Marlowe, in The Brasher Doubloon (1947). Reviewers, however, compared his performance unfavourably with that of Humphrey Bogart and found the film 'pallid' overall. So it was back to the saddle for George. Unable to shake his image as a cowboy actor, he starred in scores of films with titles like Belle Starr's Daughter (1948), Dakota Lil (1950), Jack McCall Desperado (1953) and Masterson of Kansas (1954) at Columbia, and for producer Edward Small at United Artists. When not cleaning up the Wild West with his six-shooter, he branched out into adventure films set in exotic locales (notably as Harry Quartermain in Watusi (1959)). During the 60's, he also wrote, directed and starred in several long-forgotten, low-budget wartime potboilers made in the Philippines. At the height of his popularity, George attracted as much publicity for his acting, as for his liaisons with glamorous stars, like Ginger Rogers, Hedy Lamarr (to whom he was briefly engaged) and singer Dinah Shore (whom he married in 1943). After his retirement from the film business, he devoted himself to his love of painting, furniture-making and sculpting bronze busts, including one of his close friend Ronald Reagan.
Filmography
100 credits
The Brasher Doubloon
Movie • 1947
Philip Marlowe
Satan's Harvest
Movie • 1970
Cutter Murdock
Battle of the Bulge
Movie • 1965
Sgt. Duquesne
Orchestra Wives
Movie • 1942
Bill Abbot
The Sword of Monte Cristo
Movie • 1951
Captain Renault
Davy Crockett, Indian Scout
Movie • 1950
Davy Crockett
Springtime in the Rockies
Movie • 1937
Cowhand at Dance (uncredited)
The Daredevil
Movie • 1972
Paul Tunney
Coney Island
Movie • 1943
Eddie Johnson
China Girl
Movie • 1942
Johnny Williams
When the West Was Fun: A Western Reunion
Movie • 1979
Self
Roxie Hart
Movie • 1942
Homer Howard
Young People
Movie • 1940
Mike Shea
Strangers at Sunrise
Movie • 1969
Grant Merrick
The Steel Claw
Movie • 1961
Capt. John Larsen
Gun Belt
Movie • 1953
Billy Ringo
Pawnee
Movie • 1957
Paul 'Pale Arrow' Fletcher
Street of Sinners
Movie • 1957
John Dean
Gun Duel in Durango
Movie • 1957
Will Sabre
The Girl from Manhattan
Movie • 1948
Rev. Tom Walker
Watusi
Movie • 1959
Harry Quartermain
Screen Snapshots Series 21 No. 1
Movie • 1941
Self
Fort Ti
Movie • 1953
Capt. Jed Horn
Jack McCall, Desperado
Movie • 1953
Jack McCall
Canyon River
Movie • 1956
Steve Patrick
Seminole Uprising
Movie • 1955
Cam Elliott
The Lone Gun
Movie • 1954
Cruze
Accent on Love
Movie • 1941
John Worth Hyndman
Masterson of Kansas
Movie • 1954
Bat Masterson
Battle of Rogue River
Movie • 1954
Maj. Frank Archer
Hostile Guns
Movie • 1967
Gid McCool
Cripple Creek
Movie • 1952
Bret Ivers / Iverson
The Cisco Kid and the Lady
Movie • 1939
Tommy Bates
Hell of Borneo
Movie • 1964
John Dirkson
Ten Gentlemen from West Point
Movie • 1942
Joe Dawson
The Pathfinder
Movie • 1952
Pathfinder
Three Little Girls in Blue
Movie • 1946
Van Damm Smith
Dakota Lil
Movie • 1950
Tom Horn / Steve Garrett
The Toughest Gun in Tombstone
Movie • 1958
Capt. Matt Sloane
Robbers' Roost
Movie • 1955
Jim 'Tex' Wall
Samar
Movie • 1962
Dr. John David Saunders
The Lone Ranger
Movie • 1938
Jim Clark
Indian Uprising
Movie • 1952
Capt. Chase McCloud
King of the Wild Stallions
Movie • 1959
Randy Burke
The Texas Rangers
Movie • 1951
Johnny Carver
Last of the Badmen
Movie • 1957
Dan Barton
Django the Condemned
Movie • 1965
Pat O'Brien
The Cowboy and the Blonde
Movie • 1941
Lank Garrett
Huk!
Movie • 1956
Greg Dickson
Star Dust
Movie • 1940
Ronnie
The Iroquois Trail
Movie • 1950
Nat Cutler / Hawkeye
Belle Starr's Daughter
Movie • 1948
Marshal Tom Jackson
Saga of Death Valley
Movie • 1939
Henchman
Wall Street Cowboy
Movie • 1939
Cowhand
Last of the Duanes
Movie • 1941
Buck Duane
The Mysterious Miss X
Movie • 1939
Policeman
Rough Riders' Round-up
Movie • 1939
Patrolman Joe
Southward Ho!
Movie • 1939
Frontier Pony Express
Movie • 1939
Lieutenant Harris
The Night Riders
Movie • 1939
Mob Member
In Old Caliente
Movie • 1939
Henchman
The Arizona Kid
Movie • 1939
Soldier
South of the Border
Movie • 1939
Bandit
Ransom
Movie • 1988
Inspector Marks
Black Patch
Movie • 1957
Clay Morgan
Bomber's Moon
Movie • 1943
Capt. Jeffrey Dakin
Man from God's Country
Movie • 1958
Dan Beattie
Warkill
Movie • 1968
Col. John Hannegan
Charter Pilot
Movie • 1940
Charlie Crane
In Old Monterey
Movie • 1939
Soldier
Lulu Belle
Movie • 1948
George Davis
Riders of the Purple Sage
Movie • 1941
Lassiter
Hi-Yo Silver
Movie • 1940
Jim Clark
Hallucination Generation
Movie • 1966
Eric
Army Girl
Movie • 1938
Soldier
Wild Wind
Movie • 1985
Major Nestorovic
Badman's Country
Movie • 1958
Pat Garrett
Bomb at 10:10
Movie • 1967
Steve Corbett / Stiv Korbet
S.O.S Tidal Wave
Movie • 1939
Cadet Girl
Movie • 1941
Tex Mallory
Take It or Leave It
Movie • 1944
(archive footage) (uncredited)
Troop Carrier Airplanes: Cockpit Procedure
Movie • 1944
Lt. Warren
Ride the Tiger
Movie • 1970
Guerillas in Pink Lace
Movie • 1964
Murphy
Claire
Movie • 1956
Dr. Stanley Wayne
Jennie
Movie • 1940
Franz Schermer
The Odd Couple
TV • 1970
Griff
Alias Smith and Jones
TV • 1971
Studio One
TV • 1948
Bakeland
General Electric Theater
TV • 1953
Jim Corbett
This Is Your Life
TV • 1952
Self
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
TV • 1956
Self
Cimarron City
TV • 1958
Mayor Matt Rockford
The Steve Allen Show
TV • 1956
Self - Cimarron City
The Mike Douglas Show
TV • 1961
Self
General Electric Theater
TV • 1953
Buchanan Smith
Children's Island
TV • 1985
The President
The Six Million Dollar Man
TV • 1974
Christopher Bell / Garth
What's My Line?
TV • 1950
Self - Mystery Guest
Dinah!
TV • 1974
Self