9-18-14 George Montgomery, born George Montgomery Letz was an American painter, sculptor, furniture craftsman, and stuntman who is best known as an actor in western style film and television. He the youngest of fifteen children of Ukrainian immigrant parents. He was raised on a large ranch where as a part of daily life he learned to ride horses and work cattle in Brady, Montana. He studied at the University of Montana for a year, but was more interested in a career in film than in a college education. He left Montana for Hollywood. Two days after his arrival, he was working as a stunt man on a Greta Garbo film at MGM. At Republic Pictures, his cowboy skills got him stunt work and a small acting part at the age of eighteen in a 1935 film, The Singing Vagabond. He followed this with bit parts and additional stunt work as George Letz in mostly low-budget films. He was frequently cast in western films starring their number one box office draw, the singing cowboy, Gene Autry. Elevated to more important secondary roles, in 1938 he appeared as one of the six men suspected of being the titular hero in The Lone Ranger. That year Life Magazine included him in a photo montage of Hollywoods 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 remained with Republic Pictures until 1940 when he signed with 20th Century Fox, which billed him as George Montgomery. At Fox, he appeared in more westerns including The Cisco Kid and the Lady in 1940. In 1942, he played in China Girl, Orchestra Wives and Roxie Hart. The following year, he starred with Betty Grable in Coney Island. He played the lead in Bombers Moon 1943. In 1950, he starred as the title role in Davy Crockett, Indian Scout and was one of the actors considered for the role of Crockett by Walt Disney. In the early 1950s he made several films for Columbia Pictures. In the 1958–59 season, Montgomery starred in his own NBC western series, Cimarron City as mayor Matt Rockford, with co-stars John Smith and Audrey Totter. Montgomery claimed to have turned down the lead roles in the Western television series Gunsmoke and Wagon Train Montgomery produced and directed as well as starred in several films shot in the Philippines and South Africa. He planned to make a Vietnam War film The Ho Chi Minh trail in Bangkok and the Philippines but the film was aborted. Through the early 1970s, Montgomery acted in films such as Satans Harvest (1970) and The Daredevil (1972) and made guest appearances on a number of television shows, including NBCs Bonanza and The Gisele MacKenzie Show. In 1963, his private life made headlines when his housekeeper was charged in a failed attempt to kill him. Allegedly suffering from a fanatical attraction to her employer, the deranged woman planned to shoot Montgomery, then take her own life. His career spanned from 1935 to 1972. He was 84 years of age at the time of his death.
Posted on: Thu, 18 Sep 2014 17:06:57 +0000
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