Robert Montgomery was "an American film and television actor, director, and producer. He began his acting career on the stage, but was soon hired by MGM. Initially assigned roles in comedies, he soon proved he was able to handle dramatic ones as well. He appeared in a wide variety of roles, such as a weak-willed prisoner in The Big House (1930), an Irish handyman in Night Must Fall (1937) and a boxer mistakenly sent to Heaven in Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941). The last two earned him nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actor."[1]
"During World War II, he drove ambulances in France until the Dunkirk evacuation. When the United States entered the war on December 8, 1941, he enlisted in the Navy, and was present at the invasion at Normandy. After the war, he returned to Hollywood, where he worked in both films and, later, in television. He was also the father of actress Elizabeth Montgomery."[2]
Robert was born Henry Montgomery, Jr.,21 May 1904 in Fishkill Landing, New York (now Beacon, New York,) the son of Henry Montgomery, Sr. and Mary Weed Barney.
He married Elizabeth Bryan Allen (1928-1950) 14 April 1928 in Manhattan, New York City.[3] They were the parents of three children: Martha Bryan (1930-1931); Elizabeth (1933-1995); and Robert, Jr. (1936-2000). Robert and Elizabeth were divorced in 1950.
He married Elizabeth Grant Harkness 9 December 1950 in Sag Harbor, New York.
Robert Montgomery died 27 September 1981 at the age of 77 in Manhattan.[5]
Obituary:[6]
Actor Robert Montgomery Dies in N.Y. of Cancer, 77
New York (AP)--Robert Montgomery, the debonaire actor who carved a career as a director, producer and television host, died yesterday of cancer at Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital, a spokesman for the hospital said. he was 77.
"Anyone who stand still in his business or profession is lost," Montgomery said when asked why he so often moved into new aspects of show business.
Born Henry Montgomery in Beacon, N.Y., Montgomery began his career acting on stage in New York City and with stock companies in Baltimore, Rochester, N.Y., Providence, R.I., and Stamford, Conn.
He made his movies debut playing a campus football hero in "So This Is College." Montgomery graduated from campus comedy parts to romantic roles with such actresses as Greta Garbo, Norma Shearer and Joan Crawford.
He was nominated in 1987 for an Academy Award for his performance as a psychopathic killer in "Night Must Fall," a part he took against his studio's advice.
Montgomery was the first big Hollywood star to volunteer for World War II when he left a $5,000-a-week job to drive an ambulance in France before the United States entered the war. He later saw action as a Naval officer in the Atlantic and Pacific and was decorated several times for valor.
After the war, Montgomery turned increasingly to directing and producing. His radio broadcast, "A Citizen Views the News," won a Freedom Foundation Award in 1952. He served as a radio and television adviser to President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
From 1950 to 1957 he produced, hosted and sometimes starred in a television series, "Robert Montgomery Presents." The hour-long program was praised for many of its dramatic presentations and was the first showcase for actor Peter Falk and for Montgomery's own daughter Elizabeth Montgomery.
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M > Montgomery > Henry Montgomery Jr.
Categories: New York, Notables | Notables | American Actors | Directors