Biography
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Robert Montgomery (born Henry Montgomery Jr.; May 21, 1904 – September 27, 1981) was an American film and television actor, director, and producer. He was also the father of actress Elizabeth Montgomery.
Montgomery settled in New York City to try his hand at writing and acting. He established a stage career, and became popular enough to turn down an offer to appear opposite Vilma Bánky in the film This Is Heaven (1929). Sharing a stage with George Cukor gave him an entry to Hollywood and a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, where he debuted in So This Is College (also 1929).
Montgomery initially played exclusively in comedy roles, but portrayed a character in his first drama film in The Big House (1930). MGM was initially reluctant to assign him in such a role, until "his earnestness, and his convincing arguments, with demonstrations of how he would play the character" won him the assignment. From The Big House on, he was in constant demand. Appearing as Greta Garbo's romantic interest in Inspiration (1930) started him toward stardom with a rush. Norma Shearer chose him to star opposite her in The Divorcee (1930), Strangers May Kiss (1931), and Private Lives (1931), which led him to stardom.
In another challenging role, Montgomery played a psychopath in the chiller Night Must Fall (1937), for which he received an Academy Award for Best Actor nomination.
After World War II broke out in Europe in September, 1939, and while the United States was still officially neutral, Montgomery enlisted in London for American field service and drove ambulances in France until the Dunkirk evacuation. He then returned to Hollywood and addressed a massive rally on the MGM lot for the American Red Cross in July 1940. Montgomery returned to playing light comedy roles, such as Alfred Hitchcock's Mr. & Mrs. Smith (1941) with Carole Lombard. He continued his search for dramatic roles. For his role as Joe Pendleton, a boxer and pilot in Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941), Montgomery was nominated for an Oscar a second time. After the U.S. entered World War II in December 1941, he joined the United States Navy, rising to the rank of lieutenant commander, and served on the USS Barton (DD-722) which was part of the D-Day invasion on June 6, 1944.
In 1945, Montgomery returned to Hollywood, making his uncredited directing debut with They Were Expendable, where he directed some of the PT boat scenes when director John Ford was unable to work for health reasons. Montgomery's first credited film as director and his final film for MGM was the film noir Lady in the Lake (1947), in which he also starred, which received mixed reviews. Adapted from Raymond Chandler's detective novel and sanitized for the censorship of the day, the film is unusual because it was filmed entirely from Marlowe's vantage point. Montgomery only appeared on camera a few times, three times in a mirror reflection.
Active in Republican politics and concerned about communist influence in the entertainment industry, Montgomery was a friendly witness before the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1947.
Montgomery has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one for movies at 6440 Hollywood Boulevard, and another for television at 1631 Vine Street.
Filmography
all 84
Movies 80
self 21
TV Shows 4
Director 1
Lusitanian Illusion (2010)
42nd Street: From Book to Screen to Stage (2006)
Jornal Português (1938-1951) (2005)
Checking Out: Grand Hotel (2004)
Complicated Women (2003)
Ingrid Bergman Remembered (1996)
That's Entertainment, Part II (1976)
That's Entertainment! (1974)
Hollywood: The Dream Factory (1972)
The Merv Griffin Show (1962)
The Gallant Hours (1960)
The Colgate Comedy Hour (1950)
Your Witness (1950)
What's My Line? (1950)
Robert Montgomery Presents (1950)
Breakdowns of 1949 (1949)
Once More, My Darling (1949)
June Bride (1948)
The Secret Land (1948)
The Saxon Charm (1948)
Ride the Pink Horse (1947)
Lady in the Lake (1946)
They Were Expendable (1945)
Unfinished Business (1941)
Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941)
Rage in Heaven (1941)
Mr. & Mrs. Smith (1941)
A New Romance of Celluloid: The Miracle of Sound (1940)
Busman's Honeymoon (1940)
The Earl of Chicago (1940)
From the Ends of the Earth (1939)
Fast and Loose (1939)
Three Loves Has Nancy (1938)
Hollywood Goes to Town (1938)
Hollywood Handicap (1938)
Yellow Jack (1938)
The First Hundred Years (1938)
Live, Love and Learn (1937)
The Romance of Celluloid (1937)
Ever Since Eve (1937)
Night Must Fall (1937)
The Last of Mrs. Cheyney (1937)
Piccadilly Jim (1936)
Trouble for Two (1936)
Petticoat Fever (1936)
Starlit Days at the Lido (1935)
No More Ladies (1935)
Vanessa: Her Love Story (1935)
Biography of a Bachelor Girl (1935)
Forsaking All Others (1934)
Hide-Out (1934)
Riptide (1934)
The Mystery of Mr. X (1934)
Fugitive Lovers (1934)
Going Hollywood (1933)
Night Flight (1933)
Another Language (1933)
When Ladies Meet (1933)
Hell Below (1933)
Made on Broadway (1933)
Faithless (1932)
Blondie of the Follies (1932)
Letty Lynton (1932)
But the Flesh Is Weak (1932)
Lovers Courageous (1932)
Private Lives (1931)
The Man in Possession (1931)
Shipmates (1931)
Strangers May Kiss (1931)
The Easiest Way (1931)
Inspiration (1931)
War Nurse (1930)
Love in the Rough (1930)
Our Blushing Brides (1930)
Estrellados (1930)
The Sins of the Children (1930)
The Big House (1930)
The Divorcee (1930)
Free and Easy (1930)
Their Own Desire (1929)
Untamed (1929)
So This Is College (1929)
Three Live Ghosts (1929)
The Single Standard (1929)
Ratings
Gallery
Information
Known ForActing
GenderMale
Birthday1904-05-21
Deathday1981-09-27 (77 years old)
Birth PlaceBeacon, United States of America
Height
ChildrenElizabeth Montgomery
FatherHenry Montgomery
MotherMary Weed Barney
CitizenshipsUnited States of America
Also Known AsBob Montgomery, Comdr. Robert Montgomery U.S.N.R., Robert Montgomery Comdr. U.S.N.R., Henry Montgomery Jr.
Awardsstar on Hollywood Walk of Fame, Tony Award for Best Director
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