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
all 102
Movies 90
TV Shows 12
self 8
Ransom (1988)
Children's Island (1985)
Wild Wind (1985)
When the West Was Fun: A Western Reunion (1979)
The Six Million Dollar Man (1974)
The Daredevil (1972)
Alias Smith and Jones (1971)
The Odd Couple (1970)
Satan's Harvest (1970)
Ride the Tiger (1970)
Strangers at Sunrise (1969)
Warkill (1968)
Bomb at 10:10 (1967)
Hostile Guns (1967)
Hallucination Generation (1966)
Battle of the Bulge (1965)
Django the Condemned (1965)
Guerillas in Pink Lace (1964)
Hell of Borneo (1964)
Samar (1962)
The Mike Douglas Show (1961)
The Steel Claw (1961)
King of the Wild Stallions (1959)
Watusi (1959)
Cimarron City (1958)
Badman's Country (1958)
The Toughest Gun in Tombstone (1958)
Man from God's Country (1958)
Black Patch (1957)
Pawnee (1957)
Street of Sinners (1957)
Gun Duel In Durango (1957)
Last of the Badmen (1957)
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show (1956)
Huk! (1956)
Canyon River (1956)
The Steve Allen Show (1956)
Robbers' Roost (1955)
Seminole Uprising (1955)
Masterson of Kansas (1954)
Battle of Rogue River (1954)
The Lone Gun (1954)
Gun Belt (1953)
Fort Ti (1953)
Jack McCall, Desperado (1953)
General Electric Theater (1953)
The Pathfinder (1952)
This Is Your Life (1952)
Cripple Creek (1952)
Indian Uprising (1952)
The Texas Rangers (1951)
The Sword of Monte Cristo (1951)
The Iroquois Trail (1950)
Dakota Lil (1950)
What's My Line? (1950)
Davy Crockett, Indian Scout (1950)
Belle Starr's Daughter (1948)
Studio One (1948)
The Girl from Manhattan (1948)
Lulu Belle (1948)
The Brasher Doubloon (1947)
Three Little Girls in Blue (1946)
Strange Affair (1944)
Take It or Leave It (1944)
Troop Carrier Airplanes: Cockpit Procedure (1944)
Bomber's Moon (1943)
Coney Island (1943)
China Girl (1942)
Orchestra Wives (1942)
Ten Gentlemen from West Point (1942)
Roxie Hart (1942)
Cadet Girl (1941)
Riders of the Purple Sage (1941)
Last of the Duanes (1941)
Screen Snapshots Series 21 No. 1 (1941)
Accent on Love (1941)
The Cowboy and the Blonde (1941)
Jennie (1940)
Charter Pilot (1940)
Young People (1940)
Hi-Yo Silver (1940)
Star Dust (1940)
The Cisco Kid and the Lady (1939)
South of the Border (1939)
Saga of Death Valley (1939)
The Arizona Kid (1939)
In Old Monterey (1939)
Wall Street Cowboy (1939)
In Old Caliente (1939)
S.O.S Tidal Wave (1939)
The Night Riders (1939)
Frontier Pony Express (1939)
Southward Ho! (1939)
Rough Riders' Round-up (1939)
The Mysterious Miss X (1939)
Hawk of the Wilderness (1938)
Army Girl (1938)
The Lone Ranger (1938)
The Purple Vigilantes (1938)
Springtime in the Rockies (1937)
The Singing Vagabond (1935)
Claire
Ratings
Gallery
Information
Known ForActing
GenderMale
Birthday1916-08-27
Deathday2000-12-12 (84 years old)
Birth PlaceBrady, United States of America
RelationshipsDinah Shore (1943-01-01 - 1963-01-01)
ChildrenMelissa Montgomery
CitizenshipsUnited States of America
Also Known AsDouglas K. Stone, George Montgomery Letz, George Letz
Awardsstar on Hollywood Walk of Fame
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