George Montgomery
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.
Known for
The Six Million Dollar Man
Christopher Bell / Garth
The Odd Couple
Griff
What's My Line?
Self - Mystery Guest
Dinah!
Self
This Is Your Life
Self
Studio One
Bakeland
Davy Crockett, Indian Scout
Davy Crockett
Riders of the Purple Sage
Lassiter
Man from God's Country
Dan Beattie
Last of the Badmen
Dan Barton
When the West Was Fun: A Western Reunion
Self
Black Patch
Clay Morgan
The Cisco Kid and the Lady
Tommy Bates
Battle of the Bulge
Sgt. Duquesne
The Steve Allen Show
Self - Cimarron City
South of the Border
Bandit
Alias Smith and Jones
Battle of Rogue River
Maj. Frank Archer
The Arizona Kid
Soldier
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
Self
Springtime in the Rockies
Cowhand at Dance (uncredited)
Cadet Girl
Tex Mallory
Wild Wind
Major Nestorovic
Frontier Pony Express
Lieutenant Harris
Street of Sinners
John Dean
Django the Condemned
Pat O'Brien
The Toughest Gun in Tombstone
Capt. Matt Sloane
The Sword of Monte Cristo
Captain Renault
Three Little Girls in Blue
Van Damm Smith
The Girl from Manhattan
Rev. Tom Walker
Satan's Harvest
Cutter Murdock
China Girl
Johnny Williams
The Texas Rangers
Johnny Carver
Ten Gentlemen from West Point
Joe Dawson
Belle Starr's Daughter
Marshal Tom Jackson
Last of the Duanes
Buck Duane
Hostile Guns
Gid McCool
S.O.S Tidal Wave
Canyon River
Steve Patrick
The Brasher Doubloon
Philip Marlowe
In Old Monterey
Soldier
The Pathfinder
Pathfinder
Guerillas in Pink Lace
Murphy
Masterson of Kansas
Bat Masterson
The Cowboy and the Blonde
Lank Garrett
Troop Carrier Airplanes: Cockpit Procedure
Lt. Warren
Robbers' Roost
Jim 'Tex' Wall
The Mysterious Miss X
Policeman
Accent on Love
John Worth Hyndman
Ride the Tiger
Army Girl
Soldier
Southward Ho!
Orchestra Wives
Bill Abbot
Gun Duel in Durango
Will Sabre
Jack McCall, Desperado
Jack McCall
Indian Uprising
Capt. Chase McCloud
Bomb at 10:10
Steve Corbett / Stiv Korbet
Rough Riders' Round-up
Patrolman Joe
Young People
Mike Shea
The Iroquois Trail
Nat Cutler / Hawkeye
Watusi
Harry Quartermain
Roxie Hart
Homer Howard
Cimarron City
Mayor Matt Rockford
The Steel Claw
Capt. John Larsen
Coney Island
Eddie Johnson
The Night Riders
Mob Member
Strangers at Sunrise
Grant Merrick
Hell of Borneo
John Dirkson
Seminole Uprising
Cam Elliott
The Lone Gun
Cruze
Hallucination Generation
Eric
Wall Street Cowboy
Cowhand
Cripple Creek
Bret Ivers / Iverson
Charter Pilot
Charlie Crane
Huk!
Greg Dickson
The Lone Ranger
Jim Clark
The Daredevil
Paul Tunney
Ransom
Inspector Marks
General Electric Theater
Jim Corbett
General Electric Theater
Buchanan Smith
Samar
Dr. John David Saunders
King of the Wild Stallions
Randy Burke
Badman's Country
Pat Garrett
Pawnee
Paul 'Pale Arrow' Fletcher
Saga of Death Valley
Henchman
Hi-Yo Silver
Jim Clark
Star Dust
Ronnie
Gun Belt
Billy Ringo
Lulu Belle
George Davis
Warkill
Col. John Hannegan
Fort Ti
Capt. Jed Horn
Children's Island
The President
Take It or Leave It
(archive footage) (uncredited)
In Old Caliente
Henchman
Dakota Lil
Tom Horn / Steve Garrett
Bomber's Moon
Capt. Jeffrey Dakin
Claire
Dr. Stanley Wayne
Screen Snapshots Series 21 No. 1
Self
The Mike Douglas Show
Self