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George Montgomery (August 29, 1916 - December 12,
2000) was an United States|American painter,
sculptor, furniture|furniture craftsman, and
stuntman who is best known as an actor in Western
film|western style film and television.


Born George Montgomery Letz to Ukraine|Ukrainian
immigrant parents in Brady, Montana, he was the
youngest of fifteen children. He was raised on a
large ranch where as a part of daily life he
learned to ride horses and work cattle. Letz
studied at the University of Montana but because
he was more interested in a career in motion
pictures|film, he left after a year to go to
Hollywood. At Republic Pictures, his cowboy skills
got him stunt work and a small acting part in the
1935 western film, The Singing Vagabond. He
followed this with several more bit parts and
additional stunt work using his own name 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 George Letz appeared as one of the five
rangers in The Lone Ranger. He remained with
Republic Pictures until 1940 when he signed with
20th Century Fox who dropped the Letz from his
name, billing him as George Montgomery.

At 20th Century Fox, Montgomery appeared in more
westerns including with Cesar Romero in The Cisco
Kid and the Lady in 1940 and the starring role
with jazz musician Glenn Miller in the 1942
musical Orchestra Wives that marked the
non-credited debut of an aspiring actress named
Dale Evans. The following year, Montgomery starred
opposite Betty Grable in the Walter Lang directed
film, Coney Island (1943 film)|Coney Island.
However, World War II interrupted his film career
when he joined the United States Army Air Corps in
1943. On December 5th of that year he married
Dinah Shore with whom he would have two children
during a marriage that lasted until 1962. In 1963,
Montgomery's private life made media headlines
when his housekeeper was charged with a failed
attempt to kill him. Allegedly suffering from a
fanatical attraction to her employer, the deranged
woman planned to shoot Montgomery then
suicide|take her own life.

As a boy, George Montgomery had developed
excellent craftsmanship with wood and as an adult
pastime he began building furniture; first for
himself and then for a few friends. His skill was
such that his hobby became a full-fledged
cabinetmaking business, employing as many as
twenty craftsmen and expanding into prop making
for Columbia Pictures during the 1940s. For his
set design work on the 1941 film, Ladies in
Retirement, he was a co-nominee for the Academy
Award for Best Art Direction.

Montgomery oversaw the furniture making business
for more than forty years and expanded his
interest to house design that saw him involved
with the building of eleven homes for friends and
family. His artistic instincts also included
learning how to sculpt in bronze. Self-taught, he
sculpted upwards of fifty bronze busts including
those of John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, Gene Autry,
Randolph Scott, and future U.S. president,  Ronald
Reagan. His sculpture of ex-wife Dinah Shore and
their children is at the Mission Hills Country
Club in Rancho Mirage, California home to the LPGA
Kraft Nabisco Championship|Dinah Shore Golf
Tournament.

Through to the early 1970s, Montgomery acted
regularly in films and made guest appearances on a
number of television shows, including the popular
western drama, Bonanza. For two seasons in 1958
and 1959 he also starred in his own  television
series, Cimarron City (TV)|Cimarron City. After a
career that included more than eighty feature
films, Montgomery retired in 1972, making only two
more minor appearances in film until his death at
his home in Rancho Mirage, California in 2000.

Cremated, Montgomery's ashes were divided and
interred in the Palm Springs Mortuary & Mausoleum
near his home and at the Highland Cemetery in
Great Falls, Montana near his birthplace.

For his contribution to the television industry,
George Montgomery has a star on the Hollywood Walk
of Fame at 6301 Hollywood Blvd. 


See also: Notable figures in Western films|Other
notable figures in Western films