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Robert Montgomery, born Henry Montgomery Jr. in 1904, starred alongside Norma Shearer in Private Lives 1931. He served as Screen Actors Guild president from 1935-38 and 1946-47, advised President Eisenhower on television, directed the film-noir Lady in the Lake 1946, and hosted the anthology series Robert Montgomery Presents.
Names, aliases, and relatives of Robert Montgomery — birth name, kin, and personal ties.
Robert Montgomery by the numbers — life, work, and family.
Robert Montgomery — early life, career, personal life, and legacy.
The elder son of Henry Montgomery, president of the New York Rubber Co., Robert was born Henry Montgomery Jr. in Fishkill Landing, New York, in 1904. After his father’s death and the Depression wiped out the family fortune, Montgomery and his brother took menial jobs. He moved to New York to pursue writing but, on a friend’s advice, tried acting. He worked with George Cukor on stage and made his film debut in So This Is College 1929, changing his forename to Robert.
Norma Shearer chose Montgomery as her leading man in Private Lives 1931, launching his career. He spent 16 years at MGM, playing a range of characters. He served as Screen Actors Guild president from 1935 to 1938 and again from 1946 to 1947. During WWII, he joined the Navy and saw action in Europe and the Pacific. Returning to MGM in 1945, he co-starred with John Wayne in They Were Expendable 1945 and made his directorial debut with Lady in the Lake 1946. He left MGM to become an independent director and later hosted Robert Montgomery Presents 1950, where his daughter Elizabeth began her career.
Montgomery married Elizabeth Allen in 1928; they had three children: Martha Bryan who died at 14 months, Elizabeth Montgomery the actress from Bewitched, and Robert Jr. The couple divorced in 1950, and he married Elizabeth Grant later that year, remaining with her until his death. A staunch Republican, he was a friendly witness before the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1947. He also served as White House television consultant to President Dwight D. Eisenhower starting in 1953, pioneering the role of political image consultant.
Montgomery’s influence extended beyond acting through his union work and TV consultancy. As SAG president, he helped expose union corruption. He received a Tony Award for Best Director and has stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. His daughter Elizabeth Montgomery starred in Bewitched. Montgomery’s role in Here Comes Mr. Jordan 1941 and his pioneering television work define his legacy.
Every award, honor, and recognition received by Robert Montgomery — Grammys, hall-of-fame inductions, civic honors, lifetime achievements.
A wall of memorable lines from Robert Montgomery — lyrics, interviews, and off-the-cuff remarks captured over a lifetime.
If You Are Lucky Enough to Be a Success, by All Means Enjoy the Applause and the Adulation of the Public. but Never, Never Believe It.
Little-known facts about Robert Montgomery — origins, oddities, and behind-the-scenes details from a public life.
Montgomery was among Hollywood’s best-dressed men, for years avoiding carrying a wallet to maintain his suits’ drape.
After Dwight D. Eisenhower’s 1953 inauguration, Montgomery became the White House’s unpaid television consultant, pioneering the political image consultant role. He later remarked that if Richard Nixon had let Montgomery advise him on his 1960 debate appearance, Nixon might have won the election.
Before US entry into WWII, Montgomery drove an ambulance for the American Field Services in France for six months. During the D-Day invasion, he was among the first to enter Cherbourg harbor and received the Bronze Star.
His union activities with SAG caused a rift with MGM’s Louis B. Mayer, but Montgomery helped expose IATSE official Willie Bioff’s ties to Al Capone, leading to Bioff’s conviction and eventual car-bomb assassination in Phoenix in 1955.
With his first wife Elizabeth Allen, Montgomery had three children: Martha Bryan died of spinal meningitis at 14 months, Elizabeth Montgomery, and Robert Montgomery Jr.
When Louis B. Mayer refused him a deserved raise, Montgomery reportedly said, ‘If you were a younger man, Mr. Mayer, I’d give you a beating.
In the 1960s, Montgomery served on the boards of major corporations including R.H. Macy and Co. and the Milwaukee Telephone Company.
Montgomery co-starred with Rosalind Russell in five films: Forsaking All Others 1934, Trouble for Two 1936, Live, Love and Learn 1937, Night Must Fall 1937, and Fast and Loose 1939.
In 1949, Montgomery accepted the Best Actor Oscar on behalf of Laurence Olivier, who was absent.
He hosted CBS Radio’s Suspense for six months in 1948 when the show expanded to an hour.
Montgomery appeared in three Best Picture nominees: The Divorcee 1930, The Big House 1930, and Here Comes Mr. Jordan 1941.
He was the ex-father-in-law of actor Gig Young, who married his daughter Elizabeth.
Montgomery received two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame: one for motion pictures at 6440 Hollywood Boulevard and one for television at 1631 Vine Street.
His daughter Elizabeth Montgomery played the lead role of Samantha Stephens on the long-running TV series Bewitched.
Originally hired to narrate the TV series Victory At Sea, Montgomery saw a rough cut and demanded out, believing the series would fail. Leonard Graves replaced him.
He was also the ex-father-in-law of producer William Asher, who married Elizabeth Montgomery.
Montgomery worked with Myrna Loy in two films: When Ladies Meet 1933 and Petticoat Fever 1936.
He was teamed with Joan Crawford in six films: Untamed 1929, Our Blushing Brides 1930, Letty Lynton 1932, Forsaking All Others 1934, No More Ladies 1935, and The Last of Mrs. Cheyney 1937.
Norma Shearer was his romantic interest in five MGM films: Their Own Desire 1929, The Divorcee 1930, Strangers May Kiss 1931, Private Lives 1931, and Riptide 1934.
Montgomery was the grandfather of William Asher Jr., Robert Asher, and Rebecca Asher.
A biography of Montgomery appears in The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives, Volume One, 1981-1985, pages 571-573.
At one point, he was featured in advertisements for Lucky Strike cigarettes.
He co-starred with Audrey Totter in two movies: Lady in the Lake 1946 and The Saxon Charm 1948.
Montgomery co-starred with Madge Evans in five films: Lovers Courageous 1932, Hell Below 1933, Made on Broadway 1933, Fugitive Lovers 1934, and Piccadilly Jim 1936.
He was the leading man of Ann Harding in two films: When Ladies Meet 1933 and Biography of a Bachelor Girl 1935.
Montgomery was paired with Dorothy Jordan in two films: Love in the Rough 1930 and Shipmates 1931.
Quick answers to the questions readers ask most about Robert Montgomery.
Celebrities similar to Robert Montgomery — same craft, ranked by reach.
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