Monte Montague

Monte Montague
Montague (left) with Ray Gallagher in 1921 Western short
Born
Walter Harry Montague

(1891-04-23)April 23, 1891
Somerset, Kentucky, US
DiedApril 6, 1959(1959-04-06) (aged 67)
Burbank, California, US
OccupationsActor, stunt performer, clown
Years active1901-1954
Spouse(s)Mary Margaret Basolo
(m. 1923)
ChildrenMary Louise Montague (aka Baby Montague)

Walter Harry "Monte" Montague (April 23, 1891 – April 6, 1959) was an American film actor and stuntman. He appeared in more than 190 films between 1920 and 1954.

Early life

Born in Somerset, Kentucky and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, Montague was one of four children born to Nannie Davis and Oliver H. Montague.

A circus tumbler at age seven, Montague was eventually recognized as among "filmdom's most noted circus clowns", as well as "one of the best screen comedians in the profession." The years preceding his 1920 screen debut featured stints with Ringling Brothers, Hagenbech and Wallace, Barnum and Bailey, Al G. Barnes, Sells Floto, and Cooper and Lentz.

Personal life and death

On February 13, 1923, Montague married Mary Margaret Basolo. They had one child, Mary Louise Montague, who worked briefly as a child actress in films during the 1920s, appearing at least once—billed alternately as "Baby Montague" or "Monte Mongtague Jr."—alongside her father, in 1927's The Rambling Ranger.

Montague died in 1959 at age 67, in Burbank, California, survived by his wife, his mother, his daughter, and all three siblings.

Partial filmography

References

  1. 1 2 3 Katchmer, George A. (2002). A Biographical Dictionary of Silent Film Western Actors and Actresses. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company. p. 264. ISBN 978-0-7864-4693-3.
  2. ↑ "United States, Veterans Administration Master Index, 1917-1940", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:W94Z-LMZM : Fri Mar 08 22:27:27 UTC 2024), Entry for Walter Harry Montague, 10 February 1919.
  3. 1 2 "Obituaries: Walter Montague". Variety. April 22, 1959. p. 86. ProQuest 1017042969. Walter (Monte) Montague, 67, vet film actor and stuntman, died recently in Burbank, Cal., after 50 years in show biz. Starting his career as an aerialist with Ringling Bros. Circus, he later went to Hollywood and appeared in early westerns with such stars as Buck Jones, Tom Mix and Hoot Gibson. He was in the first 'Tarzan' film, with Elmo Lincoln. His wife and daughter survive.
  4. 1 2 Baxter, John (1974). Stunt; The Story of the Great Movie Stunt Men. Garden City, NY: Doubleday. p. 153. ISBN 0385065205.
  5. ↑ "A Deserted Husband". The Cincinnati Post. April 13, 1894. p. 1. Retrieved November 30, 2024.
  6. ↑ Snapshots: Street Railway Co. Beaten; Doings of the Police — Court Decisions and New Suits Filed; Police Pickings". The Cincinnati Enquirer. April 14, 1894. p. 16. Retrieved November 30, 2024.
  7. 1 2 "United States Census, 1900", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MM8X-M4V : Fri Nov 08 01:19:30 UTC 2024), Entry for Oliver H Montague and Nannie Montague, 1900.
  8. ↑ "Bankrupts Discharged". The Cincinnati Enquirer. April 1, 1902. p. 12. Retrieved November 30, 2024.
  9. ↑ "185 Are Called". The Cincinnati Post. July 16, 1918. p. 2. Retrieved November 30, 2024.
  10. ↑ "California Death Index, 1940-1997," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VPC4-8YN : 26 November 2014), Walter H Montague, 06 Apr 1959; Department of Public Health Services, Sacramento.
  11. 1 2 3 "Obituaries: Walter H. Montague". The Los Angeles Times. April 9, 1959. pt. III, p. 10. Retrieved December 1, 2024.
  12. ↑ "Hoot Gibson and Big Cast Due in 'Wild West Show'". Star Valley Independent. February 22, 1929. p. 1. Retrieved December 2, 2024.
  13. ↑ "Amusements: New Circus Serial at Lyric". The Urbana Daily Citizen. May 21, 1931. p. 8. Retrieved December 2, 2024.
  14. ↑ "Turning the Pages Back: Five Years Ago". Burbank Daily Evening Review. February 25, 1928. p. 2. Retrieved December 1, 2024.
  15. ↑ "California, County Marriages, 1850-1953", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K8NS-CHG : Fri Mar 08 15:32:21 UTC 2024), Entry for Walter Harry Montague and Mary Margaret Basolo, 13 February 1923.
  16. ↑ "Current Boise Offerings: The Gambling Fool". The Idaho Statesman. December 11, 1927. pt. III, p. 8. Retrieved December 1, 2024.
  17. ↑ "Picturegoer's Guide". The Picturegoer. August 1927. p. 57. ProQuest 1771150449. The Rambling Ranger (European) — Average Western, with slight plot and a child interest. Jack Hoxie stars, with Dorothy Gulliver, C. E. Anderson, Charles Avery, Monte Montague, Bert De Mare, Baby Montague and 'Skeeter' Bill Robins. Director, Del Henderson.
  18. ↑ Munden, Kenneth White (9719). The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States: Feature Films, 1921-1930, Part 1. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. p. 632. ISBN 0-520-20969-9.