Here is the biography of Robert Montgomery:
Robert Montgomery, born Henry Montgomery Jr. on May 21, 1904, was an American film and television actor, director, and producer. He is also the father of actress Elizabeth Montgomery. Montgomery established a stage career in New York City, turning down an offer to appear in the film This Is Heaven in 1929. His success on stage led to a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, where he debuted in So This Is College in 1929.
Montgomery initially played comedic roles, but his first drama film was The Big House in 1930. He convinced MGM to let him play the role with his earnestness and demonstrations of how he would play the character. From then on, he was in constant demand. He starred opposite Greta Garbo in Inspiration in 1930 and opposite Norma Shearer in The Divorcee, Strangers May Kiss, and Private Lives in 1930 and 1931, which led to his stardom.
Montgomery received an Academy Award for Best Actor nomination for his role as a psychopath in Night Must Fall in 1937. After World War II broke out in Europe, Montgomery enlisted in London for American field service and drove ambulances in France until the Dunkirk evacuation. He then returned to Hollywood and addressed a massive rally on the MGM lot for the American Red Cross in July 1940.
Montgomery continued to play light comedy roles, such as Alfred Hitchcock's Mr. & Mrs. Smith in 1941 with Carole Lombard. He also searched for dramatic roles, earning an Oscar nomination for his role as Joe Pendleton, a boxer and pilot in Here Comes Mr. Jordan in 1941. After the U.S. entered World War II, Montgomery joined the United States Navy, rising to the rank of lieutenant commander, and served on the USS Barton, which was part of the D-Day invasion on June 6, 1944.
In 1945, Montgomery returned to Hollywood, making his uncredited directing debut with They Were Expendable, where he directed some of the PT boat scenes when director John Ford was unable to work due to health reasons. Montgomery's first credited film as director and his final film for MGM was the film noir Lady in the Lake in 1947, in which he also starred. The film received mixed reviews and is unusual because it was filmed entirely from Marlowe's vantage point.
Montgomery was active in Republican politics and concerned about communist influence in the entertainment industry. He was a friendly witness before the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1947. Montgomery has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one for movies at 6440 Hollywood Boulevard, and another for television at 1631 Vine Street.
