George Montgomery

George Montgomery was an American actor best known for his work in Western films and television including Accent on Love (1941), Last of the Duanes (1941), Riders of the Purple Sage (1941), and The Cowboy and the Blonde (1941). Critics often wrote that Montgomery was a handsome leading man in the style of Clark Gable. During his film career he played opposite some of the greatest actors of the Golden Age of Hollywood including Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, John Wayne, Carole Landis, Maureen O'Hara, Tyrone Power, Ginger Rogers, Gene Tierney, and Betty Grable. In the 1958–59 season, Montgomery starred in his own 26-episode NBC Western series, Cimarron City as Mayor Matt Rockford, with co-stars John Smith and Audrey Totter. He also made guest appearances on a number of television shows, including NBC's Bonanza, The Odd Couple, The Six Million Dollar Man and Alias Smith and Jones. As a boy, George Montgomery had become an excellent wood craftsman. As an adult, he began building furniture, first for himself and then for a few friends. His skill was such that his hobby became a full-fledged cabinet-making business, in which he employed as many as 20 craftsmen. Montgomery oversaw the furniture business for more than 40 years, and expanded his interest to house design. He became involved with the building of 11 homes for friends and family. His artistic instincts included learning how to sculpt in bronze. Self-taught, he sculpted upwards of 50 bronze sculptures of subjects such as John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, Gene Autry, Randolph Scott, and Ronald W. Reagan. He received renown in particular for a sculpture he did of Custer's Last Stand.