Douglass Montgomery

Biography

Tall, oval-faced, fair-haired, sensitive-looking Douglass Montgomery was born in Los Angeles on October 29, 1909, the son of a jeweler. Graduating from Los Angeles High School, he sought early experience at the Pasadena Playhouse. Deciding to move to New York to pursue the stage, he was quickly typed as dashing suitors in romantic and social dramas. After his discovery by an MGM agent and his resulting studio contract, Douglass's marquee name was immediately changed to Kent Douglass so as not to be mistaken for the studio's major star Robert Montgomery. A handsome and dapper dramatic "second lead" opposite some of MGM's powerhouse actresses, he supported Joan Crawford in her vehicle Paid (1930), which was his debut film, and, more memorably, Katharine Hepburn in Little Women (1933) as "Laurie" opposite Hepburn's "Jo." Other "second lead" MGM credits include Daybreak (1931) starring Ramon Novarro and Helen Chandler, Five and Ten (1931) with Marion Davies and Leslie Howard, and two films as co-lead: the romantic WWI drama Waterloo Bridge (1931), directed by James Whale, as "Roy Cronin" opposite Mae Clarke's "Myra," and the melodrama A House Divided (1931), directed by William Wyler, as the son of Walter Huston and love interest to Helen Chandler. Montgomery's stay at MGM was very brief, and when he left in 1932 he immediately changed his name back to his real name. Now a freelancing agent, Douglass went on to play leads or second leads in such films as Paramount's 8 Girls in a Boat (1934) opposite Dorothy Wilson, Universal's Little Man, What Now? (1934) co-starring Margaret Sullavan, Fox's Music in the Air (1934) starring Gloria Swanson, Universal's Mystery of Edwin Drood (1935) with Claude Rains and Heather Angel, and Universal's Lady Tubbs (1935) starring Alice Brady. Montgomery scored well with his first top-billed role as the frail, alcoholic 19th century "Swanee River" composer Stephen Foster in the "poverty row" biopic Harmony Lane (1935) with Evelyn Venable and Adrienne Ames as his lady loves. This success was followed by a co-starring role opposite Constance Bennett in Everything Is Thunder (1936) as well as a top-billed role in the British comedy Tropical Trouble (1936); a lead role as spoiled playboy Life Begins with Love (1937) opposite Jean Parker, who played "Beth" in his version of Little Women (1933); the crime drama Counsel for Crime (1937); and a fourth-billed role in the Bob Hope comedy-mystery classic The Cat and the Canary (1939). Montgomery's career was interrupted by World War II service with the Royal Canadian Air Force, after which he moved to Great Britain and made a few films there. He played American pilot John Hollis in Johnny in the Clouds (1945) starring Michael Redgrave and John Mills, played an amnesiac in the romantic drama Woman to Woman (1947), flew to Rome to play an American composer in the Italian romancer Sinfonia fatale (1947) ("When in Rome") with Marina Berti and Sarah Churchill, and starred in his last film, the melodrama Forbidden (1949) with Hazel Court. On March 14, 1952, Montgomery married British actress Kay Young, who was previously married to actor Michael Wilding. Young and Montgomery remained married until his death. Moving to TV work, he and Kay eventually moved to the States, and he finished his career with guest appearances in such anthology shows as "Cameo Theatre" "Robert Montgomery Presents," "Kraft Theatre," and "TV Reader's Digest," in which he ably played the title roles in stories about "Peer Gynt," "Robert Louis Stevenson" and "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde." Douglass Montgomery died of spinal cancer in Norwalk, Connecticut, aged 58, on July 23, 1966.