George Montgomery

George Montgomery (August 29, 1916 - December 12, 2000) was an American painter, sculptor, furniture craftsman, and stuntman who is best known as an actor in western style film and television.Born George Montgomery Letz to Ukrainian immigrant parents in Brady, Montana, he was the youngest of fifteen children. He was raised on a large ranch where as a part of daily life he learned to ride horses and work cattle. Letz studied at the University of Montana but because he was more interested in a career in film, he left after a year to go to Hollywood. At Republic Pictures, his cowboy skills got him stunt work and a small acting part in the 1935 western film, The Singing Vagabond. He followed this with several more bit parts and additional stunt work using his own name George Letz in mostly low-budget films. He was frequently cast in western films starring their number one box office draw, the singing cowboy, Gene Autry. Elevated to more important secondary roles, in 1938 George Letz appeared as one of the five rangers in The Lone Ranger. He remained with Republic Pictures until 1940 when he signed with 20th Century Fox who dropped the Letz from his name, billing him as George Montgomery.
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