Actor. He was an American actor who gained fame mainly as a rugged cowboy in 87 Western films and numerous television shows during a six-decade career. He had roles in romantic comedies and musicals. Born George Montgomery Letz, the youngest of fifteen children to Ukrainian immigrants, he was reared on a Montana ranch, learning how to ride a horse. At a young age, his talent for art, especially drawing and woodworking, became apparent. He attended the University of Montana for one year, studying architecture and interior design. While in college, he became a heavyweight boxing champion, measuring in at a handsome 6 foot 2 inches tall and 200 pounds. He left for California for an acting career but became a boxing coach and stuntman before having small roles in Western films at Republic Pictures. He made his film debut in the 1935 Gene Autry western "The Singing Vagabond," being credited as George Letz. In 1938, with a heftier and reoccurring role, he appeared as one of the six men suspected of being the alleged hero in the fifteen-chapter Western series, "The Lone Ranger." At the end of 1939, he left Republic Pictures for 20th Century Fox, changing his name to George Montgomery and performing as a leading man in musical comedies such as "The Cisco Kid and the Lady" in 1939, "China Girl," "Orchestra Wives" and "Roxie Hart" all in 1942, "Coney Island" in 1943 and child actress Shirley Temple's last film, "The Young People" in 1940. Most of these were box office hits. He performed alongside many beautiful actresses and became briefly engaged to one, Heddy Lamar. He designed the set for the 1941 movie "Ladies in Retirement" and received a co-nomination with Lionel Banks for the Academy Award for Best Art Direction-Interior Design in a black and white film. During World War II, he married award-winning singer Dinah Shore only days before he left for an enlistment in the Army Air Force in 1943. While in the military, he appeared in the training film, "Survival of the Fittest" in 1944. Returning from war, he appeared in "Three Little Girls in Blue" in 1946 and a role as private eye Philip Marlowe in the 1947 film "The Brasher Doubloon." In September of 1947, he left 20th Century Fox to become one of Hollywood's first successful free-lance actors. He ranked fifth on the box-office polls for the years 1953, 1954, and 1955. After leaving 20th Century Fox, he appeared in several low-budget Westerns and war movies. In 1959, he had a role in the successful MGM film "Watusi." During this time, he directed and wrote screenplays with mediocre reviews. From 1958 to 1959, he had a successful lead role in 26 episodes of the NBC television series "Cimarron City." He appeared as a guest on other television Westerns such as "Gunsmoke" and "Wagon Train." In 1960, he received a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his television performances. Filmed on location in the Philippines in 1961, he co-wrote, directed as well as starred as a Marine in "The Steel Claw." In 1963, he and his wife of nearly 20 years, Dinah Shore, had a very bitter, much-publicized divorce. The couple had a daughter and an adopted son. Shore remarried weeks after the divorce but was divorced again within seven months. The same year, his former housekeeper attempted to kill him in his home, but he took the pistol away from her and called the police after the weapon was fired and nearly hit him. His acting career began to decline. Released in June of 1970, he traveled to South Africa to direct and act as the leading man in the film, "Satan's Harvest." Critics mentioned that the scenery was beautiful, but otherwise, it was a "forgettable film." He made a couple more films and television appearances before retiring. After his retirement from films in 1972, he devoted himself full-time to his love of painting, furniture-making, and sculpting bronze busts, including ones for John Wayne, Randolph Scott, Clint Eastwood, and his close friend, Ronald Regan. At Mission Hills Country Club, home of the world-famous Nabisco-Dinah Shore Golf Tournament, he created a statue of Dinah Shore, which was erected on the golf course. He was a self-taught sculptor. He had a successful cabinet-building business that employed 20 craftsmen. In 1981, he self-published his biography, "The Years of George Montgomery." He died suddenly at his home of a heart attack. After his remains were cremated, a portion was interred in his family plot at Highlands Cemetery in Montana, where a life-size statue of him in cowboy attire was erected at the grave site, and another portion in the mausoleum at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in California.