Lee Montgomery | |
---|---|
Born | Elliott Harcourt Montgomery November 3, 1961 |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1971-1988 (acting) |
Elliott Harcourt Montgomery (born November 3, 1961), [1] known as Lee Montgomery, is a United States-based Canadian actor. He is best known for his role as a lonely little boy who befriends a pack of killer rats in the film Ben (1972), as Karen Black's son Davey in the cult classic Burnt Offerings , and as Sarah Jessica Parker's hunky dance partner, Jeff Malene, in Girls Just Want to Have Fun (1985).
Brother of actresses Belinda Montgomery and Tannis G. Montgomery, and the son of actor Cecil Montgomery, Lee began his career as a model before venturing into the acting business. He made his debut in the Disney film The Million Dollar Duck in 1971, before landing a starring role in Ben (1972), the sequel to Willard (1971). He played Billy Baker in Baker's Hawk (1976).
Montgomery played a dying boy in the Academy Award-nominated film Pete 'n' Tillie (1972). He made appearances on television series such as The Mod Squad ; Columbo ; The Streets of San Francisco ; Kojak ; Adam-12 ; Emergency! ; Marcus Welby, M.D. ; and The Mary Tyler Moore Show . He acted in the infamous incest-themed film called The Savage Is Loose (1974), and in the cult horror film Burnt Offerings (1976).
In the 1980s, Montgomery made more cameo appearances in television shows such as CHiPs , Family Ties , Hotel , Fame , and Dallas , and he made a transition to adult roles in films such as Split Image (1982), Night Shadows (aka Mutant) (1984) and Into the Fire (1988). One of his best known later roles was as Phil Grenville in The Midnight Hour (1985). He also played Jeff Malene in the teen comedy Girls Just Want to Have Fun (1985), where he engages in a notable dance scene with co-star Sarah Jessica Parker. He appeared in a CBS Schoolbreak Special called "Hear Me Cry" (1984). [2]
Since dropping out of the limelight, Montgomery pursued other interests, such as music related projects. He composed the soundtrack for the film Trigon: The Legend of Pelgidium (2000). Montgomery completely disappeared from public view for more than 20 years. At least part of that time, he was working for a marketing firm. Montgomery resurfaced around 2012, appearing at Monster-Mania Con 25 in 2016 [3] and other horror-themed conventions, signing photos and posing for pictures with fans.
A new on-camera interview with Montgomery is featured on the 2015 re-issue DVD and Blu-ray of Burnt Offerings. In it, he discusses the making of the film, as well as other experiences during his time as an actor. As of March 2019 [update] , Montgomery is working as a full-time professional real estate agent in Solvang, California. [4]
Peter Michael Falk was an American film and television actor, singer and television director and producer. He is best known for his role as Lieutenant Columbo on the NBC/ABC series Columbo, for which he won four Primetime Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe Award (1973). In 1996, TV Guide ranked Falk No. 21 on its 50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time list. He received a posthumous star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2013.
Roderick Andrew Anthony Jude McDowall was a British and American actor, whose career spanned over 270 screen and stage roles across over 60 years. Born in London, he began his acting career as a child in his native England, before moving to the United States at the outbreak of World War II. He achieved prominence for his starring roles in How Green Was My Valley (1941), My Friend Flicka (1943), and Lassie Come Home (1943). Unlike many of his contemporaries, McDowall managed to transition his child stardom into adulthood, and began to appear on Broadway as well as in films, winning a Tony Award for his performance in Jean Anouilh's The Fighting Cock. For portraying Octavian in the historical epic Cleopatra (1963), he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award.
Columbo is an American crime drama television series starring Peter Falk as Lieutenant Columbo, a homicide detective with the Los Angeles Police Department. After two pilot episodes in 1968 and 1971, the show originally aired on NBC from 1971 to 1978 as one of the rotating programs of The NBC Mystery Movie. Columbo then aired less frequently on ABC from 1989 to 2003.
Robert Foxworth is an American film, stage, and television actor.
Victor Tayback was an American actor. He was best known for his role as diner owner Mel Sharples on the television sitcom Alice (1976–1985), as well as his multiple guest appearances on The Love Boat (1977–1987). The former earned him two consecutive Golden Globe Awards and a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Continuing Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.
Biagio Anthony "Ben" Gazzara was an American actor and director of film, stage, and television. He received numerous accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award and a Drama Desk Award, in addition to nominations for three Golden Globe Awards and three Tony Awards.
Penny Fuller is an American actress. She received two Tony Award nominations for her performances on Broadway stage: for Applause (1970), and The Dinner Party (2001). For her television performances, Fuller received six Emmy Award nominations, winning once, in 1982 for playing Madge Kendal in The Elephant Man.
James Gregory was an American character actor who played roles such as Schaffer in Al Capone (1959), the McCarthy-like Sen. John Iselin in The Manchurian Candidate (1962), the audacious General Ursus in Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970), and crusty Inspector Frank Luger in the television sitcom Barney Miller (1975–1982).
Edward Dean Winter was an American actor. He is best known for his recurring role, Colonel Samuel Flagg, in the television series M*A*S*H from 1973 to 1979.
Jacob "Jack" Kruschen was a Canadian character actor who worked primarily in American film, television and radio. Kruschen was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Dr. Dreyfuss in the 1960 comedy-drama The Apartment.
Steve Forrest was an American actor who was well known for his role as Lt. Hondo Harrelson in the hit television series S.W.A.T. which was broadcast on ABC from 1975 to 1976. He was also known for his performance in Mommie Dearest (1981).
Noah Lindsey Beery was an American actor often specializing in warm, friendly character roles similar to many portrayed by his Oscar-winning uncle, Wallace Beery. Unlike his more famous uncle, however, Beery Jr. seldom broke away from playing supporting roles. Active as an actor in films or television for well over half a century, he was best known for playing James Garner's character's father, Joseph "Rocky" Rockford, in the NBC television series The Rockford Files (1974–1980). His father, Noah Nicholas Beery enjoyed a similarly lengthy film career as an extremely prominent supporting actor in major films, although the elder Beery was also frequently a leading man during the silent film era.
Anthony Jared Zerbe is an American actor. His notable film roles include the post-apocalyptic cult leader Matthias in The Omega Man, a 1971 film adaptation of Richard Matheson's 1954 novel, I Am Legend; as an Irish Catholic coal miner and one of the Molly Maguires in the 1970 film The Molly Maguires; as a corrupt gambler in Farewell, My Lovely; as the leper colony chief Toussaint in the 1973 historical drama prison film Papillon; as Abner Devereaux in Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park; as villain Milton Krest in the James Bond film Licence to Kill; Rosie in The Turning Point; Roger Stuart in The Dead Zone; Admiral Dougherty in Star Trek: Insurrection; and Councillor Hamann in The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions.
Girls Just Want to Have Fun is a 1985 American romantic comedy dance film directed by Alan Metter and distributed by New World Pictures. It was written by Amy Spies and stars Sarah Jessica Parker, Lee Montgomery, Morgan Woodward, Jonathan Silverman, Shannen Doherty, and Helen Hunt. Its story follows Janey, a new girl in town who meets Lynne and discovers they both share a passion for dancing and the TV show Dance TV. Together the two enter a competition to be a new Dance TV regular couple; however, Janey's father does not approve.
Timothy Joseph O'Connor was an American character actor known for his prolific work in television, although he made only a few appearances after the early 1990s. Before moving to California, he lived on an island in the middle of Glen Wild Lake, located in Bloomingdale, New Jersey, 30 miles from Manhattan. O'Connor specialized in playing officials, military men, and police officers.
David William Huddleston was an American actor. An Emmy Award nominee, Huddleston had a prolific television career, and appeared in many films, including Rio Lobo, Blazing Saddles, Crime Busters, Santa Claus: The Movie, and The Big Lebowski.
Pete 'n' Tillie is a 1972 American comedy-drama film directed by Martin Ritt and starring Walter Matthau and Carol Burnett. Its advertising tagline was: "Honeymoon's over. It's time to get married."
Burnt Offerings is a 1976 American supernatural horror film co-written and directed by Dan Curtis and starring Karen Black, Oliver Reed, Bette Davis, and Lee H. Montgomery, with Eileen Heckart, Burgess Meredith and Anthony James in supporting roles. It is based on the 1973 novel of the same name by Robert Marasco. The plot follows a family who begins to interpersonally dissolve under supernatural forces in a large estate they have rented for the summer.
Richard William Bull was an American film, stage and television actor. He was best known for his performances as "Doc" on Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea and Nels Oleson on Little House on the Prairie.