Monte Blue facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Monte Blue
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Blue in 1924
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Gerard Montgomery Blue
January 11, 1887 Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.
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| Died | February 18, 1963 (aged 76) Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.
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| Resting place | Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California |
| Alma mater | Purdue University |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1915–1960 |
| Spouse(s) | Erma Gladys King (m. 1909; div. 1923) Tova Jansen
(m. 1924; died 1956)Betty Jean Munson Mess
(m. 1959) |
| Children | 2 |
Gerard Montgomery Blue (born January 11, 1887 – died February 18, 1963) was an American actor. He started his career as a romantic hero in silent movies. Even after movies started having sound, he kept acting in many different films for decades.
Contents
His Early Years
Monte Blue was born in Indianapolis, Indiana. His mother was Irish. People believed his father was part French and part Native American (Cherokee and Osage). Monte had three brothers. His father was a soldier in the American Civil War and even worked as a scout for the famous Buffalo Bill.
Sadly, his father died in a train accident. His mother could not raise four children by herself. So, Monte and one of his brothers went to the Indiana Soldiers' and Sailors' Children's Home. Monte worked hard and was able to attend Purdue University.
Monte Blue grew to be very tall, about 6 feet 3 inches. Before becoming an actor, he had many different jobs. He played football, worked as a fireman, a coal miner, a cowboy, a lumberjack, and even helped out at the movie studios of D. W. Griffith.
Becoming a Movie Star
Monte Blue had no acting experience when he first started in movies. His very first film was The Birth of a Nation in 1915. In this movie, he did stunts and was an extra, meaning he was in the background. He also had a small part in Intolerance (1916). He even worked as a stuntman for another actor in the movie Macbeth.
Slowly, he started getting bigger roles. He worked for famous directors like D.W. Griffith and Cecil B. DeMille. His big break came when he played Danton in the movie Orphans of the Storm. This film starred the famous sisters Lillian Gish and Dorothy Gish.
After that, Monte Blue became a popular romantic lead. He acted alongside top actresses like Clara Bow, Gloria Swanson, and Norma Shearer. He often worked with Marie Prevost, making several films together at Warner Bros. in the mid-1920s. In 1928, he starred in MGM's White Shadows in the South Seas, playing a doctor who finds a beautiful paradise.
Life After Stardom
Monte Blue was one of the few silent movie stars who continued to have a career when movies started having sound. However, he lost all his money in the Wall Street Crash of 1929, a big stock market crash.
He then rebuilt his career by playing "character roles." These are supporting roles that add to the story, rather than being the main hero. He continued acting in films until 1954. After that, he appeared in various TV shows until 1960, mostly in Westerns like Annie Oakley. From the mid-1930s, he worked for Warner Bros., playing many different character parts.
One of his most memorable roles was as the sheriff in the movie Key Largo, where he acted with Lionel Barrymore.
For his important work in movies, Monte Blue received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. This special honor was given to him on February 8, 1960.
Family and Later Life
Monte Blue divorced his first wife in 1923. The next year, he married Tova Jansen. He had two children, Barbara Ann and Richard Monte.
Later in his life, Monte Blue was very active in the Masons, which is a social and charitable group. He also worked for the Hamid-Morton Shrine Circus. In 1963, while on a business trip in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, he had a heart attack and passed away. He is buried next to his mother-in-law, actress Bodil Rosing, at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.
Images for kids
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Mae Murray and Blue in Broadway Rose (1922)
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Blue (left) with Miriam Cooper and Hobart Bosworth in Betrayed (1917)
See also
In Spanish: Monte Blue para niños
