Robert Montgomery, U.S.N.R. Commander (May 21, 1904 - September 27, 1981) was an American actor and director.

Born Henry Montgomery Jr. in Beacon, New York, his early childhood was one of privilege, since his father was President of the New York Rubber Company. When his father died, the family's fortune was gone, and young Robert went to New York City to try his hand at writing and acting. Sharing a stage with George Cukor gave him an in to Hollywood, where, in 1929, he debuted in So This is College. Norma Shearer chose him to star opposite her in Private Lives in 1931, and he became a star. During this time, Montgomery appeared in the first, filmed version of When Ladies Meet (1933). In 1937, he starred opposite Marion Davies in Ever Since Eve from a screenplay by the "hot" playwright of the day, Lawrence Riley, et al.

In 1935, Montgomery became President of the Screen Actors Guild, and was elected again in 1946. In 1937 he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor as a psychopath in the chiller Night Must Fall, and again in 1942 for Here Comes Mr. Jordan. During World War II, he joined the Navy, rising to the rank of Lieutenant Commander.

In 1945 he returned to Hollywood, making his uncredited directing debut with They Were Expendable, where he directed some of the PT Boat scenes when director John Ford was unable to work for health reasons. His first credited film as director was Lady in the Lake (1947), in which he also starred, and which brought him mixed reviews. He was a friendly witness before the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1947. The next year, Montgomery hosted the Academy Awards. He hosted a popular television series, Robert Montgomery Presents, in the 1950s. The Gallant Hours, a 1960 film Montgomery directed and co-produced with its star, his friend James Cagney, was the last film or television production he was connected with in any capacity, as actor, director or producer.

He died of cancer at the age of 77 in New York City. His daughter, actress Elizabeth Montgomery, born April 15, 1933 also succumbed to cancer on May 18, 1995 at the age of 62, and his son, Robert Montgomery, Jr. (better known as Skip), born February 15, 1936 fell victim to it on April 28, 2000, at the age of 64.

Montgomery has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one for movies at 6440 Hollywood Blvd., and one for television at 1631 Vine Street. He was a longtime summer resident of North Haven, Maine.

Robert Montgomery Presents was a dramatic television series which was produced by NBC from January 30, 1950 until June 24, 1957.

The show was tied to several sponsors during its seven-year run and the correct title as presented each week related to the sponsor, most usually Lucky Strike cigarettes, for example Robert Montgomery Presents Your Lucky Strike Theater.

For the first two years it was shown every second week, and then became a weekly series for the duration if its run. Hosted and produced by the film actor Robert Montgomery, his presence lent a degree of respectability to the new medium of television and he was able to persuade many of his Hollywood associates to appear. Montgomery introduced each episode and also acted in many episodes.

The program was broadcast live, and was noted for the high level of production values and the consistent attempt to present quality entertainment within the constraints of a live presentation. A drama built around the Hindenburg disaster and including interviews with survivors of the actual event was one example of the ambitious nature of the program.

During its first year it presented adaptations of popular motion pictures including Rebecca, The Egg and I, Dark Victory and Montgomery's Ride the Pink Horse and such well known plays as W. Somerset Maugham's The Letter (which was presented in the first episode). Over the following seasons it presented adaptations of highly respected works but also began to showcase new writers and presented original dramas written expressly for the series.

From 1952 a repertory cast appeared on the show along with guest artists. Montgomery's daughter Elizabeth Montgomery made her acting debut as a repertory player in 1953, and remained with the show until 1956. Cliff Robertson also made his acting debut as part of the same group in 1964.

On Christmas Eve 1956, the series presented the then-annual telecast of Gian-Carlo Menotti's Amahl and the Night Visitors.

Among the notable guest stars to appear in the series were:

Luther Adler, Brian Aherne, Eddie Albert, Robert Alda, Mary Astor, Jean-Pierre Aumont, Jim Backus, Fay Bainter, Barbara Bel Geddes, Constance Bennett, Edna Best, Claire Bloom, Lee Bowman, Lloyd Bridges, Vanessa Brown, James Cagney, Madeleine Carroll, John Cassavetes, Claudette Colbert, Jackie Cooper, Robert Culp, Robert Cummings, James Dean, Gloria DeHaven, Joanne Dru, James Dunn, June Duprez, Tom Ewell, Peter Falk, Betty Field, Geraldine Fitzgerald, John Forsythe, Peggy Ann Garner, Dorothy Gish, Lillian Gish, Thomas Gomez, Farley Granger, Signe Hasso, Hurd Hatfield, June Havoc, Helen Hayes, Van Heflin, Wanda Hendrix, Charlton Heston, Kim Hunter, Diana Hyland, Louis Jordan, Boris Karloff, Grace Kelly, Phyllis Kirk, Elsa Lanchester, Angela Lansbury, Piper Laurie, Anna Lee, Jack Lemmon, Audra Lindley, June Lockhart, Paul Lukas, Diana Lynn, Jeffrey Lynn, Raymond Massey, Walter Matthau, Roddy McDowall, Darren McGavin, Dorothy McGuire, Burgess Meredith, Roger Moore, Chester Morris, Leslie Nielsen, David Niven, Margaret O'Brien, Una O'Connor, Gale Page, Geraldine Page, Vincent Price, Ella Raines, Lee Remick, Gena Rowlands, Ann Rutherford, Martha Scott, Zachary Scott, Alexis Smith, Kent Smith, Brett Somers, Jean Stapleton, Inger Stevens, Franchot Tone, Jo Van Fleet, Estelle Winwood, Joanne Woodward, Teresa Wright, Jane Wyatt and Gig Young.

It won an Emmy Award for "Best Dramatic Program" in 1953, and was nominated for the same award in 1952 and 1954.

Hollywood actor-director-producer Robert Montgomery introduced each telecast, sometimes interviewing one of the stars and sometimes appearing in the play himself. Written by Anonymous

As a child, Robert Montgomery enjoyed a privileged life, as his father was the president of the New York Rubber Co. When he died, the fortune was gone and Robert worked at a number of jobs. He later went to New York to be a writer, and on the advice of a friend tried acting. He worked with George Cukor on the stage and his first film, at MGM, was So This Is College (1929). When Norma Shearer picked him to be her leading man in Private Lives (1931), he was set. He played many likable characters over the years, covering the gamut from very poor to very rich. In 1935 he became President of the Screen Actors Guild. His stay with MGM lasted 16 years, and was only interrupted by WWII when he joined the navy. He saw action in both Europe and the Pacific. He returned to MGM in 1945 and co-starred with John Wayne (I) in the John Ford (I)-directed They Were Expendable (1945) and then made his directorial debut with Lady in the Lake (1947) (although he had directed a few scenes, uncredited, in "They Were Expendable" when Ford took ill). He then left MGM to become an independent director, preferring work behind the camera instead of in front. He was a friendly witness before the House Un-American Activities in 1947 during the McCarthy era and then spent most of his time on television and stage. His popular show, "Robert Montgomery Presents" (1950), was where daughter Elizabeth Montgomery (I) got her first acting job.