Monte Blue

Monte Blue
Gerard Montgomery Blue (January 11, 1887 – February 18, 1963) was an American film actor who began his career as a romantic lead in the silent era; and for decades after the advent of sound, he continued to perform as a supporting player in a wide range of motion pictures.
Early life
Gerard Montgomery Bluefeather was born in Indianapolis, Indiana to an Irish mother, Orphalena Lousetta Springer, while his father William Jackson Blue was believed to be half French and part Cherokee and Osage. He had three brothers; Charles Bertram, Leroy, and William Morris. His father was a Civil War veteran, and served as a scout for Buffalo Bill.
When his father died in a railroad collision, his mother could not rear four children alone, so Blue and one of his brothers were admitted to the Indiana Soldiers' and Sailors' Children's Home. He eventually worked his way through Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana.
Blue grew to a height of . He played football and worked as a fireman, boilermaker, coal miner, cowpuncher, ranch hand, circus rider, lumberjack, and day laborer at the studios of D.W. Griffith.
Career
Blue had no theatrical experience when he came to the screen. His first movie was The Birth of a Nation (1915), in which he was a stuntman and an extra. Next, he played another small part in Intolerance (1916). He also was a stuntman or stand-in for Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree during the making of Macbeth (1916). Gradually moving to supporting roles for both D.W. Griffith and Cecil B. DeMille, Blue earned his breakthrough role as Danton in Orphans of the Storm, starring sisters Lillian and Dorothy Gish. Then, he rose to stardom as a rugged romantic lead along with top leading actresses such as Clara Bow, Gloria Swanson, and Norma Shearer. He most often acted with Marie Prevost, with whom he made several films in the mid-1920s at Warner Bros. Blue portrayed the alcoholic doctor who finds paradise in MGM's White Shadows in the South Seas (1928). Blue became one of the few silent stars to survive the sound revolution; however, he lost his investments in the stock market crash of 1929.
He rebuilt his career as a character actor, working until his retirement from films in 1954, and he played character roles in various television series until 1960, mostly Westerns, such as Annie Oakley. From the mid-1930s, he was a contract player at Warner Bros., working as in character parts and as an extra.
One of his more memorable roles was as the sheriff in Key Largo opposite Lionel Barrymore.
For his contributions to the motion pictures industry, Monte Blue received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6290 Hollywood Boulevard on February 8, 1960.
Personal life
Blue divorced his first wife in 1923 and married Tova Jansen the following year. He had two children, Barbara Ann and Richard Monte. During the later part of his life, Blue was an active Mason and served as the advance man for the Hamid-Morton Shrine Circus. In 1963, while on business in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, he died after suffering a heart attack attributed to complications from influenza. He is interred next to his mother-in-law, actress Bodil Rosing, at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.
Selected filmography
The Birth of a Nation (1915) as Minor Role (uncredited)
The Absentee (1915) as Ignorance
The Wild Girl from the Hills (1915, Short)
Ghosts (1915) as Bohemian in Paris
The Noon Hour (1915, Short) as Ada's Brother
Editions de Luxe (1915, Short) as Conny Peters - Swindler
For His Pal (1915, Short) as Jo Price
Hidden Crime (1915, Short) as Grant - the Grazer
The Family Doctor (1915, Short) as Dr. John Montrose
Martyrs of the Alamo (1915) as Defender of the Alamo (uncredited)
The Price of Power (1916) as Minor Role (uncredited)
The Man Behind the Curtain (1916) (uncredited)
The Devil's Needle (1916) as Bartender (uncredited)
Hell-to-Pay Austin (1916) as Minor Role (uncredited)
Intolerance (1916) as The Strike Leader
The Vagabond Prince (1916) as Peasant (uncredited)
The Microscope Mystery (1916) as Jud
(1916, Short) as Assistant Hotel Manager (uncredited)
Jim Bludso (1917) as Joe Bower
Besty's Burglar (1917) as Victor Gilpin
Hands Up! (1917) as Dan Tracy
Wild and Woolly (1917) as One of Wild Bill's Men (uncredited)
Betrayed (1917) as Pepo Esparenza
The Man from Painted Post (1917) as Slim Carter
The Ship of Doom (1917) as Martin Shaw
The Red, Red Heart (1918) as Billy Porter
Riders of the Night (1918) as 'The Killer' Jed
M'Liss (1918) as Mexican Joe Dominguez
The Only Road (1918) as Pedro Lupo
Hands Up (1918, Serial)
Till I Come Back to You (1918) as American Doughboy
Johanna Enlists (1918) as Pvt. Vibbard
The Romance of Tarzan (1918) as Juan
The Eyes of Mystery (1918)* (uncredited; Blue appears on lobby poster with Edith Storey)
The Goddess of Lost Lake (1918) (uncredited)
The Squaw Man (1918) as Happy
Romance and Arabella (1919) as Harry Atteridge
Pettigrew's Girl (1919) as Pvt. William Pettigrew
Rustling a Bride (1919) as Nick McCredie
Told in the Hills (1919) as Kalitan
In Mizzoura (1919) as Sam Fowler
Everywoman (1919) as Love
Too Much Johnson (1919) as Billy Lounsberry
The Thirteenth Commandment (1920) as Bayard Kip
A Cumberland Romance (1920) as Sherd Raines
Something to Think About (1920) as Jim Dirk
The Jucklins (1921) as Bill Hawes
The Kentuckians (1921) as Boone Stallard
A Perfect Crime (1921) as Wally Griggs
A Broken Doll (1921) as Tommy Dawes
Moonlight and Honeysuckle (1921) as Ted Musgrove
The Affairs of Anatol (1921) as Abner Elliott
Orphans of the Storm (1921) as Danton
Peacock Alley (1922) as Elmer Harmon
My Old Kentucky Home (1922) as Richard Goodloe
Broadway Rose (1922) as Tom Darcy
The Tents of Allah (1923) as Chiddar Ben-Ek
Brass (1923) as Philip Baldwin
Main Street (1923) as Dr. Will Kennicott
The Purple Highway (1923) as Edgar Prentice, aka Edgar Craig
Defying Destiny (1923) as Jack Fenton
Lucretia Lombard (1923) as Stephen Winship
The Marriage Circle (1924) as Dr. Franz Braun
Loving Lies (1924) as Captain Dan stover
Mademoiselle Midnight (1924) as Owen Burke / Jerry Brent
How to Educate a Wife (1924) as Ernest Todd
Daughters of Pleasure (1924) as Kent Merrill
Revelation (1924) as Paul Granville
Being Respectable (1924) as Charles Carpenter
Her Marriage Vow (1924) as Bob Hilton
The Lover of Camille (1924) as Jean Gaspard Deburau
The Dark Swan (1924) as Lewis Dike
Recompense (1925) as Peter Graham
Kiss Me Again (1925) as Gaston Fleury
The Limited Mail (1925) as Bob Wilson / Bob Snobson
Red Hot Tires (1925) as Al Jones
Hogan's Alley (1925) as Lefty O'Brien
The Man Upstairs (1926) as Geoffrey West
Other Women's Husbands (1926) as Dick Lambert
So This Is Paris (1926) as Dr. Paul Giraud
Across the Pacific (1926) as Monte
Wolf's Clothing (1927) as Barry Baline
The Brute (1927) as Easy Going Martin Sondes
Bitter Apples (1927) as John Wyncote
The Black Diamond Express (1927) as Dan Foster
The Bush Leaguer (1927) as Buchanan 'Specs' White
One Round Hogan (1927) as Robert Emmett Hogan
Brass Knuckles (1927) as Zac Harrison
Across the Atlantic (1928) as Hugh Clayton
White Shadows in the South Seas (1928) as Dr. Matthew Lloyd
Conquest (1928) as Donald Overton
The Greyhound Limited (1929) as Monte
No Defense (1929) as Monte Collins
From Headquarters (1929) as Happy Smith
Skin Deep (1929) as Joe Daley
The Show of Shows (1929) as Condemned Man (segment "Rifle Execution")
Tiger Rose (1929) as Devlin
Isle of Escape (1930) as Dave Wade
Those Who Dance (1930) as Dan Hogan
The Flood (1931) as David Bruce
The Big Gamble (1931) as Policeman (uncredited)
The Stoker (1932) as Dick Martin
Officer Thirteen (1932) as Tom Burke
Her Forgotten Past (1933) as Donald Thorne
The Thundering Herd (1933) as Smiley
The Intruder (1933) as John Brandt
Come On, Marines! (1934) as Lt. Allen
The Last Round-Up (1934) as Jack Kells
Wagon Wheels (1934) as Kenneth Murdock
Student Tour (1934) as Jeff Kane - Bobby's Brother and Coach of the Crew
The Lives of a Bengal Lancer (1935) as Hamzulla Khan
On Probation (1935) as Al Murray
G Men (1935) as Fingerprint Expert
Social Error (1935) as Dean Carter
The Test (1935) as Pepite LaJoie
Trails of the Wild (1935) as Mountie Larry Doyle
Wanderer of the Wasteland (1935) as Guerd Larey
Hot Off the Press (1935)
Nevada (1935) as Clem Dillon
Desert Gold (1936) as Chetley 'Chet' Kasedon
Treachery Rides the Range (1936) as Colonel Drummond
Undersea Kingdom (1936, Serial) as Unga Khan
Prison Shadows (1936) as Bert McNamee
Mary of Scotland (1936) as Messenger
Ride, Ranger, Ride (1936) as Duval, aka Chief Tavibo
The Plainsman (1936) as Indian (uncredited)
Song of the Gringo (1936) as Sheriff
A Million to One (1937) as John Kent, Sr.
Secret Agent X-9 (1937, Serial) as Baron Michael Karsten
The Outcasts of Poker Flat (1937) as Indian Jim
Rootin' Tootin' Rhythm (1937) as Joe Stafford
High, Wide and Handsome (1937) as Oil Man (uncredited)
Souls at Sea (1937) as Mate
Sky Racket (1937) as Benjamin Arnold
Thunder Trail (1937) as Jeff Graves
A Damsel in Distress (1937) as Bit Role (uncredited)
Born to the West (1937) as Bart Hammond
Amateur Crook (1937) as Crone
The Big Broadcast of 1938 (1938) as Passenger (uncredited)
Cocoanut Grove (1938) as Minor Role (uncredited)
The Great Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok (1938, Serial) as Mr. Cameron
Rebellious Daughters (1938) as Charlie - alias Clint Houston
Spawn of the North (1938) as Cannery Official (uncredited)
The Mysterious Rider (1938) as Cap Folsom
King of Alcatraz (1938) as Officer
Touchdown, Army (1938) as Pilot (uncredited)
Illegal Traffic (1938) as Captain Moran
Hawk of the Wilderness (1938) as Yellow Weasel
Tom Sawyer, Detective (1938) as Sheriff Walker
Dodge City (1939) as John Barlow
Frontier Pony Express (1939) as Cherokee
Juarez (1939) as Lerdo de Tajada
Union Pacific (1939) as Indian (uncredited)
Port of Hate (1939) as Hammond
Our Leading Citizen (1939) as Frank
Geronimo (1939) as Interpreter
Days of Jesse James (1939) as Train Passenger
Road to Singapore (1940) as High Priest (uncredited)
Mystery Sea Raider (1940) as Captain Norberg
A Little Bit of Heaven (1940) as Uncle Pat
Young Bill Hickok (1940) as Marshal Evans
North West Mounted Police (1940) as Indian (uncredited)
Texas Rangers Ride Again (1940) as Pablo Slide Along
Arkansas Judge (1941) as Phil Johnson
The Great Train Robbery (1941) as The Super
Scattergood Pulls the Strings (1941) as Ben Mott
Riders of Death Valley (1941) as Rance Davis
Sunset in Wyoming (1941) as Jim Hayes
Citadel of Crime (1941) as Minor Role (uncredited)
Bad Man of Deadwood (1941) as Sheriff Jordan
King of the Texas Rangers (1941, Serial) as Tom J. King Sr. [Ch. 1]
New York Town (1941) as McAuliffe (uncredited)
Sullivan's Travels (1941) as Policeman in Slums (uncredited)
Law of the Timber (1941) as Hodge Mason
Pacific Blackout (1941) as Colonel (uncredited)
Treat 'Em Rough (1942) as Police Captain
North to the Klondike (1942) as John Burke
The Remarkable Andrew (1942) as Policeman (uncredited)
Reap the Wild Wind (1942) as Officer at Tea (uncredited)
Klondike Fury (1942) as Flight Dispatcher
My Favorite Blonde (1942) as Policeman at Union Hall (uncredited)
The Great Man's Lady (1942) as Man #2 - Hoyt City (uncredited)
Secret Enemies (1942) as Hugo Mehl - the Doorman
The Palm Beach Story (1942) as Mike the Doorman (uncredited)
Across the Pacific (1942) as Dan Morton
The Forest Rangers (1942) as Hotel Clerk (uncredited)
I Married a Witch (1942) as Doorman (uncredited)
The Hidden Hand (1942) as Matthews, the Undertaker (uncredited)
Road to Morocco (1942) as Kasim's Aide (uncredited)
Gentleman Jim (1942) as Gambler in "Lucky Guy" (uncredited)
Casablanca (1942) as American (uncredited)
The Hard Way (1943) as Man in Audience (uncredited)
Truck Busters (1943) as Scrappy O'Brien
Edge of Darkness (1943) as Petersen (uncredited)
Mission to Moscow (1943) as Heckler (uncredited)
Action in the North Atlantic (1943) as Seaman (uncredited)
Pilot No. 5 (1943) as Bus Station Official (uncredited)
Thank Your Lucky Stars (1943) as Bartender in Errol Flynn Number (uncredited)
Northern Pursuit (1943) as Jean
Passage to Marseille (1944) as Second Mate (uncredited)
The Adventures of Mark Twain (1944) as Captain of 'Queen of Dixie' (uncredited)
The Mask of Dimitrios (1944) as Abdul Dhris
Janie (1944) as Policeman (uncredited)
The Conspirators (1944) as Jennings (uncredited)
The Horn Blows at Midnight (1945) as The Chef (uncredited)
Escape in the Desert (1945) as Sheriff (uncredited)
Danger Signal (1945) as Policeman in Car (uncredited)
Saratoga Trunk (1945) as Fireman on Train (uncredited)
San Antonio (1945) as Cleve Andrews
Cinderella Jones (1946) as Jailer
A Stolen Life (1946) as Mr. Lippencott (uncredited)
Her Kind of Man (1946) as Lake (uncredited)
Janie Gets Married (1946) as Drapery Man (uncredited)
Two Guys from Milwaukee (1946) as Broadcast Director (uncredited)
Shadow of a Woman (1946) as Mike
Never Say Goodbye (1946) as Policeman (uncredited)
Humoresque (1946) as Moving Man (uncredited)
The Time, the Place and the Girl (1946) as Stage Manager (uncredited)
The Man I Love (1947) as Cop (uncredited)
The Unfaithful (1947) as Businessman with Hunter (uncredited)
That Way with Women (1947) as MacPherson
Bells of San Fernando (1947) as Governor Don Sebastian Fernando
Stallion Road (1947) as Horse Rancher (uncredited)
Possessed (1947) as Norris
Cheyenne (1947) as Timberline
Life with Father (1947) as The Policeman
My Wild Irish Rose (1947) as Replacement Barman (uncredited)
Speed to Spare (1948) as Bit Role (scenes deleted)
Silver River (1948) as 'Buck' Chevigee
The Big Punch (1948) as Police Lt. Ryan (uncredited)
Key Largo (1948) as Sheriff Ben Wade
Two Guys from Texas (1948) as Pete Nash
Johnny Belinda (1948) as Ben (uncredited)
Adventures of Don Juan (1948) as Turnkey (uncredited)
Flaxy Martin (1949) as Joe, Detective
South of St. Louis (1949) as Capt. Jeffrey
Homicide (1949) as Sheriff George
The Younger Brothers (1949) as Deputy Joe
Colorado Territory (1949) as U.S. Marshal (uncredited)
Look for the Silver Lining (1949) as St. Clair - Actor in 'Uncle Tom's Cabin' (uncredited)
The Fountainhead (1949) as Gas Station Executive (uncredited)
Ranger of Cherokee Strip (1949) as Chief Hunter
The Big Wheel (1949) as Deacon Jones
Montana (1950) as Charlie Penrose (uncredited)
The Blonde Bandit (1950) as Police Chief Ramsey
Backfire (1950) as Detective Sgt. Pluther (uncredited)
Colt .45 (1950) as Townsman (uncredited)
The Iroquois Trail (1950) as Chief Sagamore
This Side of the Law (1950) as The Sheriff
Dallas (1950) as Tarrant County Sheriff (uncredited)
Three Desperate Men (1951) as Marshal Pete Coleman
Snake River Desperadoes (1951) as Jim Haverly
Warpath (1951) as First Emigrant
Gold Raiders (1951) as John Sawyer
The Sea Hornet (1951) as Lt. Drake
Rose of Cimarron (1952) as Lone Eagle
The Story of Will Rogers (1952) as Oklahoma Delegate (uncredited)
Hangman's Knot (1952) as Maxwell
The System (1953) as Man at Hearing (uncredited)
The Last Posse (1953) as Uncle Will Kane (uncredited)
Ride, Vaquero! (1953) as Bartender (uncredited)
The Boy from Oklahoma (1954) as Townsman (uncredited)
Apache (1954) as Geronimo
Adventures of the Texas Kid: Border Ambush (1954) as Sheriff
References
External links
Literature on Monte Blue
Monte Blue portraits in the J. Willis Sayre collection of the University of Washington
1887 births
1963 deaths
American male film actors
American male silent film actors
Male actors from Indianapolis
Purdue University alumni
Male actors from Los Angeles
20th-century American male actors
Warner Bros. contract players
American people who self-identify as being of Osage descent
Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale)
People from Rush County, Indiana
American people who self-identify as being of Cherokee descent
American people of French descent
American people of Irish descent