George Montgomery ( actor ) George Montgomery ( August 29 , 1916 - December 12 , 2000 ) was an American painter , sculptor , furniture craftsman , and stunt man who is best known as an actor in western style film and television . Background . Montgomery was born George Montgomery Letz , the youngest of fifteen children of Ukrainian immigrant parents , in Brady , in Pondera County , northern Montana . He was reared on a large ranch where as a part of daily life he learned to ride horses and work cattle . Letz studied at the University of Montana in Missoula for a year . Acting career . Montgomery was more interested in a career in film than in a college education . Therefore , he left Montana for Hollywood . Two days after his arrival there , he was working as a stunt man on a Greta Garbo film at MGM . At Republic Pictures , his cowboy skills got him stunt work and a small acting part at the age of eighteen in a 1935 film , " The Singing Vagabond " . He followed this with bit parts and additional stunt work as George Letz in mostly low - budget films . He was frequently cast in western films starring their number one box office draw , the singing cowboy , Gene Autry . Elevated to more important secondary roles , in 1938 he appeared as one of the six men suspected of being the titular hero in " The Lone Ranger " . That year " Life " included him in a photo montage of " Hollywood ' s Movie - struck Kids " and described Montgomery , still using his full name , as " 6 ft . 3 in . tall , weighs 210 lb . , rides well , is superlatively handsome . " He remained with Republic Pictures until 1940 when he signed with 20th Century Fox , which billed him as George Montgomery . At Fox , Montgomery appeared in more westerns including " The Cisco Kid and the Lady " ( 1940 ) with Cesar Romero . In 1942 , he played opposite Gene Tierney in " China Girl " , jazz musician Glenn Miller in " Orchestra Wives " , and Ginger Rogers in " Roxie Hart " . The following year , Montgomery starred with Betty Grable in the Walter Lang - directed film , " Coney Island " . World War II interrupted his film career . He played the lead in " Bomber ' s Moon " , released in August 1943 , joined the United States Army Air Forces the same year . In 1950 , he starred as the title role in " Davy Crockett , Indian Scout " and was one of the actors considered for the role of Crockett by Walt Disney . In the early 1950s he made several films for Edward Small and also for Columbia Pictures . In the 1958 - 1959 season , Montgomery starred in his own 26 - episode NBC Western series , " Cimarron City " as mayor Matt Rockford , with co - stars John Smith and Audrey Totter . Montgomery claimed to have turned down the lead roles in the Western television series " Gunsmoke " and " Wagon Train " Montgomery produced and directed as well as starred in several films shot in the Philippines and South Africa . He planned to make a Vietnam War film " The Ho Chi Minh " trail in Bangkok and the Philippines but the film was aborted . Through the early 1970s , Montgomery acted in films such as " Satan ' s Harvest " ( 1970 ) and " The Daredevil " ( 1972 ) and made guest appearances on a number of television shows , including NBC ' s " Bonanza " and " The Gisele MacKenzie Show " . Family life . On December 5 , 1943 , Montgomery married singer Dinah Shore . They had one child , Melissa Ann " Missy " Montgomery ( born 1948 ) , during a marriage that lasted until 1963 . George and Dinah also adopted John " Jody " David Montgomery in 1954 . In 1963 , Montgomery ' s private life made headlines when his housekeeper was charged in a failed attempt to kill him . Allegedly suffering from a fanatical attraction to her employer , the deranged woman planned to shoot Montgomery then . Other interests . As a boy , George Montgomery had developed excellent craftsmanship with wood and as an adult pastime he began building furniture , first for himself and then for a few friends . His skill was such that his hobby became a full - fledged cabinet - making business in which he employed as many as twenty craftsmen . Montgomery oversaw the furniture business for more than forty years and expanded his interest to house design . He became involved with the building of eleven homes for friends and family . His artistic instincts included learning how to sculpt in bronze . Self - taught , he sculpted upwards of fifty bronze sculptures including ones of John Wayne , Clint Eastwood , Gene Autry , Randolph Scott , and future U . S . President Ronald W . Reagan . His sculpture of his former wife , Dinah Shore , and their children is at the Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage , California , home to the LPGA Kraft Nabisco Championship . After a career that included more than eighty feature films , Montgomery retired in 1972 , making only two more minor appearances in film until his death at his home in Rancho Mirage , California , aged 84 . After cremation , Montgomery ' s ashes were divided and interred at Forest Lawn Cemetery ( Cathedral City ) near his Palm Springs home and at the Highland Cemetery in Great Falls , Montana , near his birthplace . For his contribution to the television industry , George Montgomery has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6301 Hollywood Blvd . In 1995 , a Golden Palm Star on the Walk of Stars in Palm Springs , California , was dedicated in his honor . He is also honored with a statue in the square of Plentywood , Montana .