Monte Blue

Acting

Born Jan 10, 1887

From Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

Died Feb 18, 1963

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Monte Blue (January 11, 1887 – February 18, 1963) was a movie actor who began his career as a romantic leading man in the silent film era, and later progressed to character roles. Blue was born as Gerard Montgomery Bluefeather in Indianapolis, Indiana. His father was half French, half Cherokee Indian. One of five children, his father died and his mother could not raise five children alone. Along with another brother, they both admitted to the Indiana Soldiers' and Sailors' Children's Home. This did not stop him working his way through to Purdue University. When growing up, Blue built up his physique to become a football player (he grew to six feet three inches tall). He not only played football, but he was also a fireman, railroad worker, coal miner, cowpuncher, ranch hand, circus rider, lumberjack, and finally, a day laborer at the studios of D. W. Griffith. He had no theatrical experience when he came to the screen. In his first movie, The Birth of a Nation (1915), he was a stuntman and an extra in the movie. In his next movie, he starred in another small part in the movie, Intolerance (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 Gish 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. His most prolific female screen partner was Marie Prevost with whom he made several films in the mid 20s at Warner Brothers. Blue's finest silent screen performance was as 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 talkie 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 in 1954. One of his more memorable roles was the sheriff in Key Largo. He divorced his first wife in 1923 and married Tova Jansen in 1924. He had two children, Barbara Ann and Richard Monte. During the later part of his life, Monte Blue was an active Mason and the advance man for the Hamid-Morton Shrine Circus; while on business in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, he had a heart attack because of complications from influenza, dying at age 76. Monte Blue has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6286 Hollywood Blvd. Description above from the Wikipedia article Monte Blue, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Monte Blue

Known For

Casablanca

The Birth of a Nation

Dodge City

Key Largo

Apache

Union Pacific

The Hard Way

'G' Men

I Married a Witch

Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages

Filmography — Acting

Casablanca

The Birth of a Nation

Dodge City

Key Largo

Apache

Union Pacific

The Hard Way

'G' Men

I Married a Witch

Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages

Gentleman Jim

The Fountainhead

Backfire

Silver River

Possessed

Colorado Territory

The Lives of a Bengal Lancer

Cheyenne

The Show of Shows

Humoresque

Across the Pacific

Adventures of Don Juan

Ride, Vaquero!

Life with Father

North West Mounted Police

Northern Pursuit

Mission to Moscow

Thank Your Lucky Stars

Warpath

Juarez

Souls at Sea

The Man I Love

Orphans of the Storm

The Unfaithful

Action in the North Atlantic

The Texas Rangers Ride Again

Shadow of a Woman

The Iroquois Trail

Mary of Scotland

The Mask of Dimitrios

San Antonio

The Great Man's Lady

The Sea Hornet

New York Town

Johnny Belinda

Road to Singapore

Road to Morocco

Flaxy Martin

Edge of Darkness

Song of the Gringo

The Remarkable Andrew

Danger Signal

Come On, Marines!

Two Guys from Milwaukee

Born to the West

Hangman's Knot

King of Alcatraz

The Big Broadcast of 1938

Days of Jesse James

The Devil's Needle

This Side of the Law

South of St. Louis

The Great Train Robbery

The Outcasts of Poker Flat

Bad Man of Deadwood

Why We Fight: Divide and Conquer

Homicide