Marjorie Montgomery
Marjorie Montgomery (born May 27, 1912) is an American former child dancer and actress. She appeared in vaudeville and later in motion pictures, before becoming a noted fashion designer.
Career
Montgomery was born in Sikeston, Missouri, on 27 May 1912.[1]
As a young girl she was in a group of traveling vaudeville players of the Junior Times Club in Los Angeles, California. Accompanied by truckloads of ice cream, Montgomery and the others entertained children at hospitals. In May 1924 she performed as an eccentric dancer at the Orthopedic and Children's Hospital in Los Angeles. In 1925 Montgomery entered the Mary Pickford silhouette contest which selected a lookalike of America's sweetheart. Other aspiring young actresses like Virginia Davis, Cecilia Parker, and Mary Kestner, also submitted photos.
As a seventeen-year-old Hollywood High School student, Montgomery acted the part of a maid in the stage play Bad Babies. An attorney for the California State Department of Industrial Relations ruled that the theme of the production was too risque for a minor actress to appear in. Montgomery was required to wait until her eighteenth birthday in 1930 to participate. She became upset over the ruling. Her mother, Mrs. Marie Cleveland, hired a private tutor so that Montgomery would comply with the Los Angeles, California compulsory school laws. An understudy, Dorothy Gould, took over the role. Montgomery's film career as an actress was quite brief. She has an uncredited role as a student in Freshman Year (1938).
Designing
Montgomery started out designing and manufacturing attractive cotton dresses in the mid-1920s.[2] In 1940, by then well-established as a Californian designer, Montgomery was noted for her designs in cotton and for having promoted bare-midriff beachwear and bathing costumes for several seasons.[3] In 1953 Montgomery, now considered a "veteran," stated that she had 28 years of experience to her name.[2] In 1965, Marjorie Montgomery was described as one of the "great" and "traditional" Californian designers.[4]
Montgomery was a costume designer for the Republic Pictures movie Outside of Paradise (1938).
References
- ↑ Staff writer (28 May 1958). "Looking back over the years: 45 Years Ago: May 28, 1913". The Daily Standard (Sikeston, Missouri). p. 6. Retrieved 18 March 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
- 1 2 Blackwell, Meta (29 Nov 1953). "Cut of my Mind". The San Bernardino County Sun. p. 16. Retrieved 18 March 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ Staff writer (23 October 1940). "Spring Styles well Designed by Home Talent". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
- ↑ Milburn, Betty (20 November 1965). "Editors see Stars, Fashions". Tucson Daily Citizen. pp. 13–14. Retrieved 19 March 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
Sources
- Coshocton Tribune (Coshocton, Ohio), Fashion Begins At Home, Monday Evening, November 3, 1947, Page 5.
- Fresno Bee Republican, Western Designers Offer Varied Spring Modes, November 16, 1962, Page 22.
- Long Beach Independent, California Designers In Unprecedented Show, September 28, 1955, Page 13.
- Los Angeles Times, Carnival Day At Hospitals, May 2, 1924, Page A8.
- Los Angeles Times, Mary Pickford Contest Ends, With Hundreds Of Photographs Submitted, February 1, 1925, Page K3.
- Los Angeles Times, Girl Actress Barred From Bad Babies, September 12, 1929, Page A1.
- Los Angeles Times, Fashions, August 24, 1958, Page D12.