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.
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Known For
Casablanca
(1943)
American (uncredited)
Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages
(1916)
The Strike Leader
The Birth of a Nation
(1915)
Life with Father
(1947)
The Policeman
Key Largo
(1948)
Sheriff Ben Wade
Action in the North Atlantic
(1943)
Seaman (uncredited)
The Fountainhead
(1949)
Gas Station Executive (uncredited)
Dodge City
(1939)
Barlow
Apache
(1954)
Geronimo
Warpath
(1951)
First Emigrant
Johnny Belinda
(1948)
Ben (uncredited)
The Unfaithful
(1947)
Businessman with Hunter
I Married a Witch
(1942)
Doorman (uncredited)
'G' Men
(1935)
Fingerprint Expert
Gentleman Jim
(1942)
Gambler in "Lucky Guy"
Road to Morocco
(1942)
Kasim's Aide (uncredited)
Full Filmography
Acting
Martyrs of the Alamo
(1915)
Defender of the Alamo
Ghosts
(1915)
Bohemian
The Birth of a Nation
(1915)
The Microscope Mystery
(1916)
Jud
The Vagabond Prince
(1916)
Peasant
Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages
(1916)
The Strike Leader
The Matrimaniac
(1916)
Assistant Hotel Manager (uncredited)
The Devil's Needle
(1916)
Bartender (uncredited)
Jim Bludso
(1917)
Joe Bowers
The Man from Painted Post
(1917)
Slim Carter
Betsy's Burglar
(1917)
Victor Gilpin
Hands Up!
(1917)
Dan Tracy
Wild and Woolly
(1917)
One of Wild Bill's Men (Uncredited)
M'Liss
(1918)
Mexican Joe Dominguez
Till I Come Back to You
(1918)
American Doughboy
The Only Road
(1918)
Pedro Lupo
The Romance of Tarzan
(1918)
Juan
Johanna Enlists
(1918)
Pvt. Vibbard
The Squaw Man
(1918)
Happy
The Goddess of Lost Lake
(1918)
(uncredited)
100% American
(1918)
Mayme's Army boyfriend
Riders of the Night
(1918)
'The Killer' Jed
Hands Up
(1918)
Romance and Arabella
(1919)
Harry Atteridge
Everywoman
(1919)
Love
Too Much Johnson
(1919)
Billy Lounsberry
The 13th Commandment
(1920)
Something to Think About
(1920)
Jim Dirk
Moonlight and Honeysuckle
(1921)
Ted Musgrove
The Affairs of Anatol
(1921)
Abner Elliott
Orphans of the Storm
(1921)
Danton
A Broken Doll
(1921)
Tommy Dawes
A Perfect Crime
(1921)
Wally Griggs
Broadway Rose
(1922)
Tom Darcy
My Old Kentucky Home
(1922)
Richard Goodloe
Peacock Alley
(1922)
Elmer Harmon
Lucretia Lombard
(1923)
Stephen Winship
Defying Destiny
(1923)
Jack Fenton
Brass
(1923)
Philip Baldwin
The Purple Highway
(1923)
Edgar Prentice, aka Edgar Craig
Main Street
(1923)
Dr. Will Kennicott
Being Respectable
(1924)
Charles Carpenter
Revelation
(1924)
Paul Granville
Loving Lies
(1924)
Captain Dan stover
The Lover of Camille
(1924)
Jean Gaspard Deburau
The Marriage Circle
(1924)
Dr. Franz Braun
How to Educate a Wife
(1924)
Ernest Todd
Mademoiselle Midnight
(1924)
Owen Burke / Jerry Brent
Daughters of Pleasure
(1924)
Kent Merrill
The Dark Swan
(1924)
Lewis Dike
Hogan's Alley
(1925)
Lefty O'Brien
Recompense
(1925)
Peter Graham
Red Hot Tires
(1925)
Al Jones
Kiss Me Again
(1925)
Gaston Fleury
The Limited Mail
(1925)
Bob Wilson / Bob Snobson
Across the Pacific
(1926)
Monte
The Man Upstairs
(1926)
Geoffrey West
Other Women's Husbands
(1926)
Dick Lambert
So This Is Paris
(1926)
Dr. Paul Giraud
Bitter Apples
(1927)
John Wyncote
Life in Hollywood No. 4
(1927)
The Black Diamond Express
(1927)
Dan Foster
White Shadows in the South Seas
(1928)
Dr. Matthew Lloyd
Across the Atlantic
(1928)
Hugh Clayton
Conquest
(1928)
Donald Overton
Show of Shows
(1929)
Condemned Man (segment "Rifle Execution") (uncredited)
From Headquarters
(1929)
Happy Smith
Tiger Rose
(1929)
Devlin
No Defense
(1929)
Monte Collins
The Greyhound Limited
(1929)
Monte
Isle of Escape
(1930)
Dave Wade
Those Who Dance
(1930)
Dan Hogan
Officer Thirteen
(1932)
Tom Burke
The Stoker
(1932)
Dick Martin
The Intruder
(1933)
John Brandt
Her Forgotten Past
(1933)
Donald Thorne
The Thundering Herd
(1933)
Smiley
Student Tour
(1934)
Jeff Kane
The Last Round-up
(1934)
Jack Kells
Come On, Marines!
(1934)
Lt. Allen
Wagon Wheels
(1934)
Kenneth Murdock
On Probation
(1935)
Al Murray
The Test
(1935)
Pepite La Joie
Nevada
(1935)
Clem Dillon
Wanderer of the Wasteland
(1935)
Guerd Larey
Social Error
(1935)
Dean Carter
Trails of the Wild
(1935)
RCMP Larry Doyle
The Lives of a Bengal Lancer
(1935)
Hamzulla Khan
'G' Men
(1935)
Fingerprint Expert
Prison Shadows
(1936)
Bert McNamee
A Million to One
(1936)
John Kent Sr.
Mary of Scotland
(1936)
Messenger
Treachery Rides the Range
(1936)
Colonel Drummond
Sharad of Atlantis
(1936)
Unga Khan
Desert Gold
(1936)
Chetley 'Chet' Kasedon
Song of the Gringo
(1936)
Sheriff
Ride, Ranger, Ride
(1936)
Duval, aka Chief Tavibo
Sky Racket
(1937)
Benjamin Arnold
Souls at Sea
(1937)
Mate
Amateur Crook
(1937)
Crone
The Outcasts of Poker Flat
(1937)
Indian Jim
Secret Agent X-9
(1937)
Baron Michael Karsten
Rootin' Tootin' Rhythm
(1937)
Joe Stafford
Born to the West
(1937)
Bart Hammond
The Mysterious Rider
(1938)
Cap Folsom
Touchdown, Army
(1938)
Pilot (uncredited)
King of Alcatraz
(1938)
Officer
Cocoanut Grove
(1938)
Undetermined Role
Tom Sawyer, Detective
(1938)
Sheriff Walker
Rebellious Daughters
(1938)
Charlie, alias Clint Houston
The Great Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok
(1938)
Mr. Cameron
Hawk of the Wilderness
(1938)
Yellow Weasel
Illegal Traffic
(1938)
Captain Moran
The Big Broadcast of 1938
(1938)
Passenger (uncredited)
Geronimo
(1939)
Interpreter
Port of Hate
(1939)
Hammond
Days of Jesse James
(1939)
Train Passenger
Juarez
(1939)
Lerdo de Tajada
Frontier Pony Express
(1939)
Cherokee
Union Pacific
(1939)
Indian (uncredited)
Dodge City
(1939)
Barlow
Our Leading Citizen
(1939)
Frank
The Texas Rangers Ride Again
(1940)
Pablo Slide Along
North West Mounted Police
(1940)
Indian
Road to Singapore
(1940)
High Priest (uncredited)
Mystery Sea Raider
(1940)
Captain Norberg
Young Bill Hickok
(1940)
Marshal Evans
Law of the Timber
(1941)
Hodge Mason
Sunset in Wyoming
(1941)
Jim Hayes
Riders of Death Valley
(1941)
Rance Davis
The Great Train Robbery
(1941)
The Super
Scattergood Pulls the Strings
(1941)
Ben Mott
King of the Texas Rangers
(1941)
Capt. Tom King Sr.
Bad Man of Deadwood
(1941)
Sheriff Jordan
Pacific Blackout
(1941)
Colonel
New York Town
(1941)
McAuliffe (uncredited)
North to the Klondike
(1942)
John Burke
Gentleman Jim
(1942)
Gambler in "Lucky Guy"
My Favorite Blonde
(1942)
Policeman at Union Hall (uncredited)
Secret Enemies
(1942)
Hugo Mehl
Across the Pacific
(1942)
Dan Morton
The Hidden Hand
(1942)
Matthews, the undertaker (uncredited)
Road to Morocco
(1942)
Kasim's Aide (uncredited)
Klondike Fury
(1942)
Flight Dispatcher
The Remarkable Andrew
(1942)
Policeman
The Great Man's Lady
(1942)
Man #2, Hoyt City
I Married a Witch
(1942)
Doorman (uncredited)
Casablanca
(1943)
American (uncredited)
Why We Fight: Divide and Conquer
(1943)
Bit Role
The Hard Way
(1943)
Man in Audience (Uncredited)
Truck Busters
(1943)
Scrappy O'Brien
Action in the North Atlantic
(1943)
Seaman (uncredited)
Northern Pursuit
(1943)
Jean
Edge of Darkness
(1943)
Jens Petersen
Mission to Moscow
(1943)
Heckler (uncredited)
The Mask of Dimitrios
(1944)
Abdul Dhris
Trial by Trigger
(1944)
Brewster (uncredited)
San Antonio
(1945)
Cleve Andrews
The Horn Blows at Midnight
(1945)
The Chef (uncredited)
Danger Signal
(1945)
Policeman in Car
Frontier Days
(1945)
Ned-U.S. Marshal
Cinderella Jones
(1946)
Jailer
Shadow of a Woman
(1946)
Mike, Police Lieutenant
Never Say Goodbye
(1946)
Policeman (uncredited)
The Time, The Place and The Girl
(1946)
Stage Manager (uncredited)
Two Guys from Milwaukee
(1946)
Broadcast Director (uncredited)
So You Want to Play the Horses
(1946)
The Colonel (uncredited)
Cheyenne
(1947)
Timberline
Bells of San Fernando
(1947)
Governor Don Sebastian Fernando
Humoresque
(1947)
Moving Man (uncredited)
Life with Father
(1947)
The Policeman
Possessed
(1947)
Norris - lake house caretaker
Stallion Road
(1947)
Horse Rancher (uncredited)
The Unfaithful
(1947)
Businessman with Hunter
Silver River
(1948)
'Buck' Chevigee
Two Guys from Texas
(1948)
Pete Nash
Johnny Belinda
(1948)
Ben (uncredited)
Key Largo
(1948)
Sheriff Ben Wade
The Fountainhead
(1949)
Gas Station Executive (uncredited)
The Blonde Bandit
(1949)
Police Chief Ramsey
The Big Wheel
(1949)
Deacon Jones
South of St. Louis
(1949)
Capt. Jeffrey
Ranger of Cherokee Strip
(1949)
Chief Hunter
The Younger Brothers
(1949)
Deputy Joe
Flaxy Martin
(1949)
Joe, Detective
Homicide
(1949)
George, Sheriff
Colorado Territory
(1949)
US Marshal (uncredited)
The Iroquois Trail
(1950)
Chief Sagamore
So You Want to Hold Your Husband
(1950)
Rice - Curry's Partner
This Side of the Law
(1950)
The Sheriff
Backfire
(1950)
Det. Sgt. Pluther (uncredited)
The Sea Hornet
(1951)
Lt. Drake
Snake River Desperadoes
(1951)
Jim Haverly
Gold Raiders
(1951)
John Sawyer
Warpath
(1951)
First Emigrant
Three Desperate Men
(1951)
Marshal Pete Coleman
Trail of the Arrow
(1952)
(archive footage)
Hangman's Knot
(1952)
Maxwell
Rose of Cimarron
(1952)
Lone Eagle
The Last Posse
(1953)
Uncle Will
Adventures of the Texas Kid: Border Ambush
(1954)
Sheriff
Apache
(1954)
Geronimo
Crew
Directing