Bull Montana
Encyclopedia
Bull Montana is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
- January 24, 1950 in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
), was a professional wrestler and American actor.
Lewis Montagna (his real name after his birth name Luigi Montagna) came to the U.S. as a child. The hulking, plug-ugly Montagna became a professional wrestler under the name of Bull Montana. He gravitated to films in 1917, appearing first in several of the vehicles of his close pal Douglas Fairbanks
Douglas Fairbanks
Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. was an American actor, screenwriter, director and producer. He was best known for his swashbuckling roles in silent films such as The Thief of Bagdad, Robin Hood, and The Mark of Zorro....
. In 1919 he appeared as a gruesome villain in Maurice Tourneur
Maurice Tourneur
Maurice Tourneur was an important international film director and screenwriter.-Life:Born Maurice Thomas in the Belleville district of Paris, France, his father was a jeweler. As a young man, Maurice Thomas first trained as a graphic designer and a magazine illustrator but was soon drawn to the...
's masterpiece Victory
Victory (1919 film)
Victory is a 1919 American film directed by Maurice Tourneur, starring Jack Holt, Seena Owen, Lon Chaney and Wallace Beery. The movie is an adaptation of the eponymous novel by Joseph Conrad. The screenplay was written by Jules Furthman.-Cast:...
alongside Lon Chaney
Lon Chaney, Sr.
Lon Chaney , nicknamed "The Man of a Thousand Faces," was an American actor during the age of silent films. He was one of the most versatile and powerful actors of early cinema...
. He was usually cast as a thug, henchman or something not quite sympathetic, and sometimes not quite human (he was the apelike cave dweller in 1925's The Lost World
The Lost World (1925 film)
The Lost World is a 1925 silent film adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle's 1912 novel of the same name. The movie was produced by First National Pictures, a large Hollywood studio at the time, and stars Wallace Beery as Professor Challenger. This version was directed by Harry O...
opposite Wallace Beery
Wallace Beery
Wallace Fitzgerald Beery was an American actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Bill in Min and Bill opposite Marie Dressler, as Long John Silver in Treasure Island, as Pancho Villa in Viva Villa!, and his titular role in The Champ, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor...
as Arthur Conan Doyle
Arthur Conan Doyle
Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle DL was a Scottish physician and writer, most noted for his stories about the detective Sherlock Holmes, generally considered a milestone in the field of crime fiction, and for the adventures of Professor Challenger...
's Professor Challenger
Professor Challenger
George Edward Challenger, better known as Professor Challenger, is a fictional character in a series of science fiction stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle...
). Tempering his on-screen brutishness with humor, Montana starred in his own series of two-reel comedies in the early 1920s, spoofing everyone from Robin Hood
Robin Hood
Robin Hood was a heroic outlaw in English folklore. A highly skilled archer and swordsman, he is known for "robbing from the rich and giving to the poor", assisted by a group of fellow outlaws known as his "Merry Men". Traditionally, Robin Hood and his men are depicted wearing Lincoln green clothes....
(Rob 'Em Good) to the Corsican Brothers (The Two Twins). He continued playing movie bits into the 1940s, notably as one of Buster Crabbe
Buster Crabbe
Clarence Linden "Buster" Crabbe was an American athlete and actor, who starred in a number of popular serials in the 1930s and 1940s.-Birth:...
's antagonists in the 1936 series Flash Gordon
Flash Gordon
Flash Gordon is the hero of a science fiction adventure comic strip originally drawn by Alex Raymond. First published January 7, 1934, the strip was inspired by and created to compete with the already established Buck Rogers adventure strip. Also inspired by these series were comics such as Dash...
. Like many mashed-face musclemen of the movies, Bull Montana is reputed to have been as gentle as a lamb in real life. He is buried in Calvary Cemetery
Calvary Cemetery, East Los Angeles
The Calvary Cemetery is a Roman Catholic cemetery operated by the Los Angeles Archdiocese, located at 4201 Whittier Boulevard in Los Angeles, California...
.
Selected filmography
- Palooka from PaducahPalooka from PaducahPalooka from Paducah is a 1935 short comedy film featuring Buster Keaton.-Cast:* Buster Keaton - Jim Diltz* Joe Keaton - Pa Diltz* Myra Keaton - Ma Diltz* Louise Keaton - Sis Diltz* Dewey Robinson - Elmer Diltz* Bull Montana - Bullfrog Kraus...
(19351935 in film-Events:*Judy Garland signs a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer .*Seven year old Shirley Temple wins a special Academy Award.*The Bantu Educational Kinema Experiment started in order to educate the Bantu peoples.-Top grossing films:-Academy Awards:...
) - Glorifying the American GirlGlorifying the American GirlGlorifying the American Girl is a 1929 musical comedy film produced by Florenz Ziegfeld that highlights Ziegfeld Follies performers. The last third of the film is basically a Follies production, with cameo appearances by Rudy Vallee, Helen Morgan and Eddie Cantor.The script for the film was...
(19291929 in film-Events:The days of the silent film are numbered. A mad scramble to provide synchronized sound is on.*January 20 - The movie In Old Arizona is released. The film is the first full-length talking film to be filmed outdoors....
) - The Show of ShowsThe Show of Shows (film)The Show of Shows is a lavish all talking Vitaphone musical revue film which cost $850,000 to make. The Show of Shows was Warner Bros. fifth color movie, the first four were The Desert Song , On With the Show , Gold Diggers of Broadway and Paris . This movie featured most of the contemporary...
(1929) - On the Front PageOn the Front Page-Cast:* Lillian Rich - Countess Polasky* Tyler Brooke - Young Hornby* Stan Laurel - Dangerfield* Bull Montana - Private secretary* Edwards Davis - James W. Hornby* Leo White - Beauty expert...
(19261926 in film-Events:*August - Warner Brothers debuts the first Vitaphone film, Don Juan. The Vitaphone system used multiple 33⅓ rpm disc records developed by Bell Telephone Laboratories and Western Electric to play back audio synchronized with film....
) - Stop, Look and ListenStop, Look and Listen (film)Stop, Look and Listen is a 1926 American comedy film featuring Oliver Hardy.-Cast:* Larry Semon - Luther Meek* Dorothy Dwan - Dorothy* Mary Carr - Mother* William Gillespie - Bill* Lionel Belmore - Sheriff* B.F...
(1926) - The Lost WorldThe Lost World (1925 film)The Lost World is a 1925 silent film adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle's 1912 novel of the same name. The movie was produced by First National Pictures, a large Hollywood studio at the time, and stars Wallace Beery as Professor Challenger. This version was directed by Harry O...
(19251925 in film-Events:*November 5: The Big Parade holds its Grand Premier*December 30: premier of Ben-Hur the most expensive silent film ever made costing 4-6 million dollars -Top grossing films :...
) - HollywoodHollywood (1923 film)Hollywood was a silent comedy film directed by James Cruze, co-written by Frank Condon and Thomas J. Geraghty, and released by Paramount Pictures.The film has become famous as having featured cameos of more than thirty famous Hollywood stars...
(1923) cameo - Held to AnswerHeld to AnswerHeld to Answer is a 1923 silent American drama film directed by Harold M. Shaw The film is considered to be lost.- Cast :* House Peters as John Hampstead* Grace Carlyle as Mariann Dounay* John St. Polis as Hiram Burbeck...
(1923) - The Timber QueenThe Timber QueenThe Timber Queen is a 1922 action film serial directed by Fred Jackman. The film is considered to be lost.-Cast:* Ruth Roland - Ruth Reading* Bruce Gordon - Don Mackay* Val Paul - James Cluxton* Leo Willis - Bull Joyce* Frank Lackteen - Vance...
(19221922 in film-Events:* June 11 - United States première of Robert J. Flaherty's Nanook of the North, the first commercially successful feature length documentary film....
) - Crazy to MarryCrazy to MarryCrazy to Marry is a 1921 comedy film starring Fatty Arbuckle.-Cast:* Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle - Dr. Hobart Hupp* Lila Lee - Annabelle Landis* Laura Anson - Estrella De Morgan* Edwin Stevens - Henry De Morgan* Lillian Leighton - Sarah De Morgan...
(19211921 in film-Top grossing films :-Films released in 1921:U.S.A. unless stated*$10,000 Under a Pillow, silent film directed by Frank Moser*The Ace of Hearts, silent film directed by Wallace Worsley*Across the Divide, silent film directed by John Holloway...
) - Hard LuckHard Luck (1921 film)Hard Luck is a 1921 short comedy film starring comedian Buster Keaton. It was written and directed by Keaton and Edward F. Cline. The runtime is 22 minutes. For sixty years it was Keaton's only major lost film until it was partially reconstructed in 1987, with the critical final scene still...
(1921) - The MollycoddleThe MollycoddleThe Mollycoddle is a 1920 film starring Douglas Fairbanks and Wallace Beery, and directed by Victor Fleming.- Cast :*Douglas Fairbanks ... Richard Marshall III, IV and V*Ruth Renick ... Virginia Hale...
(19201920 in filmThe year 1920 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* November 27 - The Mark of Zorro, starring Douglas Fairbanks opens.-Top grossing films :-Films released in 1920:U.S.A. unless stated*The $1,000,000 Reward...
) - The Girl in Number 29The Girl in Number 29The Girl in Number 29 is a 1920 drama film directed by John Ford. The film is considered to be lost.-Cast:* Frank Mayo - Laurie Devon* Elinor Fair - Barbara Devon* Claire Anderson - Doris Williams* Robert Bolder - Jacob Epstein* Ruth Royce - Billie...
(1920) - Daredevil JackDaredevil JackDaredevil Jack is a 1920 action film serial directed by W. S. Van Dyke. An incomplete copy of the film is housed in the UCLA Film & Television Archive film archive. -Cast:* Jack Dempsey - Jack Derry* Josie Sedgwick - Glory Billings...
(1920) - When the Clouds Roll byWhen the Clouds Roll byWhen the Clouds Roll by is a 1919 comedy film starring Douglas Fairbanks and directed by Victor Fleming and Theodore Reed. The plot involves a man following the advice of a psychiatrist as he romances a woman in Greenwich Village.-Cast:...
(19191919 in filmThe year 1919 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*February 5 - Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks and D.W. Griffith launch United Artists...
) - His Majesty, the AmericanHis Majesty, the AmericanHis Majesty, the American is a 1919 comedy film directed by Joseph Henabery and starring Douglas Fairbanks. It was the first film released by United Artists.-Cast:* Douglas Fairbanks - William Brooks* Marjorie Daw - Felice, Countess of Montenac...
(1919)