Marjorie Montgomery
Encyclopedia
Marjorie Montgomery was a child dancer and actress. She appeared in vaudeville
and later in a motion picture. Montgomery is from Sikeston, Missouri
. As an adult she became a noted designer
of women's clothes.
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).
ranch. By the late 1940s she owned her own large manufacturing business. Among her original creations is a one-piece knee-length dress with a wraparound skirt. She is noted for her fiesta dresses. The apparel combined a jersey tunic
with push-up sleeves and a full jersey skirt, girthed with a wide gold leather belt. The casual attire served multiple functions. It might be worn as a hostess gown, for beach clothes, or simply as fashionable duds.
Montgomery was a costume designer
for the Republic Pictures
movie Outside of Paradise (1938). In 1948 she released a Dan River gingham
dress which was available in green, brown, or blue plaid
. For a 1955 California Designer's Show a model donned a Marjorie Montgomery ensemble consisting of a red sheath dress, with a striped red and white cotton coat.
Her 1958 fashions included a front-belted chemise
which Montgomery turned into a coat dress. The autumn line had a color scheme featuring light-gray stripes on charcoal jersey
. An alternate hue was toast on brown. 1962 introduced the California Girl line designed by Jim Church. The Montgomery fashions from that year are highlighted by a craftily cut shift. In moygashal linen
, the chemise had a fresh outline and a button on belt.
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
and later in a motion picture. Montgomery is from Sikeston, Missouri
Sikeston, Missouri
Sikeston is a city located both in southern Scott County and northern New Madrid County, in the U.S. state of Missouri. It is geographically situated just north of the "Missouri Bootheel", although many locals consider Sikeston a part of it. By way of Interstate 55, Sikeston is close to the...
. As an adult she became a noted designer
Fashion design
Fashion design is the art of the application of design and aesthetics or natural beauty to clothing and accessories. Fashion design is influenced by cultural and social latitudes, and has varied over time and place. Fashion designers work in a number of ways in designing clothing and accessories....
of women's clothes.
Actress
As a young girl she was in a group of traveling vaudevilleVaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
players of the Junior Times Club in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern 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
Mary Pickford
Mary Pickford was a Canadian-born motion picture actress, co-founder of the film studio United Artists and one of the original 36 founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
silhouette
Silhouette
A silhouette is the image of a person, an object or scene consisting of the outline and a basically featureless interior, with the silhouetted object usually being black. Although the art form has been popular since the mid-18th century, the term “silhouette” was seldom used until the early decades...
contest which selected a lookalike of America's sweetheart. Other aspiring young actresses like Virginia Davis
Virginia Davis
Virginia Davis was an American movie child actor. She was born in Kansas City, Missouri.-Early career:Davis began working for Walt Disney's Kansas City company, Laugh-O-Gram Studio, in the summer of 1924. She was hired to act in a film called Alice's Wonderland, which combined live action with...
, Cecilia Parker
Cecilia Parker
Cecilia Parker was a Canadian-born American film actress.-Early life and career:Born in Fort William, Ontario, she was brought to southern California as a child by her mother, Mrs. Naudy Anna Parker. Her father was an English soldier. Parker graduated from the Convent of the Immaculate Heart in...
, and Mary Kestner, also submitted photos.
As a seventeen-year-old Hollywood High School
Hollywood High School
Hollywood High School is a Los Angeles Unified School District high school located at the intersection of North Highland Avenue and West Sunset Boulevard in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles, California.-History:...
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
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
compulsory school laws. An understudy
Understudy
In theater, an understudy is a performer who learns the lines and blocking/choreography of a regular actor or actress in a play. Should the regular actor or actress be unable to appear on stage because of illness or emergencies, the understudy takes over the part...
, 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).
Fashion designer
Montgomery began to sew for herself and her daughter as a young widow residing on an ArizonaArizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
ranch. By the late 1940s she owned her own large manufacturing business. Among her original creations is a one-piece knee-length dress with a wraparound skirt. She is noted for her fiesta dresses. The apparel combined a jersey tunic
Tunic
A tunic is any of several types of clothing for the body, of various lengths reaching from the shoulders to somewhere between the hips and the ankles...
with push-up sleeves and a full jersey skirt, girthed with a wide gold leather belt. The casual attire served multiple functions. It might be worn as a hostess gown, for beach clothes, or simply as fashionable duds.
Montgomery was a costume designer
Costume Designer
A costume designer or costume mistress/master is a person whose responsibility is to design costumes for a film or stage production. He or she is considered an important part of the "production team", working alongside the director, scenic and lighting designers as well as the sound designer. The...
for the Republic Pictures
Republic Pictures
Republic Pictures was an independent film production-distribution corporation with studio facilities, operating from 1934 through 1959, and was best known for specializing in westerns, movie serials and B films emphasizing mystery and action....
movie Outside of Paradise (1938). In 1948 she released a Dan River gingham
Gingham
Gingham is a medium-weight balanced plain-woven fabric made from dyed cotton or cotton-blend yarn.The name originates from an adjective in the Malay language, genggang , meaning striped. Some sources say that the name came into English via Dutch...
dress which was available in green, brown, or blue plaid
Plaid (pattern)
For other meanings, see plaid.A plaid is a pattern consisting of crossed horizontal and vertical bands in two or more colors in woven cloth.Common examples of plaid patterns include:*Tartan, the pattern most commonly associated with plaid....
. For a 1955 California Designer's Show a model donned a Marjorie Montgomery ensemble consisting of a red sheath dress, with a striped red and white cotton coat.
Her 1958 fashions included a front-belted chemise
Chemise
The term chemise or shift can refer to the classic smock, or else can refer to certain modern types of women's undergarments and dresses...
which Montgomery turned into a coat dress. The autumn line had a color scheme featuring light-gray stripes on charcoal jersey
Jersey (clothing)
A jersey is an item of knitted clothing, traditionally in wool or cotton, with sleeves, worn as a pullover, as it does not open at the front, unlike a cardigan. It is usually close-fitting and machine knitted in contrast to a guernsey that is more often hand knit with a thicker yarn...
. An alternate hue was toast on brown. 1962 introduced the California Girl line designed by Jim Church. The Montgomery fashions from that year are highlighted by a craftily cut shift. In moygashal linen
Linen
Linen is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant, Linum usitatissimum. Linen is labor-intensive to manufacture, but when it is made into garments, it is valued for its exceptional coolness and freshness in hot weather....
, the chemise had a fresh outline and a button on belt.