Belinda Montgomery(I)
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Lovely brunet-haired Belinda Montgomery, who sometimes inserted the middle initial "J." into
her stage moniker, is a native of Canada, where she began her career on
TV in the 1967 series
Barney Boomer (1967). She then
proceeded to play "Cinderella" and essayed the roles of other emotional
and/or confused teen types as she worked her way up the acting ladder.
The petite brunette, whose gentle, misty-eyed prettiness reminded one
of actress Bonnie Bedelia, was born on
July 23, 1950, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, the daughter of actor Cecil Montgomery. She arrived in Hollywood while
still in her late teens and TV, again, became her mainstay playing a
number of soulful-eyed victims and troubled soul types in engaging
dramatic situations. Her younger brother (by 11 years),
Lee Montgomery, not yet a teen,
was also making fine strides in films and TV. Billed often as "Lee
Harcourt Montgomery", he would become best known for befriending the
title rodent in the cult horror thriller
Ben (1972). Another sibling, sister
Tannis G. Montgomery, showed up on
film and TV as well during the 70s and 80s.
Making one of her earliest ingénue appearances on an episode of
The Virginian (1962), Belinda
became increasingly popular as a standard young fixture on the 70s
TV-movie circuit, sharing billing with a number of the industry's top
talents. Her first,
Ritual of Evil (1970),
had her co-starring as Anne Baxter's
daughter as part of a devil-worshiping California family. She and
Tim Matheson received fine notices
as a young frontier couple in love who run away and find unexpected
adventure in
Lock, Stock and Barrel (1971).
The innocent-looking beauty could always be counted on to brighten up
the scenery and did so in the mini-movie western
The Bravos (1972)
co-starring George Peppard and
Pernell Roberts, but she,
Lois Nettleton and even
Play Misty for Me (1971)
scenestealer Jessica Walter were
upstaged by the campy histrionics of prison matron
Ida Lupino in the TV prison drama
Women in Chains (1972),
now considered a cult classic. Belinda returned to her devilish ways
again as a sinless innocent in
The Devil's Daughter (1973)
co-starring another veteran scenery chewer
(Shelley Winters) and also enhanced the
mysterious proceedings in
Crime Club (1973) and
The Hostage Heart (1977).
Belinda displayed fine, touching moments on series TV as well --
multiple times, in fact, on the popular primetime soaps
Medical Center (1969) and
Marcus Welby, M.D. (1969).
It wasn't surprising that, later, she found herself acting in such
daytime sudsers as
Days of Our Lives (1965). A
warm, dependable player, one could always find her guesting somewhere
on the tube especially, it seemed, as a vulnerable innocent in crime
outings (Mannix (1967),
The Rookies (1972),
Cannon (1971),
Barnaby Jones (1973),
The Streets of San Francisco (1972)).
She showed her strong, professional side as well as the scientist who
rescues and protects superhuman
Patrick Duffy in the one-season
adventure series
Man from Atlantis (1977).
An occasional presence in film, she had a prime female role in
The Todd Killings (1971), based
on a true-life serial killer (played by
Robert F. Lyons) in which her
sister, Tannis G. Montgomery, had a
small part. One of her best movie roles came as the supportive second
lead in
The Other Side of the Mountain (1975)
and its 1978 sequel,
The Other Side of the Mountain: Part II (1978),
which chronicled the life and tragedy of one-time skiing champion and
Olympic hopeful Jill Kinmont (played by
newcomer Marilyn Hassett), who was left
a quadriplegic after a sporting accident.
While not afforded top-flight stardom in the early 70s within the
confines of her troubled teen typecast, Belinda matured into a
pleasantly engaging adult into the next decade while offering a number
of inspired mom/wife roles. One of her more poignant portrayals came in
the form of Barbara Marciano in the
TV-movie Marciano (1979) as
the wife of famed boxer Rocky Marciano
(played by Tony Lo Bianco). In the
recurring role of Don Johnson's
estranged wife in
Miami Vice (1984) for a time, she
also played a selfless mate and mother in the short-lived series
Aaron's Way (1988). She reached
her maternal peak, however, as the hands-on parent of young
Neil Patrick Harris in the
Doogie Howser, M.D. (1989)
series, wherein she and James Sikking
provided a nice and balanced counterpart to the now-public life of the
young medical prodigy. Deserving of even more attention, Belinda
Montgomery's naturalness on camera and solid body of work throughout
the years is a testament to her talents. Seen less and less after her
"Doogie Houser" success in 1993, she more recently appeared in the film Tron: Legacy (2010) again starring Jeff Bridges and Bruce Boxleitner and in the TV movie Radio Christmas (2019). A talented painter, she now devotes a large amount of her time
to her artwork.
her stage moniker, is a native of Canada, where she began her career on
TV in the 1967 series
Barney Boomer (1967). She then
proceeded to play "Cinderella" and essayed the roles of other emotional
and/or confused teen types as she worked her way up the acting ladder.
The petite brunette, whose gentle, misty-eyed prettiness reminded one
of actress Bonnie Bedelia, was born on
July 23, 1950, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, the daughter of actor Cecil Montgomery. She arrived in Hollywood while
still in her late teens and TV, again, became her mainstay playing a
number of soulful-eyed victims and troubled soul types in engaging
dramatic situations. Her younger brother (by 11 years),
Lee Montgomery, not yet a teen,
was also making fine strides in films and TV. Billed often as "Lee
Harcourt Montgomery", he would become best known for befriending the
title rodent in the cult horror thriller
Ben (1972). Another sibling, sister
Tannis G. Montgomery, showed up on
film and TV as well during the 70s and 80s.
Making one of her earliest ingénue appearances on an episode of
The Virginian (1962), Belinda
became increasingly popular as a standard young fixture on the 70s
TV-movie circuit, sharing billing with a number of the industry's top
talents. Her first,
Ritual of Evil (1970),
had her co-starring as Anne Baxter's
daughter as part of a devil-worshiping California family. She and
Tim Matheson received fine notices
as a young frontier couple in love who run away and find unexpected
adventure in
Lock, Stock and Barrel (1971).
The innocent-looking beauty could always be counted on to brighten up
the scenery and did so in the mini-movie western
The Bravos (1972)
co-starring George Peppard and
Pernell Roberts, but she,
Lois Nettleton and even
Play Misty for Me (1971)
scenestealer Jessica Walter were
upstaged by the campy histrionics of prison matron
Ida Lupino in the TV prison drama
Women in Chains (1972),
now considered a cult classic. Belinda returned to her devilish ways
again as a sinless innocent in
The Devil's Daughter (1973)
co-starring another veteran scenery chewer
(Shelley Winters) and also enhanced the
mysterious proceedings in
Crime Club (1973) and
The Hostage Heart (1977).
Belinda displayed fine, touching moments on series TV as well --
multiple times, in fact, on the popular primetime soaps
Medical Center (1969) and
Marcus Welby, M.D. (1969).
It wasn't surprising that, later, she found herself acting in such
daytime sudsers as
Days of Our Lives (1965). A
warm, dependable player, one could always find her guesting somewhere
on the tube especially, it seemed, as a vulnerable innocent in crime
outings (Mannix (1967),
The Rookies (1972),
Cannon (1971),
Barnaby Jones (1973),
The Streets of San Francisco (1972)).
She showed her strong, professional side as well as the scientist who
rescues and protects superhuman
Patrick Duffy in the one-season
adventure series
Man from Atlantis (1977).
An occasional presence in film, she had a prime female role in
The Todd Killings (1971), based
on a true-life serial killer (played by
Robert F. Lyons) in which her
sister, Tannis G. Montgomery, had a
small part. One of her best movie roles came as the supportive second
lead in
The Other Side of the Mountain (1975)
and its 1978 sequel,
The Other Side of the Mountain: Part II (1978),
which chronicled the life and tragedy of one-time skiing champion and
Olympic hopeful Jill Kinmont (played by
newcomer Marilyn Hassett), who was left
a quadriplegic after a sporting accident.
While not afforded top-flight stardom in the early 70s within the
confines of her troubled teen typecast, Belinda matured into a
pleasantly engaging adult into the next decade while offering a number
of inspired mom/wife roles. One of her more poignant portrayals came in
the form of Barbara Marciano in the
TV-movie Marciano (1979) as
the wife of famed boxer Rocky Marciano
(played by Tony Lo Bianco). In the
recurring role of Don Johnson's
estranged wife in
Miami Vice (1984) for a time, she
also played a selfless mate and mother in the short-lived series
Aaron's Way (1988). She reached
her maternal peak, however, as the hands-on parent of young
Neil Patrick Harris in the
Doogie Howser, M.D. (1989)
series, wherein she and James Sikking
provided a nice and balanced counterpart to the now-public life of the
young medical prodigy. Deserving of even more attention, Belinda
Montgomery's naturalness on camera and solid body of work throughout
the years is a testament to her talents. Seen less and less after her
"Doogie Houser" success in 1993, she more recently appeared in the film Tron: Legacy (2010) again starring Jeff Bridges and Bruce Boxleitner and in the TV movie Radio Christmas (2019). A talented painter, she now devotes a large amount of her time
to her artwork.