Goodee Montgomery

Goodee Montgomery
Born
Virginia Lawhead

March 28, 1906
St. Joseph, Missouri, United States
DiedJune 5, 1978 (aged 72)
Los Angeles, California, United States
Other namesVirginia Montgomery
OccupationActress
Years active1926 - 1937 (film)
SpouseFrank Burgess McDonald (1934 - ?)

Goodee Montgomery (born Virginia Lawhead; 1906–1978) was an American actress[1] and musician. She was the niece of the actor David C. Montgomery.[2] She also performed in vaudeville.[3]

Montgomery was born Virginia Lawhead[4] in St. Joseph, Missouri.[5] Her father, Rex Lawhead, managed a theater in Decatur, Illinois.[4] Her parents divorced when she was 15 years old. Her stage name was a combination of a pet name her uncle used for her, Goodee, and her mother's maiden name, Montgomery.[6]

Montgomery sang and played banjo and ukulele. She also arranged, recorded, and made broadcasts for the Victor Company in addition to writing songs and writing books about the ukulele.[2] As a writer, Montgomery used the pen name Donna McDonald.[7]

On Broadway, Montgomery portrayed Hotsie in Piggy (1927).[8] Montgomery and Dorothy Stone formed an act in the early 1930s, following in the tradition of Montgomery's uncle and Stone's father, who had an act together.[6]

Montgomery married director Frank Burgess McDonald in 1934. She became a successful watercolor artist after she injured her spine in 1940 and cut short her career in acting.[9]

  1. ^ Aaker p.56
  2. ^ a b "May Breen's Pupil To Star". The Billboard. December 18, 1925. p. 22. Retrieved October 28, 2022.
  3. ^ Shapiro, M. H. (November 13, 1926). "B. S. Moss' Regent, N. Y." The Billboard. p. 15. Retrieved October 28, 2022.
  4. ^ a b "About Town and Elsewhere". The Decatur Daily Review. December 13, 1933. p. 8. Retrieved October 28, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Plays and Players". Brooklyn Life. July 14, 1923. p. 18. Retrieved October 28, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ a b Buck, Paula (September 10, 1976). "Goodee Montgomery Became Stage Success". Decatur Sunday Herald and Review. p. 51. Retrieved October 28, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Actress Has Pen Name". Los Angeles Times. August 29, 1937. p. 55. Retrieved October 28, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Goodee Montgomery". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League. Retrieved October 28, 2022.
  9. ^ Tucker, David C. (August 15, 2019). Pine-Thomas Productions: A History and Filmography. McFarland. p. 230. ISBN 978-1-4766-7743-9. Retrieved October 28, 2022.