George R. Montford
(b. Boscombe, Hampshire, **/**/1876 – d. **/**/****). British actor. In the British Census of 1901, George Robert Montford was described as a “touring actor”, born in 1876, though a later ship’s manifest states that he was born in 1878. In 1905 he appeared in Between Two Women at the Grand Theatre in Southampton and the following year he joined a touring company on its way to Australia and New Zealand, acting in plays such as Home, sweet home and Human Hearts. By 1909 he was back in Great Britain and in 1912 he toured the country with a repertory company, appearing in Kismet: an Arabian Night and Brought to Book. In 1914 he came to South Africa. It’s not known how long he stayed, but in 1918 he produced the play Nothing But the Truth for the New American Dramatic Company at His Majesty’s Theatre in Johannesburg. The cast included Edward Donnelly, Florence Roberts, Richard Scott, Hilda Attenboro and Cecil Kellaway, all of whom also appeared in films for African Film Productions. Montford himself had a small role in With Edged Tools (1919), directed by Joseph Albrecht. He came to South Africa again in 1924 and acted in Trilby, staged by Maurice Moscovitch at the Opera House in Cape Town. Soon afterwards the company sailed for Australia, but it is not known whether Montford accompanied them. (FO)
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