George R. Montford
(b. Bournemouth, Hampshire (today Dorset), **/**/1877 – d. Natal **/**/1940). British-born actor, producer. Born Robert George Hogarth Mugford, he changed his name to George Robert Montford and, in the 1901 British Census, was described as a “touring actor”. 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 1912-13 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 for the first time as a member of the J.C. Williamson company that included Madge Fabian and Stephen Ewart, but in 1915 he was back in England to act in Love and the Law.
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 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 March 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. However, at some stage he returned to and settled in South Africa and became a radio announcer and producer for the SABC in Durban.
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