Belinda Montgomery

Lovely brunet-haired 'Belinda Montgomery' (qv), 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)_ (qv). 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' (qv), was born on July 23, 1950, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, the daughter of actor 'Cecil Montgomery' (qv). 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' (qv), 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)_ (qv). Another sibling, sister 'Tannis G. Montgomery' (qv), 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)_ (qv), 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)_ (qv), had her co-starring as 'Anne Baxter' (qv)'s daughter as part of a devil-worshiping California family. She and 'Tim Matheson' (qv) received fine notices as a young frontier couple in love who run away and find unexpected adventure in _Lock, Stock and Barrel (1971)_ (qv). 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)_ (qv) co-starring 'George Peppard' (qv) and 'Pernell Roberts' (qv), but she, 'Lois Nettleton' (qv) and even _Play Misty for Me (1971)_ (qv) scenestealer 'Jessica Walter' (qv) were upstaged by the campy histrionics of prison matron 'Ida Lupino' (qv) in the TV prison drama _Women in Chains (1972)_ (qv), now considered a cult classic. Belinda returned to her devilish ways again as a sinless innocent in _The Devil's Daughter (1973)_ (qv) co-starring another veteran scenery chewer ('Shelley Winters' (qv)) and also enhanced the mysterious proceedings in _Crime Club (1973)_ (qv) and _The Hostage Heart (1977)_ (qv).Belinda displayed fine, touching moments on series TV as well -- multiple times, in fact, on the popular primetime soaps _Medical Center (1969)_ (qv) and _Dr. med. Marcus Welby (1969)_ (qv). It wasn't surprising that, later, she found herself acting in such daytime sudsers as _Days of Our Lives (1965)_ (qv). 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)_ (qv), _The Rookies (1972)_ (qv), _Cannon (1971)_ (qv), _Barnaby Jones (1973)_ (qv), _The Streets of San Francisco (1972)_ (qv)). She showed her strong, professional side as well as the scientist who rescues and protects superhuman 'Patrick Duffy' (qv) in the one-season adventure series _Man from Atlantis (1977)_ (qv).An occasional presence in film, she had a prime female role in _The Todd Killings (1971)_ (qv), based on a true-life serial killer (played by 'Robert F. Lyons' (qv)) in which her sister, 'Tannis G. Montgomery' (qv), had a small part. One of her best movie roles came as the supportive second lead in _The Other Side of the Mountain (1975)_ (qv) and its 1978 sequel, _The Other Side of the Mountain: Part II (1978)_ (qv), which chronicled the life and tragedy of one-time skiing champion and Olympic hopeful 'Jill Kinmont' (qv) (played by newcomer 'Marilyn Hassett' (qv)), 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' (qv) in the TV-movie _Marciano (1979)_ (qv) as the wife of famed boxer 'Rocky Marciano' (qv) (played by 'Tony Lo Bianco' (qv)). In the recurring role of 'Don Johnson' (qv)'s estranged wife in _Miami Vice (1984)_ (qv) for a time, she also played a selfless mate and mother in the short-lived series _Aaron's Way (1988)_ (qv). She reached her maternal peak, however, as the hands-on parent of young 'Neil Patrick Harris' (qv) in the _Doogie Howser, M.D. (1989)_ (qv) series, wherein she and 'James Sikking' (qv) provided a nice and balanced counterpart to the now-public life of the young medical prodigy. Deserving of even more attention, 'Belinda Montgomery' (qv)'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)_ (qv) again starring 'Jeff Bridges' (qv) and 'Bruce Boxleitner' (qv) and in the TV movie _Radio Christmas (2019)_ (qv). A talented painter, she now devotes a large amount of her time to her artwork.::Gary Brumburgh / [email protected]