Lee Montague obit

Lee Montague 1927-2025

He was not on the list. 

We are deeply sad to announce the death of our beloved President for Life, Lee Montague at the age of 97.

Lee was a highly respected actor.  He trained at the Old Vic School and worked in the early part of his career in the Royal Exchange Manchester, the Old Vic, Bristol Old Vic and Oxford Playhouse.

Moving into film he worked with great directors (such as Zeffirelli) appearing in some 30 films including Moulin Rouge in 1952, Bill Budd, Brother Sun, Sister Moon, and Jesus of Nazareth with Robert Powell.

In the 70s in television he had long runs The Sweeney, Bergerac and Seconds Out with Robert Lindsay.

He was the first storyteller on the BBC children’s programme Jackanory on 1965, narrating 15 episodes, for which he won a BAFTA.

He was a huge Arsenal fan and a formidable tennis player!

But to us, he was the saviour of the library. He saved it once before from closure by Camden, but in 2011 they closed it before announcing it, so it was Lee who formed a committee of neighbours to set up the Keats Community Library charity it is today.  

He continued to be vital to our success as he wrote many literary and  biographical evenings which he performed with his fellow actors, Michael Palin, Robert Powell, Simon Callow and Janet Suzman. These were played to a full house, as is befitting!

He will be greatly missed.

This robust, somber-looking actor carved out a niche on screen as tough or menacing characters. Lee Montague was born of Jewish ancestry as Leonard Goldberg in Bow, East London. He trained for acting at the Old Vic Theatre School and began on stage there in 1950 before headlining on Broadway just two years later as the troubled youth Gregory Hawke in Moss Hart 's play The Climate of Eden. Montague has been especially prolific on the classical stage as ensemble member of the Old Vic London (1950-52, 1962-63), the Bristol Old Vic (1952-53), the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon (1954-55), the Royal Shakespeare Company (1955-57) and the Royal Exchange, Manchester (1976-79).

 

On screen from 1952, Montague was no less prolific as a supporting player, frequently cast in meaty or pivotal roles as 'exotic' foreign types: Japanese officers (The Camp on Blood Island (1958), Yesterday's Enemy (1958), The Baron (1966)), Frenchmen (Moulin Rouge (1952), Secret Agent (1964), The Legacy (1978)), Chinese (Danger Man (1960), Espionage (1963)) and Russians (The Spy Killer (1969),Pope John Paul II (1984), Sakharov (1984)]). Add to that an assortment of Mexicans, Hungarians, Greeks, Arabs, and even an Inuit (The Savage Innocents (1960)). He has also played his fair share of historical personae on TV, as well as on the big screen, including the prophet Habbakuk (or Habbukuk) in Jesus of Nazareth (1977), Pietro di Bernardone (wealthy cloth merchant and father to Francis of Assissi in Brother Sun, Sister Moon (1972)), Chinese statesman Sun Yat Sen, Bernhard Mahler (father of Gustav), Lucky Luciano (in Brass Target (1978)), Karl Marx, Lenin, Charles Darwin and British cabinet minister Leslie Hore-Belisha.

 

On account of his dark, baleful looks, Montague has excelled in villainous roles, often in classic 60s and 70s British crime dramas like Department S (1969) (as a drug lord) or The Sweeney (1975) (as a bank robber). He portrayed the psychic antagonist Dorzak in an episode of Space: 1999 (1975) and was at his most chillingly effective as Roche, the erudite, relentless assassin forever on the trail of hapless civil servant Henry Jay (Richard Griffiths) in the superb TV miniseries Bird of Prey 2 (1984). All in all, an impressive resume for an actor --not usually noted for comedy-- who once named Walter Matthau as his movie idol, saying, "I loved his brand of humour".

Actor

Gatwick Gangsters (2017)

Gatwick Gangsters

2.8

Chunk mi6 Guard

2017

 

Teddy Goldblatt (2010)

Teddy Goldblatt

Short

(voice)

2010

 

Hotel Babylon (2006)

Hotel Babylon

7.5

TV Series

Gary Pointer

2009

1 episode

 

Tamsin Greig in Love Soup (2005)

Love Soup

8.1

TV Series

Larry

2008

1 episode

 

Eva Birthistle, Trevor Eve, Wil Johnson, and Sue Johnston in Waking the Dead (2000)

Waking the Dead

7.9

TV Series

Thomas Lovell

2003

2 episodes

 

Jeremy Northam, Kate Winslet, Saffron Burrows, and Dougray Scott in Enigma (2001)

Enigma

6.4

(uncredited)

2001

 

Casualty (1986)

Casualty

6.1

TV Series

Bill Lowther

1997

1 episode

 

Stella Gonet and Louise Lombard in The House of Eliott (1991)

The House of Eliott

8.1

TV Series

Elmer Jeffard-Hendry

1992

1 episode

 

Incident in Judaea

6.9

TV Movie

Joseph Caiaphas

1992

 

The Bill (1984)

The Bill

6.7

TV Series

Big George Jenson

1992

1 episode

 

George Cole in Minder (1979)

Minder

7.8

TV Series

Lewis Nelson

Bassam Sayin

1979–1991

2 episodes

 

Boon (1986)

Boon

6.4

TV Series

DS McKinley

1990

1 episode

 

Michael Caine in Jekyll and Hyde (1990)

Jekyll and Hyde

6.1

TV Movie

Inspector Palmer

1990

 

Ian McKellen in Countdown to War (1989)

Countdown to War

6.6

TV Movie

Hore-Belisha

1989

 

Saracen (1989)

Saracen

6.3

TV Series

Professor O'Neill

1989

1 episode

 

Hard Cases (1988)

Hard Cases

TV Series

Mr. Neale

1989

1 episode

 

Paul Nicholas in Bust (1987)

Bust

6.7

TV Series

Colin Hunt

1988

1 episode

 

Madame Sousatzka (1988)

Madame Sousatzka

6.6

Vincent Pick

1988

 

Rob Heyland in One by One (1984)

One by One

7.8

TV Series

Mercati

1987

1 episode

 

John Nettles in Bergerac (1981)

Bergerac

6.9

TV Series

Henri Dupont

Inspector Dupont

Inspector Maurice Dupont

1983–1987

3 episodes

 

Dempsey and Makepeace (1985)

Dempsey and Makepeace

7.3

TV Series

Det. Chief. Inspector Lacey

1986

1 episode

 

Cary Elwes and Helena Bonham Carter in Lady Jane (1986)

Lady Jane

7.1

Renard, the Spanish Ambassador

1986

 

Much Ado About Nothing (1984)

Much Ado About Nothing

8.0

TV Movie

Leonato

1984

 

Bird of Prey 2 (1984)

Bird of Prey 2

8.2

TV Series

Roche

1984

4 episodes

 

Jason Robards in Sakharov (1984)

Sakharov

6.4

TV Movie

Slavsky

1984

 

Alun Armstrong and Julia McKenzie in Sharing Time (1984)

Sharing Time

TV Series

Leo Haley

1984

1 episode

 

Kim (1984)

Kim

5.9

TV Movie

Kozelski

1984

 

Pope John Paul II (1984)

Pope John Paul II

6.7

TV Movie

Marshal Konev

1984

 

Red Monarch (1983)

Red Monarch

6.1

TV Movie

Lee

1983

 

Mr & Mrs Edgehill (1985)

BBC2 Playhouse

6.8

TV Series

Arthur

Monsieur Léon

1982

2 episodes

 

Leslie Ash and Robert Lindsay in Seconds Out (1981)

Seconds Out

7.1

TV Series

Tom Sprake

1981–1982

13 episodes

 

Play for Today (1970)

Play for Today

7.8

TV Series

Interrogator

1981

1 episode

 

The Chinese Detective (1981)

The Chinese Detective

7.4

TV Series

Reg Purnell

1981

1 episode

 

Eric Sykes in If You Go Down in the Woods Today (1981)

If You Go Down in the Woods Today

5.7

Govnor

1981

 

Dick Emery in The Dick Emery Show (1963)

The Dick Emery Show

6.8

TV Series

1981

1 episode

 

The Dick Emery Christmas Show: For Whom the Jingle Bells Toll

5.8

TV Movie

Charlie Coffin

1980

 

Tales of the Unexpected (1979)

Tales of the Unexpected

7.6

TV Series

Mr. Storker

1980

1 episode

 

Silver Dream Racer (1980)

Silver Dream Racer

5.5

Jack Freeman

1980

 

The London Connection (1979)

The London Connection

5.7

Vorg

1979

 

Feet First (1979)

Feet First

5.9

TV Series

Harry Turnbull

1979

6 episodes

 

Brass Target (1978)

Brass Target

5.9

Lucky Luciano

1978

 

Thank You, Comrades

5.8

TV Movie

Lunacharsky

1978

 

Sam Elliott, Katharine Ross, and Roger Daltrey in The Legacy (1978)

The Legacy

5.7

Jacques Grandier

1978

 

James Woods, Meryl Streep, and Michael Moriarty in Holocaust (1978)

Holocaust

8.0

TV Mini Series

Uncle Sasha

1978

2 episodes

 

Christopher Benjamin, Kenneth Colley, Vivien Heilbron, Philip Madoc, Patrick Mower, Ron Pember, Brendan Price, Sandy Ratcliff, and Maurice Roëves in Target (1977)

Target

7.5

TV Series

Richard Tufnell

Roland Tufnell

1977

1 episode

 

Horizon (1964)

Horizon

8.5

TV Series

Charles Darwin

1977

1 episode

 

Supernatural (1977)

Supernatural

7.1

TV Mini Series

Prefect of Police

1977

1 episode

 

Robert Powell in Jesus of Nazareth (1977)

Jesus of Nazareth

8.5

TV Mini Series

Habbukuk

1977

4 episodes

 

Space: 1999 (1975)

Space: 1999

7.3

TV Series

Dorzak

1977

1 episode

 

Alan Dobie in Eleanor Marx (1977)

Eleanor Marx

TV Series

Karl Marx

1977

2 episodes

 

John Thaw in The Sweeney (1975)

The Sweeney

8.1

TV Series

Colly Kibber

1976

1 episode

 

Alan David, Bernard Hepton, Ellis Jones, and Ken Jones in The Squirrels (1974)

The Squirrels

7.5

TV Series

Moffat

1976

1 episode

 

Quiller (1975)

Quiller

6.7

TV Series

Keller

1975

1 episode

 

Centre Play (1973)

Centre Play

6.5

TV Series

Avraham Grumberg

1975

1 episode

 

Ian Richardson, Tom Bell, Donald Churchill, Michael Coles, David Hemmings, Patrick Mower, Prunella Ransome, John Thaw, Dennis Waterman, and Edward Woodward in Armchair Cinema (1974)

Armchair Cinema

8.0

TV Series

Arthur Dale

1974

1 episode

 

Robert Powell in Mahler (1974)

Mahler

7.0

Bernhard Mahler

1974

 

Sean Connery, Michael Caine, Paul Scofield, and Anna Calder-Marshall in ITV Saturday Night Theatre (1969)

ITV Saturday Night Theatre

5.9

TV Series

Jack Pitt

Sam Dirk

Prime Minister

1970–1974

3 episodes

 

Jack Warner in Dixon of Dock Green (1955)

Dixon of Dock Green

6.9

TV Series

Harry Simpson

1974

1 episode

 

Aquarius (1970)

Aquarius

6.6

TV Series

Jacob Epstein

1973

1 episode

 

The Best Pair of Legs in the Business (1973)

The Best Pair of Legs in the Business

6.0

Charlie Green

1973

 

Who Sank the Lusitania?

TV Movie

Von Papen

Kapitan Schwieger

The Commander

1972

 

Thirty-Minute Theatre (1965)

Thirty-Minute Theatre

7.1

TV Series

The Man

Lenin

The Soldier ...

1966–1972

5 episodes

 

No Exit

TV Series

Hemsley

1972

1 episode

 

Richard Beckinsale, Freddie Fletcher, Arthur Lowe, Jack Rosenthal, and Paula Wilcox in ITV Playhouse (1967)

ITV Playhouse

7.3

TV Series

Sonia's father

Dr. Steven Brinton

1968–1972

2 episodes

 

Brother Sun, Sister Moon (1972)

Brother Sun, Sister Moon

7.2

Pietro Di Bernardone

1972

 

Eagle in a Cage (1972)

Eagle in a Cage

5.8

Cipriani

1972

 

Joe (1966)

Joe

8.1

TV Series

Narrator (voice)

1966–1971

26 episodes

 

Paul Eddington, Colin Gordon, and Barrie Ingham in Hine (1971)

Hine

7.8

TV Series

Edward Du Plooy

1971

1 episode

 

Day of Rest

Short

1970

 

Revolution 2: Lenin

TV Movie

1970

 

Menace (1970)

Menace

7.9

TV Series

The Man

1970

1 episode

 

W. Somerset Maugham (1969)

W. Somerset Maugham

7.7

TV Series

Mr. Grange

1970

1 episode

 

Ray Barrett, Geoffrey Keen, and Philip Latham in Mogul (1965)

Mogul

7.0

TV Series

Ferdinand Perez

1970

1 episode

 

On Trial (1970)

On Trial

TV Mini Series

Roger Robb

1970

1 episode

 

Morning Story

TV Movie

Danny Robbins

1970

 

Robert Horton in The Spy Killer (1969)

The Spy Killer

6.1

TV Movie

Igor

1969

 

Detective (1964)

Detective

7.3

TV Series

Police Chief Fellows

1968–1969

2 episodes

 

Peter Wyngarde in Department S (1969)

Department S

7.3

TV Series

Maurice Rafic

1969

1 episode

 

Marius Goring in The Expert (1968)

The Expert

8.0

TV Series

Donald Kirby

1969

1 episode

 

Armchair Theatre (1956)

Armchair Theatre

7.5

TV Series

Eddie

Joe Black

Garcia Martinez ...

1959–1969

4 episodes

 

BBC Play of the Month (1965)

BBC Play of the Month

6.7

TV Series

Joe Ferguson

Michael Bialoguski

1966–1968

2 episodes

 

The High Commissioner (1968)

The High Commissioner

6.0

Denzil

1968

 

The Gamblers

7.1

TV Series

Henry Garston

1967

1 episode

 

The Wednesday Play (1964)

The Wednesday Play

7.2

TV Series

Johnny May

Archibald Cooper

1965–1967

2 episodes

 

The First Freedom

TV Movie

Yuli Daniel

1967

 

John Lennon and Michael Crawford in How I Won the War (1967)

How I Won the War

5.5

Transom

1967

 

Donald Pleasence and Patricia Routledge in The Good & Faithful Servant (1967)

Seven Deadly Virtues

TV Series

The Owner

1967

1 episode

 

Sylva Koscina and Elke Sommer in Deadlier Than the Male (1967)

Deadlier Than the Male

6.3

Boxer

1967

 

The New Inferno

TV Movie

The Company

1966

 

Jackanory (1965)

Jackanory

7.1

TV Series

Storyteller

1965–1966

15 episodes

 

ITV Play of the Week (1955)

ITV Play of the Week

6.7

TV Series

Zauber

Mr. Black

Sergeant Coaker ...

1959–1966

7 episodes

 

Bradford Dillman and Peter Graves in Court Martial (1965)

Court Martial

7.1

TV Series

Lt. Mario Pinelli

Sgt. Joe Rios

1966

2 episodes

 

The Baron (1966)

The Baron

7.1

TV Series

Asano

1966

1 episode

 

Donald Pleasence and Betsy Blair in Love Story (1963)

Love Story

7.1

TV Series

George Makreyanis

Mr. Crucible

1964–1965

2 episodes

 

You Must Be Joking! (1965)

You Must Be Joking!

5.9

Staff Sergeant Mansfield

1965

 

The Secret of Blood Island (1965)

The Secret of Blood Island

4.9

Levy

1965

 

Secret Agent (1964)

Secret Agent

8.2

TV Series

Major Latour

1965

1 episode

 

Five to One (1963)

Five to One

6.5

Larry Hart

1963

 

The Edgar Wallace Mystery Theatre (1959)

The Edgar Wallace Mystery Theatre

7.7

TV Series

Larry Hart

Tim Jordan

1961–1963

2 episodes

 

Espionage (1963)

Espionage

7.6

TV Series

Sun Yat-Sen

1963

1 episode

 

Walt Disney in The Magical World of Disney (1954)

The Magical World of Disney

8.4

TV Series

Mallart

1963

2 episodes

 

Bob Dylan, David Warner, Ursula Howells, Reg Lye, and Maureen Pryor in The Madhouse on Castle Street (1963)

BBC Sunday-Night Play

8.6

TV Series

Christiansen

Benya Krick

Lucien ...

1960–1963

4 episodes

 

Billy Budd (1962)

Billy Budd

7.8

Squeak - Assistant to Mr. Claggart

1962

 

Operation Snatch (1962)

Operation Snatch

7.1

Miklos Tabori

1962

 

Comedy Playhouse (1961)

Comedy Playhouse

7.2

TV Series

Maurice Woolley

1962

1 episode

 

Man at the Carlton Tower (1961)

Man at the Carlton Tower

6.0

Tim Jordan

1961

 

ITV Television Playhouse (1955)

ITV Television Playhouse

8.1

TV Series

Man

Mr. Figg

Tony Pavildes ...

1958–1961

4 episodes

 

They Met in a City

TV Series

Sid

1961

1 episode

 

They Made History

TV Mini Series

Ronald Ross

1961

1 episode

 

Stewart Granger and Haya Harareet in The Secret Partner (1961)

The Secret Partner

6.6

Det. Insp. Tom Henderson

1961

 

Rashomon

4.9

TV Movie

The Bandit

1961

 

Dirk Bogarde and Mylène Demongeot in The Singer Not the Song (1961)

The Singer Not the Song

6.2

Pepe

1961

 

Patrick McGoohan in Danger Man (1960)

Danger Man

7.9

TV Series

Chung Sun, Minister of Justice

1960

1 episode

 

No Hiding Place (1959)

No Hiding Place

7.4

TV Series

Eddie Corsellis

Phillips

1959–1960

2 episodes

 

Gloria Mestre in Foxhole in Cairo (1960)

Foxhole in Cairo

5.8

Aberle

1960

 

The Boy Who Stole a Million (1960)

The Boy Who Stole a Million

5.6

Tram Conductor (uncredited)

1960

 

Scotland Yard

8.3

TV Series

Detective Inspector Collins

1960

1 episode

 

Who Killed Menna Lorraine?

TV Movie

Rony Lorraine

1960

 

The Four Just Men (1959)

The Four Just Men

7.1

TV Series

Mendri

Berto

1959–1960

2 episodes

 

Kay Callard and John Turner in Knight Errant Limited (1959)

Knight Errant Limited

5.8

TV Series

Spanish Dan

1960

1 episode

 

The Savage Innocents (1960)

The Savage Innocents

6.8

Ittimargnek

1960

 

In the Zone

TV Movie

Jack

1960

 

Interpol Calling (1959)

Interpol Calling

7.2

TV Series

Dikaios

1959

1 episode

 

Tim Turner in The Invisible Man (1958)

The Invisible Man

7.0

TV Series

Matt

1959

1 episode

 

Norman Taylor and Norman Mayer in Who, Me? (1959)

Who, Me?

TV Movie

Det. Sgt. Tom Hitchin

1959

 

Hardy Krüger and Micheline Presle in Chance Meeting (1959)

Chance Meeting

6.7

Sgt. Farrow

1959

 

William Tell (1958)

William Tell

7.1

TV Series

Sgt. Johann

1959

1 episode

 

Yesterday's Enemy

6.2

TV Movie

Major Yamazaki

1958

 

Dial 999 (1958)

Dial 999

7.1

TV Series

Stacey

1958

1 episode

 

Television Playwright

6.0

TV Series

Taneo Takahashi

1958

1 episode

 

Uncertain Mercy

TV Movie

Zoltan

1958

 

The Castiglioni Brothers (1958)

The Castiglioni Brothers

TV Movie

Benito

1958

 

BBC Sunday-Night Theatre (1950)

BBC Sunday-Night Theatre

7.1

TV Series

Moss Hart

Lugo

1956–1958

2 episodes

 

Heart of a Child (1958)

Heart of a Child

5.9

2nd Soldier

1958

 

The Camp on Blood Island (1958)

The Camp on Blood Island

6.5

Jap Officer

1958

 

The Silent Enemy (1958)

The Silent Enemy

6.6

Miguel's Mate

1958

 

The Truth About Women (1957)

The Truth About Women

6.0

Coachman (uncredited)

1957

 

Overseas Press Club - Exclusive! (1957)

Overseas Press Club - Exclusive!

6.9

TV Series

Chen

1957

1 episode

 

Betty McDowall and Dennis Price in Assignment Foreign Legion (1956)

Assignment Foreign Legion

7.5

TV Series

Mahmoud

1957

1 episode

 

Belinda Lee in The Secret Place (1957)

The Secret Place

6.6

Jeweller (uncredited)

1957

 

Mrs. Gibbons' Boys

TV Movie

Francis X. Gibbons

1957

 

The Count of Monte Cristo (1956)

The Count of Monte Cristo

7.4

TV Series

Villon

The Assassin

1956

2 episodes

 

Nom-de-Plume

TV Series

Leon

1956

1 episode

 

No Man's Land

TV Movie

Corporal Maitland

1956

 

Another Sky (1954)

Another Sky

7.0

Michael

1954

 

Moulin Rouge (1952)

Moulin Rouge

7.0

Maurice Joyant

1952

 

Self

From Stage to Screen (2016)

From Stage to Screen

Self

2016

 

The Story of Jackanory

TV Movie

Self - 'Jackanory' Storyteller

2007

 

Bookmark (1983)

Bookmark

5.3

TV Series

Self - Reader

1990

1 episode

 

Melvyn Bragg in The South Bank Show (1978)

The South Bank Show

6.9

TV Series

Murchison

1982

1 episode

 

It's a Knockout (1966)

It's a Knockout

7.8

TV Series

Self

1981

1 episode

 

Archive Footage

From Andy Pandy to Zebedee: The Golden Age of Children's TV (2015)

From Andy Pandy to Zebedee: The Golden Age of Children's TV

7.2

TV Movie

Self - Jackanory Storyteller (archive footage)

2015

 

Ian Fleming and Geoffrey Boothroyd in Timeshift (2002)

Timeshift

7.1

TV Series

Self - Storyteller, Jackanory (archive footage)

2007

1 episode

 

Walt Disney in The Magical World of Disney (1954)

The Magical World of Disney

8.4

TV Series

Vorg (archive footage)

1979

1 episode