{{Short description|American director (1947–2002)}} {{EL|date=February 2025}} {{For|the character in the TV-series ''All My Children''|Reggie Montgomery (All My Children)}} {{Infobox person | image = Reggie Montgomery, actor.jpg | caption = Reggie Montgomery, year unknown | name = Reggie Montgomery | birth_date = {{Birth date |1947|09|15}} | birth_place = Tallahassee, Florida, US | death_date = {{Death date and age|2002|01|13|1947|09|15}} | death_place = New York City, US | education = {{Unbulleted list|Florida A&M University, BS|Trinity University, MFA, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Clown College}} | years_active = | known_for = First African-American clown in Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, acting | spouse = }} '''Reginald Alexander Montgomery''' (Sep 15, 1947 – Jan 13, 2002) was an American clown, actor and director. He was best known as the first African-American clown to perform in Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus,<ref name="New book explores">{{cite news |last1=Jonathan |first1=Turner |title=New book explores life of Ringling Bros.' first black clown |url=https://qconline.com/life/new-book-explores-life-of-ringling-bros-first-black-clown/article_5d0d6494-3f3e-5001-8918-71daaa10a741.html |access-date=9 August 2023 |work=The Dispatch / The Rock Island Argus |date=20 April 2017 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="In memoriam: Reggie Montgomery: 1947-2002 - ProQuest">{{cite web |last1=Wolfe |first1=George C. |authorlink=George C. Wolfe |title=In memoriam: Reggie Montgomery: 1947-2002 |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/220586870 |publisher=American Theatre |language=en |date=April 2002|id={{ProQuest|220586870}} }}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Marshall |first=Alys |date=2002-02-10 |title=Reggie Montgomery |url=https://variety.com/2002/scene/people-news/reggie-montgomery-1117860453/ |access-date=2023-11-25 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Ask Me Another: Bob the Drag Queen |url=https://www.npr.org/transcripts/889693526 |website=NPR|date=10 July 2020 }}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=By |date=2002-01-19 |title=Stage's Reggie Montgonery Dies at 54 |url=https://www.courant.com/2002/01/19/stages-reggie-montgomery-dies-at-54/ |access-date=2023-11-26 |website=Hartford Courant |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Hepner |first1=Donald |title=Reggie!: Ringling's First Black Clown |last2=Roseman |first2=Curtis |publisher=CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform |year=2016 |isbn=978-1534662667}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=McKinley |first=Jesse |date=2002-02-08 |title=Reggie Montgomery, 54, Actor and Director |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/02/08/arts/reggie-montgomery-54-actor-and-director.html |website=The New York Times}}</ref> though he spent only a year of his career doing so.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2002-02-10 |title=Obituaries |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2002/02/10/obituaries/3c6c2133-2dbe-405e-b0d7-562d1fd61b53/ |newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref>
==Early life== Montgomery was born in 1947 in Tallahassee, Florida, and had two siblings. His parents wanted him to become an English teacher. In high school, he studied acting and played touch football. He went to Florida A&M University and studied drama, graduating in 1968.<ref name="Reggie Montgomery, 54, Actor and Director (Published 2002)">{{cite news |last1=McKinley |first1=Jesse |author1-link=Jesse McKinley |title=Reggie Montgomery, 54, Actor and Director |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/02/08/arts/reggie-montgomery-54-actor-and-director.html |access-date=9 August 2023 |work=The New York Times |date=8 February 2002 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Color Comes To the Circus" />
Speaking to his childhood experience, he said, "Especially being of color, I am always figuring out a way to survive in the world and in the theater...I grew up in Tallahassee, Florida in the 50s where people were still being lynched".<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=Reggie Montgomery Has His Day |url=https://www.totaltheater.com/?q=node/448 |access-date=2023-11-26 |website=www.totaltheater.com |language=en}}</ref>
As a child, Montgomery had a speech impediment, which required surgery. In part to help with his speech impediment, when he was 6 years old he was enrolled in a theater program at Florida A&M University, run by Sheppard Randolph Edmunds, founder of the first Black theater educational program at Dillard University in 1936,<ref>{{Cite web |last=May |first=Richon |date=May 2022 |title=Its Time for Representation, Diversity, Equity, and Justice at Theater UNO |url=https://scholarworks.uno.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4230&context=td |website=ScholarWorks}}</ref> and sometimes known as "the dean of Black academic theater".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Duhon |first=Valeria Martinez and Calder |date=2022-02-23 |title=Dillard University: "From Confidence Courage." |url=https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/0f5c233164e64ff9a79689f366d08455 |access-date=2023-11-26 |website=ArcGIS StoryMaps |language=en}}</ref> Montgomery stayed in the program for 8 years.
After later attending as an adult and graduating from Florida A&M University in 1968, Montgomery studied at Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Clown College, the first year of the school's existence. The dean of the school, Mel Miller, saw Montgomery in a local stage production, and invited Montgomery to apply. Of 1,000 applicants, Montgomery was one of 30 accepted.<ref name=":4">{{Cite news |date=Nov 1969 |title=Color Comes to the Circus: Arena's first black clown finds Big Top life 'a groove' |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZFDqAUi7h-QC&pg=PA155 |work=Ebony |pages=155–162}}</ref>
He studied under Otto Griebling and Emmett Kelley,<ref name=":0" /> learning "acrobatic exercises--tumbles, flops and rolls...[and] also studied elements of visual comedy, along with practice work in pantomime."<ref name=":4" /> He expressed not liking circus when he had seen it 10 years prior, but "decided to give it a try" after being invited to apply. Drawn to performance, his parents expressed a preference for him to be an English teacher<ref name=":2" /> (he did, in fact, work as a substitute English teacher at Florida's Sarasota Junior High while attending Clown College "to earn 'bread-and-butter' money").<ref name=":4" />
He later earned a master's degree in fine arts from Trinity University in San Antonio, TX.<ref name=":0" />
==Clowning== In 1969, he attended the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Clown College, founded the year before. He was the only Black man in his classes,<ref name="Reggie Montgomery, 54, Actor and Director (Published 2002)" /> and Ringling's first Black clown.<ref name="Color Comes To the Circus">{{cite web |title=Color Comes To the Circus |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZFDqAUi7h-QC&pg=PA155 |publisher=Ebony |pages=155–162 |language=en |date=November 1969}}</ref> During the six weeks of clown college he also worked as a substitute English teacher. He did not want to appear in white face, and with the agreement of the circus managers he applied a more scaled down clown make up.<ref name="Color Comes To the Circus" />
He stayed with Ringling for a year,<ref name="Reggie Montgomery (Variety)">{{cite news |last1=Marshall |first1=Alys |date=10 February 2002 |title=Reggie Montgomery |url=https://variety.com/2002/scene/people-news/reggie-montgomery-1117860453/ |access-date=9 August 2023 |work=Variety}}</ref> saying that {{Blockquote |We've got people from more than 18 foreign countries. But nobody allows himself to get uptight about Communism or international boundaries or race. Everybody just helps everybody else. And like things really ''jell''.<ref name="Color Comes To the Circus" /> }}
In 1969, after graduating from clown college, he toured as a clown with Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus, continuing to refuse to do white-face, saying to ''Ebony'' magazine in 1969: "My own paint job's good enough."<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":4" />
==Acting and directing== In the 1970s, Montgomery established the Minority Repertory Theater in Dallas, TX together with actress Irma P. Hall,<ref name="HONORING IRMA P. HALL">{{cite web |last1=Johnson |first1=Eddie Bernice |author1-link=Eddie Bernice Johnson |date=14 April 2008 |title=Honoring Irma P. Hall |url=https://www.congress.gov/110/crec/2008/04/14/CREC-2008-04-14-pt1-PgE601-3.pdf |publisher=Congress.gov}}</ref><ref name="Irma P. Hall">{{cite web |title=Irma P. Hall |url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/79514%7C203512/Irma-P.-Hall/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210209153817/https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/79514%7C203512/Irma-P.-Hall/#biography |archive-date=9 February 2021 |publisher=Turner Classic Movies |url-status=dead |language=en}}</ref> where he worked with Paul Baker at the Dallas Theater Center. While in Dallas, he portrayed Ebenezer Scrooge in ''A Christmas Carol''.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |last=Jones |first=Kenneth |date=2002-01-25 |title=Actor-director Reggie Montgomery, a Vet of Public Theater, Dead at 54 |url=https://playbill.com/article/actor-director-reggie-montgomery-a-vet-of-public-theater-dead-at-54-com-103607 |website=Playbill}}</ref> He later moved to Los Angeles, CA to further pursue acting.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" /> In 1982, he moved to New York.<ref name=":2" />
In 1986, he was part of George C. Wolfe's play ''The Colored Museum'', where he played several characters.<ref name="Reggie Montgomery, 54, Actor and Director (Published 2002)" /><ref name="In memoriam: Reggie Montgomery: 1947-2002 - ProQuest" /> His theater work included Suzan-Lori Parks's ''The America Play'' and ''In the Blood'', as well as plays by Zora Neale Hurston.<ref name="Reggie Montgomery, 54, Actor and Director (Published 2002)" /> Additionally, he worked as a director and acting coach.<ref name="Reggie Montgomery, 54, Actor and Director (Published 2002)" /> Montgomery's film and TV roles included ''Matlock (TV series)'', ''Law & Order'', ''Malcolm X,'' and ''Joe the King''.<ref name="Reggie Montgomery (Variety)" />
In theater, Montgomery staged ''Spunk'' (1990), as well as the Broadway<ref>{{Cite web |title=Reggie Montgomery – Broadway Cast & Staff |url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/reggie-montgomery-76218 |access-date=2024-12-18 |website=www.ibdb.com}}</ref> production of ''Mule Bone'' (1991), Kia Corthron's ''Digging Eleven'', ''I Ain't Yo Uncle: The New Jack Revisionist Uncle Tom's Cabin'', ''The Colored Museum'', and ''...Love, Langston'' at Hartford Stage, where he also served for 2 years as an associate artistic director. Montgomery previously appeared in some of George C. Wolfe's original productions of Back Alley Tales,<ref name="auto">{{Cite journal |last1=Billias |first1=George Athan |last2=Clark. |first2=William Bell |date=December 1970 |title=Naval Documents of the American Revolution. Volume IV, American Theatre: Feb. 19, 1776–Apr. 17, 1776; European Theatre: Feb. I, 1776–May 25, 1776; American Theatre: Apr. 18, 1776–May 8, 1776 |url=https://doi.org/10.2307/1848145 |journal=The American Historical Review |volume=75 |issue=7 |pages=2125 |doi=10.2307/1848145 |jstor=1848145 |issn=0002-8762|url-access=subscription }}</ref> including the aforementioned ''Spunk'', in which he played a pimp,<ref name=":3" /> and ''The Colored Museum''. His roles in ''The Colored Museum'' included "a series of satirical sketches about black American history" playing various characters, including "Walter-Lee-Beau-Willy, a purposely stereotypical black man" and "Miss Roj...a transvestite in white go-go boots and orange patio pants".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Richards |first=David |date=1986-12-07 |title='Colored': Crazy & |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/style/1986/12/07/colored-crazy-38/0a03240b-4e67-4ad4-8d85-ec08a466fc33/ |newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":1" /> He also performed on Broadway, acting in ''The Green Bird''.
For his performances in Wolfe's plays, he won the Audelco Best Actor Award, at the New York Shakespeare Festival. Upon meeting Montgomery, Wolfe writes in a tribute article memorializing the artist:<ref name="auto" />
{{Blockquote|text="Reggie Montgomery was mad with talent and intensity and vulnerability and integrity. As he talked, his eyes flashed with rage or joy or whatever he was feeling in that moment. There was, quite simply, no space, no distance, no on-and-off switch to Reggie and his artistry."}}
In 2001, he portrayed James Baldwin in Wesley Brown's ''A Prophet Among Them'', his final acting credit.
From 1995 to 1999, Montgomery was an associate professor of theater arts at Trinity College in Hartford, CT. While at Trinity, Montgomery wrote and directed many productions including, ''The Suburban Violence Project'', ''Reggie Montgomery Directs'', as well as ''Up Front and Personal'', a collection of stories written by his Trinity Students during Montgomery's multicultural workshop.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Trinity College (Hartford |first=Connecticut, USA) |title=The Trinity Tripod 1998-11-23: Tripod |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/community.30172317 |series=Trinity College Archival Publications and Manuscripts. Trinity College |volume=97 |issue=10}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Trinity College (Hartford |first=Connecticut, USA) |title=The Trinity Tripod 1997-03-04: Tripod |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/community.30055167 |series=Trinity College Archival Publications and Manuscripts. Trinity College |volume=95 |issue=16}}</ref>
In 2000, Montgomery directed Suzzanne Douglas in ''Lady Day at the Emerson Bar and Grill,'' at the George Street Playhouse in New Brunswick, NJ. He previously worked with Douglas in an Actors Studio production of ''The Obeah Man'', a musical adaptation of Molière's ''The Doctor in Spite of Himself''.
Montgomery also taught acting at the Alvin Ailey School of Dance and at the American Musical and Dramatic Arts Academy in New York.<ref name=":2" />
== Personal life == Montgomery was a close friend of fellow actor Tommy Hollis.<ref name=":3" />
== Death == Montgomery was found dead in his New York City apartment on January 13, 2002. He died of natural causes after "a long illness".<ref name=":1" /> He was survived by a brother and a sister.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":5" /> He was buried in Tallahassee, Florida.<ref name=":1" />
His frequent collaborator, George C. Wolfe, said:{{Better source needed|reason=The current source is behind a wall (WP:NOTRS).|date=February 2026}} {{Blockquote |I don't necessarily know the true meaning of the word "artist," but I do know when I'm in the presence of one. And from that very first meeting I knew Reggie was a great artist: A heroic spirit, a subversive jester and a fierce warrior.<ref name="In memoriam: Reggie Montgomery: 1947-2002 - ProQuest" /> }}
== Theatrical performances == {| class="wikitable" |+ !Year !Title !Role |- |1970s |''Back Alley Tales'' <ref name="auto"/> | |- |1970s |''The Caucasian Chalk Circle'' <ref name="auto"/> |Azdak |- |1970s |''A Christmas Carol'' |Ebenezer Scrooge |- |1984 |''[https://www.abouttheartists.com/productions/16411-short-eyes-at-mcginn-slash-cazale-theatre-november-1984 Short Eyes]'' |El Raheem |- |1985 |''[https://www.abouttheartists.com/productions/72270-a-raisin-in-the-sun-at-nancy-l-donahue-stage-march-22-april-7-1985-1 Raisin in the Sun]'' |Walter Lee Younger |- |1985 |''[https://www.abouttheartists.com/productions/105232-twelfth-night-at-loretto-hilton-center-browning-mainstage-1985 Twelfth Night]'' |Antonio |- |1986 |''[https://www.abouttheartists.com/productions/193253-the-tempest-at-csc-theatre-1986 The Tempest]'' |Stephano |- |1986-87 |''[https://www.abouttheartists.com/productions/129374-the-colored-museum-at-the-public-theater-susan-stein-shiva-theater-1986-1987 The Colored Museum]'' |Model,Miss Roj,Willy, Kid |- |1988 |''[https://www.abouttheartists.com/productions/129374-the-colored-museum-at-the-public-theater-susan-stein-shiva-theater-1986-1987 The Colored Museum]'' |Model,Miss Roj,Willy, Kid |- |1989 |''[https://www.abouttheartists.com/productions/18975-measure-for-measure-at-mitzi-e-newhouse-theater-1989 Measure for Measure]'' |Lucio |- |1990 |''[https://www.abouttheartists.com/productions/129382-spunk-three-tales-by-zora-neale-hurston-at-the-public-theater-martinson-hall-1990 Spunk: Three Tales by Zora Neale Hurston]'' |Sykes, Sweetback, Voice, One |- |1991 |''[https://www.abouttheartists.com/productions/18966-mule-bone-at-ethel-barrymore-theatre-1991 Mule Bone]'' |Lige Mosley |- |1991 |''[https://www.abouttheartists.com/productions/107662-black-eagles-at-manhattan-theatre-club-stage-ii-1991 Black Eagles]'' |Buddy |- |1994 |''[https://www.abouttheartists.com/productions/76774-the-america-play-at-yale-repertory-theatre-and-others-january-13-march-27-1994 The America Play]'' |Foundling Father |- |1994 |''[https://www.abouttheartists.com/productions/48322-the-merry-wives-of-windsor-at-delacorte-theatre-1994 The Merry Wives of Windsor]'' |Hugh Evans |- |1999 |''[https://www.abouttheartists.com/productions/132852-in-the-blood-at-the-public-theater-susan-stein-shiva-theater-1999 In the Blood]'' |Baby, Reverend D |- |2001 |''A Prophet Among Them''<ref>{{Citation |title=Sutton, Thomas Francis, (9 Feb. 1923–9 Dec. 1994), Chairman, AE-International Inc., since 1981; Director and Executive Vice-President, J. Walter Thompson Co., New York, 1965–85; Executive Vice-President, JWT Group Inc., New York, 1982–86 |date=2007-12-01 |work=Who Was Who |url=https://doi.org/10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.u175746 |access-date=2024-12-18 |publisher=Oxford University Press|doi=10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.u175746 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> | |} Media file of Reggie Montgomery performing in ''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhFlG3GzqH4 The Colored Museum]. This is one of Montgomery's most notable works, awarding him an Audelco.'' <ref>{{Cite web |last=Marshall |first=Alys |date=2002-02-10 |title=Reggie Montgomery |url=https://variety.com/2002/scene/people-news/reggie-montgomery-1117860453/ |access-date=2024-12-18 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}</ref>
== Directing == {| class="wikitable" |+ !Year !Title |- |1995 |''[https://www.abouttheartists.com/productions/69998-spunk-three-tales-by-zora-neale-hurston-at-john-w-huntington-theatre-january-1995 Spunk: Three Tales by Zora Neale Hurston]'' |- |1995 |''[https://www.abouttheartists.com/productions/70039-i-aint-yo-uncle-the-new-jack-revisionist-uncle-toms-cabin-at-hartford-stage-november-1995 I Ain't Yo' Uncle: The New Jack Revisionist Uncle Tom's Cabin]'' |- |1997 |''[https://www.abouttheartists.com/productions/70048-the-colored-museum-at-hartford-stage-february-march-1997 The Colored Museum]'' |- |1997 |[https://www.abouttheartists.com/productions/78318-thunder-knocking-on-the-door-at-yale-repertory-theatre-may-1-24-1997 ''Thunder Knocking on the Door''] |- |1998 |''[https://www.abouttheartists.com/productions/70053-dot-dot-dot-love-langston-at-hartford-stage-january-february-1998 ...Love Langston]'' |- |1999 |''[https://www.abouttheartists.com/productions/70087-digging-eleven-at-hartford-stage-january-14-february-14-1999 Digging Eleven]'' |- |2000-01 |''[https://www.abouttheartists.com/productions/13752-the-piano-lesson-at-centerstage-2000-2001 The Piano Lesson]'' |- |2001 |''[https://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/28/nyregion/theater-review-the-life-of-a-wounded-fighter-in-song.html Lady Day at Emerson Grill]'' |- | | ''Shades of Black and Brown'' |}
== Filmography == {| class="wikitable" |+ !Year !Title !Role(s) !Medium !Notes |- |1982 |''They Call Me Bruce?'' |Young Black Man |Film | |- |1987 |''Weeds'' |Rabble Rouser |Film | |- |1988 |''Matlock'' |Mr. Bunabi |Television |1 episode |- |1991 |''Great Performances'' |Miss Roj, Walter-Lee-Beau-Willie-Jones |Television |1 episode |- |1991 |''Hangin' with the Homeboys'' |Rasta |Film | |- |1992 |''Malcolm X'' |Dick Jones |Film | |- |1993 |''Ghost Writer'' |Darryl Thomas |Television |2 episodes |- |1995 |''New York Undercover'' |McNamara |Television |2 episodes |- |1992-1996 |''Law & Order'' |Leon Monroe, Dawkins, Francis Awe |Television |3 episodes |- |1997 |''Oz'' |Black History Teacher |Television |1 episode |- |1999 |''Joe the King'' |Andy |Film | |}
== Video games == {| class="wikitable" |+ !Year !Title !Role(s) !Notes |- |2001 |''AquaNox'' |Lieutenant Boston Harper, Iwan King |Voice actor |}
== References == {{reflist}}
== Further reading == * {{cite book |last1=Hepner |first1=Donald C. |last2=Roseman |first2=Curtis C. |title=Reggie!: Ringling's First Black Clown |date=2016 |publisher=CreateSpace |isbn=978-1-5346-6266-7 |language=en}}
== External links == * {{IMDb name|0599898}} * {{IBDB name|76218}} * [https://www.abouttheartists.com/artists/274470-reggie-montgomery Reggie Montgomery] at AboutTheArtists.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Montgomery, Reggie}} Category:1947 births Category:American clowns Category:Male actors from Tallahassee, Florida Category:African-American male actors Category:American male film actors Category:American male stage actors Category:African-American cultural history Category:Circus performers of African descent Category:2002 deaths Category:Florida A&M University alumni Category:Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus people Category:Trinity University alumni Category:American schoolteachers