Bruce
Montague was secretly married to Barbara Latham in December 1962, the
reason for this secrecy was that Bruce's contract with Frederick
Joachim included a clause that Bruce promised not to marry for
the duration of the contract. This clause was inserted into the
contract to enable Bruce to be built-up as a 'Matinee-Idol' as a
successor to Dirk Bogarde. Unfortunately, when Joachim was informed
about the marriage, Bruce's contract was dropped. Bruce and Barbara had
their first child Sam in 1963; Sam Montague is now a successful
cameraman.
The crime/drama
series The Link Men, made by TCN-9 in Sydney, Australia, stars
Bruce Montague as Det. Sgt. Harry Sutton. The Link Men,
which first aired in 1970, revolves around three detectives from the
Sydney CIB (Criminal Invesigation Branch), who are not attached to any
particular squad and whose brief is to investigate all types of crime. The
Linkmen is based on the very popular UK television series No
Hiding Place produced by Associated-Rediffusion. The police
advisor on No Hiding Place, scriptwriter Glyn Davies (a former
Scotland Yard detective), was commissioned by TCN-9 to devise The
Linkmen. After adapting the scripts for the Australian show, Glyn
Davies then shipped-out all the scripts from the series (No Hiding
Place) and with locations and names now changed, these scripts form
the basis for The Link Men stories.
Bruce Montague
is probably best known for his role in Carla Lane's BBC TV comedy
series Butterflies, whose original run was from 1978 until
1984. In the series he plays wealthy businessman, Leonard Dunn,
the extra-marital romantic interest of Ria Parkinson (Wendy
Craig). The series also stars Geoffrey Palmer as Ben Parkinson, Ria's
husband.
With at least
300 television appearances to his name, including: Public Eye, Poirot,
Special Branch, The Saint, The Baron,
The Protectors, Fresh Fields and Dr Who.
Bruce Montague is also a writer and has had his own original material
broadcast by NZBC, ABC and by the BBC, in the Saturday Night Theatre,
and Afternoon Theatre slots. He has also written for the stage,
including A Bird in the Hand, a play which opened in Guernsey,
in the Channel Islands at the Beau Sejour Theatre and had a run of 4
months.
Bruce has also
produced and directed, and was responsible for the Australasian
productions of Lionel Bart's Fings Ain't Wot They Used T'be and
Lock Up Your Daughters. He and Anthony Richardson were
co-founders of the Mercury Theatre in Auckland. In 1994-1995 Bruce
played the Constable in Fiddler on the Roof at the
London Palladium and in 1997-2000 he played Mr Brownlow in
Oliver, again at the Palladium.
Bruce has also
written three stage musicals in collaboration with Kenny Clayton: Oedipus
- Ring Your Mother, about a man who falls in love with his own
father. Box, a boxing musical-fantasy, set in the Las Vegas of
1963, with music and lyrics written in the 'Rat-Pack' style. The
third musical is The Mistress, about the menage-a-trois of Lord Horatio
Nelson, Lady Emma Hamilton and her husband Sir William Hamilton.
In 2001-2002
Bruce played Monsieur Firmin in Andrew Lloyd Webber's The
Phantom of the Opera, adapted from the novel Le Fantome De
L'Opera, by French author Gaston Leroux, first published in 1910.
The venue was Her Majesty's Theatre in Haymarket, London and Bruce made
approximately 650 perfomances as Monsieur Firmin.
In 2003 Bruce
returned to Colchester to star in the Mercury Theatre production of the
classic period drama My Cousin Rachel. The play, based on the
novel by Daphne du Maurier, was adapted by Diana Morgan and directed by
Ian Dickens. This production of My Cousin Rachel also starred
Beatie Edney (Highlander, Frost, Dressing For
Breakfast), and Andrew Lynford (Simon Raymond in Eastenders).
Thanks to Bruce Montague & Marilyn Collis.
Spotlight/IMDb
Visit Bruce Montague's
official website here: bruce montague.com
