Name Rutherford Montgomery Role Writer | Died July 3, 1985 | |
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Education Western State Colorado University Movies The Hound That Thought He Was a Raccoon Parents George Y. Montgomery, Matilda Proctor Montgomery Awards John Newbery Medal, Spur Award for Best Juvenile Books Kildee House, A Yankee Flier in Italy, Yellow Eyes, A Yankee Flier Over Berlin, Big Red: A Wild Stallion | ||
Rutherford George Montgomery (April 12, 1894 – July 3, 1985) was an American writer of children's books. In addition to his given name, he used the pseudonyms A.A. Avery, Al Avery, Art Elder, E.P. Marshall, and Everitt Proctor.
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Life
Montgomery was born in Straubville, Sargent County, North Dakota, "a true ghost town" as of 2005. to George Y. and Matilda Proctor Montgomery. He studied at Colorado Agricultural College, Western State College of Colorado, and University of Nebraska; taught elementary school in Hot Springs, Wyoming; and from 1917 to 1919 served in the United States Air Corps. During the 1920s he worked as a teacher and principal at junior and senior high schools in Montrose County, Colorado.
Montgomery married Eunice Opal Kirks in 1930; they had three children. He served Gunnison County, Colorado, as a judge from 1931 to 1936 and as county commissioner from 1932 to 1938, then became a freelance writer.
While still at school, Montgomery began writing stories about the wild animals that lived around his family's farm. He went on to write books about aviation and the people, landscapes and animals of the American West, particularly horses. In all, he wrote more than 100 books.
From 1941 to 1946 Montgomery was a writer for Dick Tracy. He worked as a creative writing teacher 1955–57 and as a scriptwriter for Walt Disney Studios 1958–1962.