Lisa Montell
Born: 1933-07-05 in Warsaw, Poland
Died: 2023-03-07
Known For: Acting
Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Lisa Janti is known as Lisa Montell as a Hollywood actress of the 1950-60s, and then shifted her career to one of advocacy and service to various disadvantaged groups and to her adopted religion, the Bahá'í Faith. Lisa Janti, known as Lisa Montell as a Hollywood actress of the 1950-60s, was born Irena Ludmila Vladimirovna Augustynowic of Russian-Polish ancestry, and her family fled to Poland before World War II. On arrival in New York they changed their last name to Montwill so she grew up Irene Montwill. They lived in New York and Janti attended the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts. After becoming involved in English-speaking theatre she was noticed by Hollywood producer Dick Welding who offered her a part in Daughter of the Sun God, filmed in Peru c. 1953 with actor William Holmes. Shortly afterwards her father died and the family chose to follow the opportunity Hollywood was giving her with her career. Her first role may have been in 1954 in the TV series The Public Defender, based on the film of the same name. On television she was on the Cheyenne show episode "Border Showdown" (Showdown in Paso Also) of 1955 and the 1956 Jane Wyman's Fireside Theater episode "A Time to live" and the Sugarfoot show episode "Guns for Big Bear" in 1958. In 1962 she was in Combat! episode "A Day in June". Janti was known as the "Starlet of many faces" probably portraying more diverse ethnic roles though she was Polish including Polynesian, Native American, Mexican, Burmese, French, Italian, Spanish, east Indian and Persian – roles with dubious cultural and sexist stereotypes. Among the productions Janti was cast in are She Gods of Shark Reef, Ten Thousand Bedrooms, Pearl of the South Pacific, Jump Into Hell, The Lone Ranger and the Lost City of Gold, and World Without End.
Filmography
1962
- Combat! as Marcelle
- The Firebrand as Clarita Vasconcelos
- Daughter of the Sun God as Christine
1961
- The Long Rope as Alicia Alvarez
1960
- Johnny Midnight as Julie Valenti
- Surfside 6 as Nancy Dinato
1959
- One Step Beyond as Terese
- The Dennis O'Keefe Show as Annabella
1958
- Bat Masterson as Selena Thorn
- 77 Sunset Strip as Pilar Sanchez
- Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse as Simone
- Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer as Maria Chamini
- The Ann Sothern Show as Maharani
- Frontier Doctor as Marguerite Lidell
- Northwest Passage as Emily Duren
- She Gods of Shark Reef as Mahia
- The Lone Ranger and the Lost City of Gold as Paviva
- The Nine Lives of Elfego Baca as Anita Chavez
1957
- Maverick as Andalucia Rubio
- Have Gun, Will Travel as Soledad Ortega
- Tales of Wells Fargo as Juanita
- Sugarfoot as Kenoee
- Colt .45 as Teresa Valdez
- The O. Henry Playhouse as Carlotta
- Ten Thousand Bedrooms as Diana Martelli
- Tomahawk Trail as Tula
- Naked Paradise as Lanai
1956
- Wire Service as Luisa
- The Adventures of Jim Bowie as Lisette Rochambeau
- Broken Arrow as Tesalbe
- World Without End as Deena
- Gaby as Claire
- The Wild Dakotas as Ruth Murphy
1955
- Matinee Theater as Yasmin
- Cheyenne as Rosa
- The Millionaire as Paula Wellington
- The Jane Wyman Show as Carmelita
- Daddy Long Legs as College Girl (uncredited)
- Pearl of the South Pacific as Momu
- Escape to Burma as Andora
- Jump Into Hell as Jacqueline
- Finger Man as Mary Smith (uncredited)
1954
- The Wonderful World of Disney as Anita Chavez
- Public Defender as Bertha
1952
- Cavalcade of America as Frederica McLane
1950
- Lux Video Theatre as Suzanne
- The Gene Autry Show as Esther Cameron