Monty Montgomery

Montgomery Montgomery

Biographical Information

Died

Injected with snake venom of Mamba du Mal by Count Olaf, on April 24 (TV series)^[2]

Alias

Uncle Monty
Doctor Montgomery
Tony "Mommy" Eggmonteror^[1]

Title(s)

Doctor

Physical Description

Gender

Male

Height

Short

Hair

Red (Books)
Grey (Movie, PC game)
Black (TV series, console game)

Relationships

Family Members

Bertrand Baudelaire (sister's husband's cousin)
Beatrice Baudelaire (sister's husband's cousin's wife)
Violet, Klaus and Sunny Baudelaire (sister's husband's cousin's children)
Lemony Snicket, Jacques Snicket and Kit Snicket (cousins)
sister
Brother-in-law (cousin of Bertrand)

Affiliation

Profession

Herpetologist

Loyalty

The Herpetological Society
V.F.D.

“	Isn't that what family does?	”
	— Uncle Monty to Violet when she asks him why he's caring for her, Klaus and Sunny

Dr. Montgomery Montgomery, also known as Tony "Mommy" Eggmonteror, was a brilliant herpetologist. He had a lifelong interest of snakes and reptiles, having a large collection of them in his house.

To Violet, Klaus and Sunny Baudelaire, he was known as Uncle Monty, although he was their "late father's cousin's wife's brother". He was their second guardian.

He was a kind and loving guardian. The Baudelaire's experience with him was probably the most pleasant throughout the series, as he became the closest thing of a new family to them.

Biography

In the books, Montgomery was described as a short chubby man with a round red face.

He was, being a Volunteer of the V.F.D., a noble and kindly man.

He discovered the Incredibly Deadly Viper, which was completely harmless, but he named it that to play a prank on his associates at the Herpetological Society, showing he has a sense of humor.

Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography reveals that many of Monty's reptiles were trained to communicate coded messages. A ripped page from the book "The Mamba du Mal: A Snake That Will Never Kill Me" (written by Monty under his anagram pen-name Tony "Mommy" Eggmonteror) describes some phrases used by the Mamba du Mal. The Unauthorized Autobiography also contains a partial transcript of a V.F.D. meeting in which two attendees named 'M' appear. It is possible that Monty is one of these individuals.

In The End, Kit Snicket states that Monty taught her many Italian words, including Vaparetto.

At the close of Who Could That Be at This Hour?, Hector briefly mentions Monty.

The Reptile Room

Upon first meeting the Baudelaires, he gave them homemade coconut cake. The Baudelaires quickly became fond of him. Montgomery preferred to be called Uncle Monty by the orphans. He mentioned how he had planned to take them to Peru with his assistant, Gustav and that Gustav had mysteriously "resigned" the day before the trip (he was actually drowned in the Swarthy Swamp by Count Olaf). Montgomery unintentionally hired Count Olaf, disguised as a lab assistant named Stephano, as Gustav's replacement.

The children also watched a film called Zombies in the Snow while in the care of Dr. Montgomery, directed by Dr. Gustav Sebald. The movie, written in Sebald Code, warned them about an impostor (Stephano), but since neither the Baudelaires nor Dr. Montgomery had ever learned Sebald Code, they did not realize this. The Baudelaire orphans were aware that Stephano was Olaf in disguise, but they were unable to convince Montgomery.

Montgomery does, however, notice that Stephano is not a very good herpetologist, and believes he is a spy from the Herpetological Society. He rips up Stephano's ticket to Peru and plans to tell Stephano to stay at the house to look after the specimens. Sometime during the night, Montgomery is murdered by Olaf who uses the snake venom of the Mamba du Mal to divert suspicion, making it seem as if Montgomery died from an accidental snakebite.

The next morning, the Baudelaires wake up and find their uncle's body. The children are extremely upset, yet they are determined to prove the death was a murder. They expose Stephano's true identity, however Olaf manages to escape again.

Both the villains and volunteers want possession of Montgomery's collection of reptiles and amphibians. After Dr. Montgomery's death, a man named Bruce retrieves the animals for use by the Herpetological Society. It is stated in The Slippery Slope that Count Olaf later tricked Bruce into letting him take possession of the animals. This is the last mention of them in the books.^[1]

Behind the scenes

In the film adaptation, he was portrayed by Billy Connolly.
In the video game, he was voiced by Jay Gordon.
In the Netflix series, he was portrayed by Aasif Mandvi.

Etymology

It is unknown where the name Montgomery came from, as there are many stories of its origin.

It is possible that the name "Montgomery Montgomery" is a reference to Monty Python, a British comedy group. "Montgomery" may refer to "Monty", and the doctor's being an herpetological scientist that specializes in snakes may refer to "Python".

It is also possible that the dual name, "Montgomery Montgomery" relates to Vladimir Nabokov's seminal novel, Lolita, in which the narrating character's name was Humbert Humbert.

It is possible that the name "Uncle Monty" is a reference to the 1987 British cult film Withnail and I, in which there is a character named Uncle Monty, also portrayed as a fat, short man with a round, red chubby face.

Trivia

In the book, Uncle Monty reveals he never had children or a wife, because he had no time for it and was leaving the idea for later. However, in the film, he said that had he a wife and children, but they died in a fire.

PianoPhoto — Monty locked inside the piano.

In the TV series, Montgomery Montgomery's mustache resembles that of Clash Royale's Electro Wizard.
In the TV series, it is revealed Monty was locked in a piano with the Baudelaire parents, and Count Olaf took a picture of it.
In the TV series, The Daily Punctilio claims Montgomery Montgomery had "snake allergies" and died from them, and that he "hated snakes". It also tries to push the narrative that the Baudelaires murdered their parents, Montgomery Montgomery and Josephine Anwhistle because they want their fortune all to themselves.^[3]
In the TV series, Montgomery was also shown to have a ticket taker ally who spliced the footage of Zombies in the Snow so that he can copy down the remaining message. In addition, Count Olaf had the White-Faced Women try to capture him to no avail.