![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blog.wabash.edu\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2018\/12\/cam-montgomery-1.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nBut Montgomery can\u2019t show us the place he does his most important work.<\/p>\n
As cast sequester manager, he makes sure that none of the show\u2019s 16 contestants have contact with the outside world during Big Brother\u2019s99-day run. He\u2019s also in charge of the \u201cjury house,\u201d a real home a few miles away from the studio where the last nine evictees live until the show ends. Montgomery takes care of them after they have lost their shot at the $500,000 prize and the moment of fame that comes with it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m everyone\u2019s consolation prize.\u201d Montgomery laughs. \u201cOften they\u2019re bitter, because a person they trusted kicked them out, but I tell them that only one person can win the grand prize. The universe has everyone else here for a different reason. We have to figure out what that reason is for them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Montgomery embraces the work. In the backstabbing world of reality TV, he\u2019s Big Brother\u2019s real \u201cbig brother.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI tell them this is a wonderful opportunity; you have to search within yourself to find it. For some, its meeting the person they\u2019ll marry or the mother of their child. You thought you were here for $500,000, but you were really here for something else.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s life in a nutshell.\u201d<\/p>\n
It certainly has been for Montgomery.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter I graduated from Wabash, I thought I was going to be an actor, so I moved to New York City,\u201d he says. \u201cI learned quickly that j
\nust because you think you are going to be an actor doesn\u2019t mean you are going to be one.\u201d<\/p>\n
He moved to Los Angeles in 2000 to reinvent himself as a sitcom writer. A gig as a talent manager fell into his lap. The job at Big Brotheropened up when the previous sequester manager, a friend he had worked with, recommended him.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd now I\u2019m having success as a writer too.\u201d Montgomery smiles. \u201cPBS is running one of my short films. Aspire, owned by Magic Johnson, ran two of my short films.<\/p>\n
\u201cI look at the comments on websites where my work appears, and people identify\u2014they feel like I\u2019ve written about them. And we really are all the same\u2014we all want to love, and be loved in return.\u201d
\nMontgomery revels in his role at Big Brother.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have never met a stranger in my life, so I\u2019m a perfect fit for this show,\u201d he says. \u201cI feel like the cast is my brother, my sister, my son, my daughter. I try to treat people the way I want to be treated. Doing this work, to me, is like spreading love.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
What Matters Most?<\/strong> He\u2019s the man you see when you\u2019ve just lost a shot at half-million dollars and been voted off one of TV\u2019s top-rated reality shows. Cam Montgomery \u201986 is perfect for the job. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":4502,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4501","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured-videos"],"w_featured_image_url":"https:\/\/blog.wabash.edu\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2018\/12\/cam-montgomery-1024x683.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.wabash.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4501","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.wabash.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.wabash.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wabash.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wabash.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4501"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wabash.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4501\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4519,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wabash.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4501\/revisions\/4519"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wabash.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4502"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.wabash.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4501"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wabash.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4501"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wabash.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4501"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n\u201cI volunteer at a residence for elderly people. They\u2019ve shown me that you have to do something you like or you\u2019ll wake up resentful some day. So now I do the things I like. If they make a lot of money, great. If not, great. Success for me? it\u2019s being able to use the bathroom by myself on a consistent basis! Everything else is a cake walk!\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"