But even the troubled blonde bombshell recognized that her co-star was in dire straits. The long suicide was complete. Fellow actor Kevin McCarthy was driving ahead of Clift when the horror show went down. (He never won an Academy Award, although most movie aficionados feel he deserved at least one, for his unforgettable turn as the tortured Robert E. Lee Prewitt in From Here to Eternity.). You`ve being alwasy an inspiration for me. Of course, by this time, Clifts drinking problems werent much of a secret, making him a liability to the studio. Montgomery Clift had passed due to a heart attack, but many assumed that his addictions and various health problems contributed to his early death. Whatever relationships Clift may have had, he was circumspect. Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift, Hollywood, 1950. She developed an intense decade-plus obsession over the young actor, even financing an experimental play, "Mexican Mural" for him. Making Montgomery Clift is a 2018 American documentary film by directors Robert Anderson Clift and Hillary Demmon chronicling the life of the actor Montgomery Clift till his death in 1966. AmoMama creates engaging, meaningful content for women. Sealed, new. In his eyes, he wasnt a rebel, he was simply an actor who wanted to portray a slice of life. Tired of being boxed in, he stated, I am notrepeat nota member of the Beat Generation. He wasnt the only one who challenged such norms at the time. But the drama didn't end there. Although hed only been away from Hollywood for four and a half years, the handsome Montgomery Clift looked incrediblyoldand the reason was downright heartbreaking. Nearly all his good looks are gone, Isherwood wrote. Apparently, one of Clifts tooths had pierced his tongue, causing him to choke. When Clift became a household name in the movie industry, his romantic life became a widely-discussed subject by the press. But the tragedies didnt end there. Elizabeth Taylor at Paramount Studios, 1950. All rights reserved. The 42 Best Romantic Comedies of All Time, The 25 Best Shows on Netflix to Watch Right Now, Titled Refueling at Albuquerque, New Mexico, in Clifts handwriting. Perkins, who once fended off the advances of Brigitte Bardot, later went to a shrink who maintained that homosexuality could be "cured," and in 1973 he married photographer Berry Berenson. Montgomery's ancestry was English, as well as more distant Scottish, Dutch, German and French. Clift couldnt get through longer scenes, having to split them up into two or three chunks. The results were not pretty. James found his patient sitting up in bed and watching his film, The Misfits, but Clift clearly didnt want to be disturbed. You see, when Clift sat down to read through the script for The Search,he was less than enthused with the writing. Absolutely stunning. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for The Search _ 1948 DVD Montgomery Clift Aline MacMahon Wendell Corey V Rare at the best online prices at eBay! Sensitive, mysterious, brooding, and suspiciously single. Montgomery Clift as Noah Ackerman Dean Martin as Michael Whiteacre Hope Lange as Hope Plowman Barbara Rush as Margaret Freemantle May Britt as Gretchen Hardenberg Maximilian Schell as Captain Hardenberg Dora Doll as Simone Lee Van Cleef as First Sergeant Rickett Liliane Montevecchi as Franoise Parley Baer as Sergeant Brandt With unprecedented control over the projects he starred in, Clift agreed to do the romantic drama, The Heiress. Peter Stackpole The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock. He was only 15 years old, but this wasnt just a fun pastimeit was serious business. . American actor Montgomery Clift was spectacular on the big screen for his portrayal of sensitive male characters. Montgomery Clift had an encounter with Marlon Brando. According to Clifts doctors, it was amazing that he was even alive. Historys most fascinating stories and darkest secrets, delivered to your inbox daily. It is a feature-length film with a runtime of 1h 3min. While he never excelled at school, his extraordinary abilities as an actor. Years later, I was using her phone when I made an utterly chilling discovery. Just look at the fan magazine titles: Making Love the Clift Way, Two Loves Has Monty, Montgomery Clifts Tragic Love Story, Is It True What They Say About Monty? Who Is Monty Kidding? Hes Travelin Light, The Lurid Love Life of Montgomery Clift, and, perhaps most flagrantly, Monty Clift: Woman Hater or Free Soul?. The film went on to win six Academy Awards, including Best Director and Best Screenplay, and is now hailed as a (flawed) classic. Whether he liked it or not, they were out for a storyAnd the one they wanted above all? Indiscretion Of An American Wife -- (Movie Clip) Open, Rome High-wattage credits in unusual combination, from David O. Selznick's short feature Indiscretion Of An American Wife, 1954, starring Jennifer Jones and Montgomery Clift, directed by Vittorio De Sica, dialogue by Truman Capote. Even his diet was rather spartan: orange juice, steak, and eggs. A successful man in the business world, Bill nevertheless deferred to this strong-willed, opinionated woman at home. He used them to numb his physical pain. The entire scene was extremely unsettling as Clift still wore his eyeglasses, and had his hands rigidly clenched. After Eternity he dropped out of Hollywood for several years, and signed a three-year contract with MGM in 1955 to make Raintree County, which re-united him with his Place in the Sun co-star Elizabeth Taylor. Edward Montgomery Clift (nicknamed 'Monty' his entire life) was born on October 17, 1920 in Omaha, Nebraska, just after his twin sister Roberta (1920-2014) and eighteen months after his brother Brooks Clift. In order to get him the part, she had to offer up some kind of insurance, and this time, she put her own salary on the line. I am not one of Americas Angry Young Men. Montgomery Clift is a member of the following lists: American film actors, Actors Studio alumni and Bisexual actors. However, despite our best efforts, we sometimes miss the mark. Woodbury Blair was the son of Montgomery Blair, after whom his great-grandson received his middle name, and wife Mary Elizabeth Woodbury, daughter of Levi Woodbury (1789-1851), United States Supreme Court, and wife Elizabeth Wendell Clapp. Nope. He served in the Lincoln administration cabinet as Postmaster-General from 1861 to 1864, during the Civil War. cocksucker, isnt he, Tallulah? Miss Bankhead said: Well, Montgomery Clift didnt need much to keep himself happy and entertained. Author Christopher Isherwood aptly illustrated Montgomery Clifts shocking transformation: Nearly all his good looks are goneHe has a ghastly, shattered expression. But remember, Clift was never one to dwell on his looks, and it must have been frustrating that everyone else cared so much. Montgomery Clift | 20 Gay Hollywood Legends | Purple Clover "I love men in bed, but I really love women," Montgomery Clift is quoted as saying in a 1978 biography. And the cherry on top? Montgomery Clift spent a miserly 10 dollars a month on what his friends referred to as a beat up apartment. And thus began what Robert Lewis, Clifts teacher at the Actors Studio, called the longest suicide in Hollywood history. Even before Raintree, the decline had been visible. However, his worry began to mount when the actor didnt respond to his insistent knocking. Carlo Fiore and Marlon Brando were in . Thanks for your time! Many of the myths surrounding Clift sprang from two biographies: a salacious one by Robert Laguardia and another flawed work by Patricia Bosworth, titled A Life. At the time of the premiere, Monroe had been admitted to a psychiatric ward and required a day pass just to attend. But the press will always be the press, and no amount of Montgomery Clifts ire could change that. Your suggestions can be as general or specific as you like, from Life to Compact Cars and Trucks to A Subspecies of Capybara Called Hydrochoerus Isthmius. Well get our writers on it because we want to create articles on the topics youre interested in. And when it came to riotous parties, well, he avoided nightlife like the plague. A young naive woman falls for a handsome young man who her emotionally abusive father suspects is a fortune hunter. It was a flimsy speculation built on shaky evidence, but with no sign of any real lovemaking in Clifts life, it was all the fan magazines had. Montgomery Clift later resided in . ': What Happened to the Stars of the Iconic Series through the Years, Debbie Reynolds Called Elizabeth Taylor's Phone Yet Her Own Husband Eddie Fisher Picked Up, Rock Hudson & Jim Nabors Never Spoke Again after They Were Reportedly Seen Getting Married, Elizabeth Taylor Proposed to an Actor 20 Years Her Senior & Replaced Him with 25-Year Older Man. That secret that Clift was gay during an impossible era (the 1930s through the 60s) led many interpreters to conclude that the actor must have led a life riddled with fear and shame. Soon, the washed-up actor was completely out of work. What does he inspire anyone to do drink, die young? or over 30 years, scripts have floated around Hollywood promising to tell the story of Montgomery Clift, one of the most innovative and handsome actors in history. Ex-lover Larson said in the film that Clift actually preferred his work after the accident to his performances before. Many Hollywood stars have committed versions of the long suicide. . Determined to keep his gayness under wraps, Clift made sure that his masculine facade shone onscreen. Marlon Brando girlfriend, wife list. [6] His mother was Ethel Fogg "Sunny" Clift ( ne Anderson; 1888-1988). The truth didnt come out until the 70s. According to this version of the story, when photographers arrived, Taylor announced that she knew each and every one of them personally-- and if they took pictures of Clift, who was still very much alive, shed make sure they never worked in Hollywood again. Today, its impossible to know the specifics of Clifts sexuality: his brother, Brooks, would later claim that his brother was bisexual, while various writings from within Hollywood indicate that Clifts sexuality wasnt entirely a secret. "Indiscretion of an American Wife" is currently available to stream on Fubo TV. While filming a 15-minute supporting role as a mentally handicapped victim of the Holocaust in Judgment at Nuremberg (1961), he had to ad-lib all of his lines. Clifts recuperation took months, and when he finally returned to set, there was more trouble afoot. Montgomery Clift was an undeniably attractive man, and before long, hed cultivated a rather passionate female fan base. When interviewed, the "From Here to Eternity" actor would wave it off, noting that he would be with a woman when he finds the right person. The film-makers interviewed Bosworth extensively for the movie, but they contrast her words with old taped conversations she had with the actors brother. Along with Marlon Brando and James Dean, he helped delineate a new paradigm for American cinematic heroes. A wild exclusive excerpt from the new book, Oscars 2023: Yes, Some Awards Movies Flopped, but Art Matters, How in the F--k Does Anyone Live Here?: Bret Easton Ellis on Life, Art, and What the Hell Happened to Manhattan, Todd Field on 2 Decades of Oscar Campaigns, From, I didnt realize the deadly minefield of a campaign season, the Oscar nominee says in a career-spanning interview. Or, as Bosley Crowther, taking the populist slant in The New York Times, explained, the characters were amusing, but they were also shallow and inconsequential, and that is the dang-busted trouble with this film.. Looking back, the film had a legacy of darkness surrounding it: Gable died of a heart attack less than a month after filming; Monroe was only able to attend the films premiere with a pass from her stay at a psychiatric ward. When he came to visit storied fan-magazine author Elsa Maxwell at her home, she had her maid darn the elbow in his jacket. The story of Clift's devastating car crash varies somewhat from one account to the next. After his accident, Clift had an arduous road to recovery. MONTY YOU WERE THE BEST!!! A bulls horn scarred his nose and his attempt to tame a horse gave him intense rope burnnot to mention all the other scrapes he earned along the way. Whether platonic or not, these two actors shared an undeniable bond that was undeniably strengthened by this one unfortunate event. This would not only show off his range but allow him to sidestep any dangers of typecasting. She noted that they needed to live a life of equality while being able to get married and adopt kids. He became so known for his tousled appearance that theLos Angeles Times dubbed him the Rumpled Movie Idol. With his ancient, ramshackle car, and a circle of friends outsidethe realm of Hollywood, he certainly didnt fit the mold. He insisted on maintaining his residence in New York, spending as little time in Hollywood as possible. It shows a different side to Clift, portraying him as a man who enjoyed life and love, and was comfortable enough with him being a gay man. In 1961, Montgomery Clift went on to star alongside some of Hollywoods greatest legendsMarilyn Monroe and Clark Gable. 2023 Cond Nast. While filmingThe Search,he asked the director to reshoot a scene for one baffling reason: He called a boy dear. But that wasnt all. But when his nephew dives into the family archives, a much more complicated picture emerges. In fact, the attitudes he and his family held towards his relationships with men were strikingly modern. Moments after the accident, actor Kevin McCarthy, driving in front of Clift, ran back to check on him, seeing that his face was torn awaya bloody pulp. A Place In The Sun (1951) & From Here To Eternity (1953). His first two films were smashing successesand for veryimpressive reasons. They were even called the most beautiful couple in Hollywood. As hard as the press tried, they couldnt seem to breathe life into this nonexistent romance. Do you question the accuracy of a fact you just read? When it came to the lengthier scenes, the actor just couldnt deliver; they had to be divided into smaller cuts just so he could see them through. 5 talking about this. Picture 1 of 12 . Travel back in time with treasured photos and stories, sent right to your inbox. Even the press seemed to unintentionally hit upon the one thing he wanted to keep hidden, with titles like Two Loves Has Monty and Monty Clift: Woman Hater or Free Soul?. While filmingRaintree County, Clift attended a dinner party at Taylors housebut sadly, he didnt make it home in one piece. Part of honoring someone is being open to that person not being just one, reductive thing., Making Montgomery Clift is showing at NewFest with a release date yet to be announced, Tab Hunter: how Hollywood's boy next door became a gay icon, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. As such, Taylors intervention only enhances the very real love story that existed between her and Clift. During her appearance at the GLAAD Media Awards, Taylor openly spoke about her late friends sexuality while she addressed the rights of gay people. yo tambien hubiera tenido algo con el claro que si, Monty, I love you. It was also a dark, melancholy film: as a review in Variety pointed out, the complex mass of introspective conflicts, symbolic parallels, and motivational contradictions was so nuanced as to seriously confound general audiences, who were likely unable to cope with the philosophical undercurrents of the Arthur Miller script. It was a huge wager: since everyone knew how much booze and pills Clift was on, he was virtually uninsurable on set. Thanks for your help! But for Clift, there was just no escape, and it was only going to get worse. She continued to stand by his memory by supporting gay rights and speaking out against homophobia. The revelation of his sexuality did not emerge until the 70s, when two high-profile biographers, one endorsed by his close confidants, revealed as much, rendering him a gay icon within the span of two years. One time when he was delivering his line on the set of "The Search," he mistakenly called a boy 'dear' and insisted that the director did a reshoot. It was, however, much olderby the time Raintree County made its way to theaters, hed been off the screen for four and a half years. An inside look at the actors secretive love life. When the duo finally met in Stevens' office, it was pretty magical for Taylor. The true story of Montgomery Clift, as told by his youngest nephew Making Montgomery Clift explodes the myths surrounding the Hollywood star and queer icon. What a pity hes a She had always been there for him, and once said, Monty couldve been the biggest star in the world if he did more movies. But Taylors dedication to her friend went above and beyond. Not only would this film win him respect for his impeccable acting performance, but it would also fuel a brand new cycle of romance rumors. (The Clash famously referenced that awful scene, which changed the course of Clifts career and set him on a winding path of booze-and-painkiller-fueled decay, in the song The Right Profile from London Calling: I see a car smashed at night. .. But while Clift certainly seemed like a budding Hollywood heartthrob on the outside, in reality, he wasfar from it. . He was not worried [about being gay], Larson asserts in the film. With alarm bells screaming in his head, James raced outside to fetch a ladder, climbing up toward Clifts bedroom window. But just as Clift dove into this exciting new chapter, an unforeseen tragedy changedeverything. Please let us know if a fact weve published is inaccurate (or even if you just suspect its inaccurate) by reaching out to us at contribute@factinate.com. It wasnt until years after his tragic passing that Clifts darkest secret finally came out. Catherine of Aragon is now infamous as King Henry VIIIs rejected queenbut few people know her even darker history. He was lonely, yet with the help of his refusal to live in Los Angeles or participate in caf society, he was able to keep his private life private. Clift simply wasnt cut out for school, and unlike his siblings, turned his back on higher education. A portrait of Montgomery Clift acting as Matt Garth in the western film "Red River" on 01 January, 1948 | Photo: Getty Images. In fact, his doctors considered it amazing that the actor had even pulled through. Luckily, his isolated lifestyle gave him an advantage. In his words, I learned that most writers dont need interviews to write about me. Director: William Wyler | Stars: Olivia de Havilland, Montgomery Clift, Ralph Richardson, Miriam Hopkins Votes: 16,212 4. Will she ride the term to Oscar gold? / Montys face is broken on a wheel. But that didnt mean that the gossip press didnt hint at something different, something queer, in the broadest sense of the word, about him. Other testimonies to Clifts gayness abound: early in his film career, he had purportedly been warned that being gay would ruin him; he was so conscious of being seen as feminine or fey in any way that when he ad-libbed a line in The Search, calling a boy dear, he insisted that director Fred Zinnemann reshoot the take. Montgomery Clift was in 8 on-screen matchups, including Anne Baxter in I Confess (1953), Elizabeth Taylor in A Place in the Sun (1951), Dolores Hart in Lonelyhearts (1958), Donna Reed in From Here to Eternity (1953) and Jennifer Jones in Indiscretion of an American Wife (1953). In the rife, overstuffed annals of Hollywood, few real-life love stories can match that of Liz Taylor and Montgomery Clift. They took a risk on the troubled actorand it endedbadly. A fellow actor asserts that Clift was equally confident in his sexuality. But even as Clift consistently took the road less traveled, he still had some biting things to say about the media, especially its desire to pin down his image. They seem to have their stories all written out beforehand., Clifts private life was boringhe didnt date, he didnt flirt, he didnt hang out in public. The two met under the big tent where they performed together. It was ironic his relationship with the bisexual middle-aged Holman would be the principal (and likely the last) heterosexual relationship of his life and only cause him further anguish over his sexuality. As his eyes drifted closed, Clift suddenly veered off the road and drove straight into a telephone pole. Dazzling Facts About Elizabeth Taylor, The Queen Of Hollywood, Stabbed In The Back: These Real-Life Betrayals Are Straight Up Brutal, The Truth Always Comes Out: Dark Family Secrets Exposed, Plot Twist: These Surprise Endings Made Our Jaws Hit The Floor, These Ultra-Spoiled Brats Made Our Eyes Roll Into Our Heads. He was the son of Ethel "Sunny" Anderson (Fogg; 1888-1988) and William Brooks Clift (1886-1964). So the fan magazines got creative: the August 1949 cover of Movieland, for example, featured a grinning, suited, respectable-looking Clift paired with the tantalizing headline Making Love the Clift Way. But when readers looked inside the magazine, all they found was a two-page spread of stills from The Heiress, featuring Clift in various stages of flirtation with Olivia de Havilland, extrapolating that Clifts kissing style was soft yet possessively brutal; pleading, but demanding all. But while his siblings enrolled in prestigious schools, Montgomery Clift went hurtling in a completely different direction. I am not one of Americas Angry Young Men. By the time they shared the screen together for the first time, in the classic murder-romance-melodrama, A Place in the Sun (1951), both were bona fide box-office draws: Taylor had been onscreen since she was 10, and Clift a soulful, introverted Method actor who influenced countless others who came after him had already garnered the first of his four career Oscar nominations. But the drama didnt end there. Can he still feel?). I thought he was dead. McCarthy ran to fetch Taylor, Wilding, and Rock Hudson and Hudsons wife, Phyllis Gates, who all raced to the site of the accident. But that wasnt all. The director, John Huston, supposedly brought in Clift because he thought hed have a soothing effect on Monroe, who was deeply embroiled in her own addictions, with her own personal demons. He spent a great deal of time and money on psychiatry.In 1956, during filming of Raintree County (1957), he ran his Chevrolet into a tree after leaving a party at Elizabeth Taylor's; it was she who saved him from choking by pulling out two teeth lodged in his throat. Sometimes it's hard to keep up with the latest celebrity news, but don't worry we have you covered. . She made it known that it all boiled down to love. ", However, it became more eminent that his single status bordered on his sexuality as time went on. The pieces of the puzzle dont quite fit. The unhinged character he played in the film hit too close to home and psychologically drained him. Thats not what people would expect from a mother in that period.. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Cond Nast. It hardly helped lend nuance to that reading that Clift was a well-known and long-time abuser of pain killers and alcohol, actions which likely sped his death from a heart attack at 45 in 1966. Documentary Biography Classic film star and queer icon Montgomery Clift's legacy has long been a story of tragedy and self-destruction. One infamous fact about Montgomery Clift is that he only owned one suit. Heres A Mystery: Why Did Arthur Conan Doyles Son Dress Up Like a Knight? Of course, when it came to his appearance, this gorgeous star really didnt give a hoot. When he first arrived in Hollywood, he didnt sign a contract, waiting until after the success of his first two films to negotiate a three-picture deal with Paramount that allowed him total discretion over projects. His father made a lot of money in banking but was quite poor during the depression. If Paramount wanted him, theyd have to give him what he wanteda power differential that would go on to structure the star-studio relationship for the next 40 years. He pointed out that she just let the director determine her every move. Welcome to Who Is Montgomery Clift?, a page dedicated to showcasing actors & movie makers of the Golden Age of Hollywood. He is most remembered for A Place In The Sun (1951) & From Here To Eternity (1953).. His zodiac sign is Libra. They went to London to see Laurence Olivier together, ate together, sat in front of the fire together, Clift said. What happened next is somewhat fuzzy: one version has Hudson pulling Clift from the car and Taylor cradling him in her arms, at which point Clift started choking and motioning to his throat, where, it soon became clear, two of his teeth had lodged themselves after coming loose during the accident. When James offered to join him, the belligerent shot him down immediately, crying, Absolutely not.Sadly, this was Montgomery Clifts final interaction. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. Randy Chrisley Is Todd Chrisley's Brother Who Was Diagnosed with Cancer in 2014, Johnny Depp's Weight Gain & Changes in Appearance over the Years, 'Whos the Boss? TAYLOR ON CLIFT'S SEXUALITY AFTER HIS DEATH. Still, his second venture was perhaps even more of an impressive feat. Elizabeth Taylor Tried to Seduce Montgomery Clift Then Stood By Him After He Came Out to Her Despite his deep attraction to Taylor, at first Clift couldn't bring himself to tell her he was. 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In this exclusive excerpt from her forthcoming book, Anne. Instead, Clift enjoyed reading, filling his spare moments with Chekov and Aristotlediving into history, or learning about economics. As for Clift, the shoot was incredibly taxing, both mentally and physically: in addition to acquiring a scar across his nose from a stray bulls horn, severe rope burns while attempting to tame a wild horse, and various other rough-and-tumble injuries, he also performed what has widely come to be regarded as one of his best scenes, a stilted, heartbreaking conversation with his mother from a phone booth. Help us build our profile of Marlon Brando! ), William Brooks Clift, Jr. (19191986) (Aged 66 Or 67) (Who Had An Illegitimate Son With Actress Kim Stanley And Was Later Married To Political Reporter Eleanor Clift. He started out in films in the late 1940's and immediately made a name for himself with his good looks and emotionally raw performances. While she sounds apologetic, the changes were never made. "Bobby was a very fine actor, but as you can imagine, he was no Montgomery Clift," she said. A four-time Academy Award nominee, The New York Times said he was known for his portrayal of "moody, sensitive young men". Universal Studios actuallysued him for the losses they incurred because of his troublesome behavior. Clift and Hollywood icon Elizabeth Taylor first became acquainted when they played counterparts on George Stevens's "A Place in the Sun." A car crash in the prime of his career left him in constant pain, and he drank himself to an early death, creating an aesthetic of suffering that has guided the way we think about him today. . He believed that the media often, and easily, twisted the truth until it disappeared entirely: I learned that most writers dont need interviews to write about me. His mother wanted all of her children to be raised as distinguished aristocrats, and as such, little Clift and his siblings received an elite upbringing: private tutors, extensive travel, and language lessons. Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift goofed around during a break in filming A Place in the Sun. Clift was unperturbed by his apparent lack of a love life: he told the press that he would get married when he met a girl he wanted to marry; in the meantime, he was playing the field. When another columnist asked him if he had any hobbies, he replied, Yes, women. But as the years passed, it became more and more clear that Clift wasnt just picky.