His father made a lot of money in banking but was quite poor during the depression. In fact, his doctors considered it amazing that the actor had even pulled through. 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. Curtis's relationship to the term nepo baby has evolved over the last few months. After the success of 1953sFrom Here to Eternity, Montgomery Clift suddenly stopped making films. Montgomery Clift had the most earnest of faces: big, pleading eyes, a set jaw, and the sort of immaculate side part we havent seen since. He is most remembered for A Place In The Sun (1951) & From Here To Eternity (1953).. His zodiac sign is Libra. Absolutely stunning. Whether he liked it or not, they were out for a storyAnd the one they wanted above all? Clift appeared in The Misfits, a revisionist western best known as the final film of Marilyn Monroe and Clark Gable. He was the son of Ethel "Sunny" Anderson (Fogg; 1888-1988) and William Brooks Clift (1886-1964). Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift, Hollywood, 1950. Nearly all his good looks are gone, Isherwood wrote. But the tragedies didnt end there. Months of surgeries, rebuilding, and physical therapy followed. In remembering Clift, McCarthy said, his face was torn awaya bloody pulp. This showed in his consciousness of being seen as feminine in any way. Montgomery Blair. (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.). Above all, Clift was perpetually curious. RIP GEORGOUS MONTY. 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. . 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. INDISCRETION OF AN AMERICAN WIFE 1953 DVD PUBLIC DOMAIN FILM MONTGOMERY CLIFT. 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. Hollywood began to see him as hostile and messy and frugal, and Clift wasnt having it. Taylor had married British actor Michael Wilding in 1952, but by 1956, their marriage was in decline. What does he inspire anyone to do drink, die young? ufff q hombre tan guapo y atractivo, y grn actor ademas, como me hubiese gustado conocerlo con unos ojos maravillosos. 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. But he was handsome and beguiling on-screen, creating an appetite for confirmation of that same Clift off the screen. Eyebrows were raised when the actor shared in an article he authored that he liked it "lonely. Montgomery Clift 39 30. The Big Lift (1950) Approved | 120 min | Drama, War 6.4 Rate An inside look at the actors secretive love life. American actor Montgomery Clift was spectacular on the big screen for his portrayal of sensitive male characters. Some believe that Clifts romantic leanings were much less of a secret than originally thought. After filming wrapped, she tracked him down and spat directly in his face. A way into the 70s, there was more clarification to his sexuality. He died in 1966 at the age of 45. During her appearance at the GLAAD Media Awards, Taylor openly spoke about her late friends sexuality while she addressed the rights of gay people. This made him an A-list actor and a multi-award-winning star. 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. He was, at least in the press, something approaching asexualthe title of a Motion Picture article, authored by Clift, declared simply, I Like It Lonely!. Sensitive. Luckily, his isolated lifestyle gave him an advantage. 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. . Of course, as unusual as his lifestyle seemed, healso had a number of interesting routines. The long suicide was complete. American Actor Montgomery Clift was born Edward Montgomery Clift on 17th October, 1920 in Omaha, Nebraska, USA and passed away on 23rd Jul 1966 Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA aged 45. Determined to make it better, he made some key changesand they made allthe difference. Can he still feel?). But when hedid get a hankering for a fun excursion, Clift knew exactly where he wanted to be. While he never excelled at school, his extraordinary abilities as an actor showed early. Their. Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift in A Place in the Sun. Hes never sucked my cock.. Montgomery Clift later resided in . That Clift was gay made little difference in the intensity and duration of the two stars adoration of one another: here, after all, were two talented, passionate artists who met at a young age (she was in her teens; he was in his late twenties) and immediately discovered that they were, for lack of a better phrase, soul mates. The director, Joseph Mankiewicz, was appalled by this wavering professionalismbut when he tried to fire Clift, two angels intervened. Montgomery Clift spent a miserly 10 dollars a month on what his friends referred to as a beat up apartment. But Clifts rebuttal was firm, emphasizing that they were neither in love nor engagedtheyd known each other for 10 years, she helped him with his work, and those romantic rumors are embarrassing to both of us. He was also close with stage actress Libby Holman, 16 years his senior, who had become a notorious feature in the gossip columns following the suspicious death of her wealthy husband, rumors of lesbianism, and her general practice of dating younger men. However, Clift soon realized that you cant always have your cake and eat it too. Itd be his only film with Brando, even though the two barely shared the screen. Production resumed on Raintree County, which the studio feared would fail following Clifts accident. Its impossible for us to know what happenedor if the two even had a relationship that went beyond the platonicbut it was returning from a party at Taylors house, mid-filming for Raintree County, that he smashed his car into a telephone pole. He served in the Lincoln administration cabinet as Postmaster-General from 1861 to 1864, during the Civil War. Show details Not only did he rarely go out in public, but he also didnt date. 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. Oddly enough, when he died, the homocons on Gay Patriot praised him on . But, in general, his relationships with men had more to do with sex than with a deep emotional connection. Contact sheet from LIFE photographer Peter Stackpoles shoot on a Paramount lot with Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift in 1950. But before the film could be released, Clift passed away, wholly without fanfare, at the age of 45, succumbing to years of drug and alcohol abuse. That, combined with his spiraling alcohol addiction, wrung the youth right out of the handsome actor. A fellow actor asserts that Clift was equally confident in his sexuality. He summoned a doctor, but it was already too late. is the hero of a long, oppressively powerful movie called A Place in the Sun. Directed by George Stevens for Paramount, it gives three young actors [Shelley Winters brilliantly played the poor girl] the chance to give the most natural performances of their careers. ", However, it became more eminent that his single status bordered on his sexuality as time went on. He didnt want the studios to dictate the kinds of roles he would play, his nephew said. Clift once said, The closer we come to the negative, to death, the more we blossom. He took himself to that precipice, but he fell straight in. Soon, Montgomery Clift became almost impossible to work with. He was not worried [about being gay], Larson asserts in the film. Ad Choices. Even if Clift himself was already spiraling out of control, playing a character that did the same only amplified the psychological toll. (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. He was the son of Ethel "Sunny" Anderson (Fogg; 1888-1988) and William Brooks Clift (1886-1964). In Clifts eyes, de Havilland imparted nothing of herself into the role. James found his patient sitting up in bed and watching his film, The Misfits, but Clift clearly didnt want to be disturbed. All his life, it was misery," said McCarthy. Directors Robert Anderson Clift Hillary Demmon Writers Robert Anderson Clift Hillary Demmon Stars He also didnt want to sign a contract with a studio, then the only viable way into the business. Oh dear. Elizabeth Taylor (all of 17 years old) and Montgomery Clift posed together at Paramount Studios during a break in filming A Place in the Sun. Allegedly, Rock Hudson was there to pull Clift from the wreckage and it was Taylor who held the stricken actor in her arms. 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. To revist this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories. While working in New York in the early 1940s, he met wealthy former Broadway star Libby Holman. (1950), (originally written specifically for him; the story perhaps hitting a little too close to home) and High Noon (1952).His long apprenticeship on stage made him a thoroughly accomplished actor, notable for the intensity with which he researched and approached his roles. But that wasnt all. Nope. There were questions about the woman in his life and why he was single. In truth, his face wasnt truly disfigured. Courtesy Everett Collection Elizabeth was more visible than the publicity-shy Monty. During the peak period of his career, the actor and some Hollywood friends were returning from a party held at Taylor's home. "Indiscretion of an American Wife" is currently available to stream on Fubo TV. However, even with all the negative hubbub surrounding this shoot, it was nothing compared to the darkness of one of Clifts next projects. Montgomery Clift, Nando Bruno. Nobody wanted to deal with him anymore, and for four years, he couldnt land a single role. It wasnt until years after his tragic passing that Clifts darkest secret finally came out. Even his diet was rather spartan: orange juice, steak, and eggs. Montgomery Clift had an encounter with Marlon Brando. Will she ride the term to Oscar gold? Madame de Pompadour was the alluring chief mistress of King Louis XV, but few people know her dark historyor the chilling secret shared by her and Louis. .. Do you question the accuracy of a fact you just read? What finally brought him back to the screen? Were always looking for your input! Elizabeth Taylor at Paramount Studios, 1950. From the start, Clift was framed as a rebel and an individual. ", A portrait of Montgomery Clift against a wooden backdrop on 01 January, 1948 | Photo: Getty mages. You see, when Clift sat down to read through the script for The Search,he was less than enthused with the writing. A still of Montgomery Clift. Login to add information, pictures and relationships, join in discussions and get credit for your contributions. 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.. Whatever relationships Clift may have had, he was circumspect. Clifts early foray into acting led him to a Broadway debut in 1935. Close friends, such as actor Kevin McCarthy and his wife, tried to get Clift to slow down and dry out, but their pleas . You`ve being alwasy an inspiration for me. Montgomery Clift girlfriend, wife list. By the early 1950s he was exclusively homosexual, though he continued to hide his homosexuality and maintained a number of close friendships with theater women (heavily promoted by studio publicists).His film debut was Red River (1948) with John Wayne quickly followed by his early personal success The Search (1948) (Oscar nominations for this, A Place in the Sun (1951), From Here to Eternity (1953) and Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)). The documentary was released at the Los Angeles Film Festival and . 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. . Picture 1 of 12 . Grasping at straws, the media decided to do what little they could to sensationalize the actors non-existent, One of Clifts closest friends was a woman named Myra Letts, and for the ruthless gossip columns, it wasnt a huge leap from friend to girlfriend. Clift didnt entertain this for a second and shot the sordid speculations down immediately, saying that there was zero intimacy between them: those romantic rumors are embarrassing to both of us.. But the facial reconstruction, heavy painkiller use, and rampant alcohol abuse made it look like hed aged a decade. Their unique bond so evident in these pictures made on the Paramount lot during filming of A Place in the Sun, and never published in LIFE, was occasionally deepened even further by disasters visited upon them both through the years. For 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. He died. He told everyone that hed marry when he met the right girl, but that in the meantime, he was simply playing the field. Once, when questioned about his pastimes, he quipped, Yes, women. But where were they? Moreover? For somewhat mysterious reasons, Robert Clifts father Brooks taped endless conversations with his famous brother, as well as with their mother and other figures relevant to the story. Whether platonic or not, these two actors shared an undeniable bond that was undeniably strengthened by this one unfortunate event. Taylor talked about the need for staunch support for gay people and their rights. Yet, according to a new documentary, titled Making Montgomery Clift, the stars substance abuse had nothing at all to do with his sexuality. The Searchturned out to be a huge hit for Clift. Of course, Clifts words had always been futile in the face of Hollywood. We bring you all the headlines and gossip in one place! Please reach out to us to let us know what youre interested in reading. Our credibility is the turbo-charged engine of our success. I do not count myself as a member of the ripped-sweatshirt fraternity. He wasnt a young rebel, an old rebel, a tired rebel, or a rebellious rebelall he cared about was re-creating a slice of life on the screen. She continued to stand by his memory by supporting gay rights and speaking out against homophobia. Fellow actor Kevin McCarthy was driving ahead of Clift when the horror show went down. 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. Documentary Biography Classic film star and queer icon Montgomery Clift's legacy has long been a story of tragedy and self-destruction. At the end of the day, Clifts private nurse Lorenzo James checked in on him just after midnight. Taylor opened his mouth, put her hand down his throat, and pulled out the teeth. His other side was mostly hidden and only became widely known after he passed on, thanks to his friend and colleague Elizabeth Taylor. Still, unlike other notable gay actors, any affairs Montgomery Clift had were secured behind a lock and key. 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. Montgomery Clift was in relationships with Sal Mineo, Paul Newman, Henry Willson, Jack Larson, William LeMassena, Libby Holman, Maurice Leonard and Arnold Saint Subber. You see, the reason behind Montgomery Clifts barren dating life was rather simple: He was gay. Director Joseph Mankiewicz tried to replace Clift, but Taylor and co-star Katharine Hepburn defended and supported him. Taylor, on the other hand, felt intimidated when she was yet to meet him. He was one of Hollywoods most desirable leading men, but mystery shrouded his entire private life. Between 1963 and 1966, he faded from public view, emerging only to film a final performance in the French spy thriller The Defector (1966). For example, in 1956 Taylor likely saved Clifts life when, after he crashed his car leaving a party at her home, she raced to the wreck and literally pulled from his mouth broken teeth on which he had begun to choke. Help us build our profile of Montgomery Clift! He played the desperate, the drunken, and the deceived, and the trajectory of his life was as tragic as that in any of his films. With unprecedented control over the projects he starred in, Clift agreed to do the romantic drama, The Heiress. Vanity Fair may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. He wasnt the only one who challenged such norms at the time. In Montgomery Clift: A Biography, author Patricia Bosworth describes Monty's father Bill as passive, good-natured, and very dependent on his charismatic wife, Sunny. He also sunk into alcoholism, of which Taylor and some other friends tried to help him. Whisked away to the morgue, Clifts body underwent an autopsy that shed some light on his sudden demise. Although Clift and Montgomery were only good friends, their coupling inA Place in the Sunhelped drive its popularity. About a month afterThe Misfitswrapped, Gable suffered a heart attack and passed. You couldn't help but come. 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?. The results were not pretty. He was one of Hollywoods most desirable leading men, but mystery shrouded his entire private life. I thought he was dead. He immediately returned to Taylors house to notify the party of the bloody disaster. In the face of such criticism, Clift went ahead and confused the gossip columns even more. 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. Unlike Rock Hudson, whose affairs were very nearly exposed to the entire nation by Confidential, Clift never made the pages of the scandal rags. When James offered to join him, the belligerent shot him down immediately, crying, Absolutely not.Sadly, this was Montgomery Clifts final interaction. In his first film, Red River, Clift had the chance to play opposite the western superstar John Wayne. When the duo finally met in Stevens' office, it was pretty magical for Taylor. On the morning of July 23, 1966, Montgomery Clift's housemate couldn't wake the actor. As his eyes drifted closed, Clift suddenly veered off the road and drove straight into a telephone pole. to add information, pictures and relationships, join in discussions and get credit for your contributions. When Clift became a household name in the movie industry, his romantic life became a widely-discussed subject by the press. The two met under the big tent where they performed together. But even Monroe reported that Clift was the only person I know who is in even worse shape than I am. The pictures from the set are as poignant as they are heartbreaking: its as if all three were meditating on their respective declines, and theres a sad, peaceful resignation at the difference between what their bodies could do and how people wanted to remember them. There are a few versions that detail the aftermath of Clifts accident, but one has all the drama of a motion picture itself. Once on stage, Clift truly came into his own. 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. Regardless of the veracity of this story, one thing remains true: theres not a single picture of Clifts broken face. Sometimes it's hard to keep up with the latest celebrity news, but don't worry we have you covered. Montgomery Clift (1920-1966) is one of the most tragic figures in Hollywood history. He wanted to be a free agent, and he did it successfully. ), 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. Clift had a rather negative notion about Taylor even before meeting her. Clift couldnt get through longer scenes, having to split them up into two or three chunks. Horrified, James immediately called for help, but of course, it was already too late. It has a good rating on IMDb: 6.2 stars out of 10. 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. 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. But if you look at his own words, his testimonies about what acting did to him, youll see the culprit. A four-time Academy Award nominee, The New York Times said he was known for his portrayal of "moody, sensitive young men". In fact, Hepburn was so offended by Mankiewicz that she did something outrageous. Some of the greatest celebrities of the day came out to mourn Clift at his funeral, including Lauren Bacall and Frank Sinatra. Making distraction rewarding since 2017. I tried to get my ex-wife served with divorce papers. She made it known that it all boiled down to love. Where were these so-called women? Well, at the very heart of it all, Montgomery Clift hid a dangerous secretone that wouldnt emerge untilyears later. It wasnt until years after his tragic passing that Clifts darkest secret finally came out. 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. His beat-up car was 10 years old, and his best friends were all outside of the movie business. As he lay wounded in the arms of his dear friend, Clift began choking and pointing to his throat. Follow her on Twitter @lizabethronk. "Bobby was a very fine actor, but as you can imagine, he was no Montgomery Clift," she said. But just as Clift dove into this exciting new chapter, an unforeseen tragedy changedeverything. "Indiscretion of an American Wife" romance and drama movie produced in Italy and USA and released in 1953. His perpetual question to himself, as he once scribbled in his journal, was, How to remain thin-skinned, vulnerable, and still alive? For Clift, the task proved impossible.
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