We collect and tell stories of people from all around the world. "Monty," as the performer was known to family and. Paramount Pictures Montgomery Clift was born in Omaha, Nebraska, and was a contemporary of Marlon Brando (also born in Omaha) and James Dean. He pleaded with her to make changes to her book to correct the mischaracterizations. The crash caused severe damage to his face, and McCarthy noted in a 2018 interview that he thought Clift was dead when he saw the scene. In 1959, Clift was slammed by film director Joseph Mankiewicz after Taylor noted that the star was still "vulnerable. He also didnt want to sign a contract with a studio, then the only viable way into the business. Here, a primer on a little-understood ingredient, plus 15 products that address everything from wrinkles to dark spots. SAG Awards 2023: The Red Carpet Goes Pink. Part of Clift's mother's effort was her determination that her children should be brought up in the style of true aristocrats. Also in 1951, Clift was for the first time cast as Tom in the radio world premiere of Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie, with Helen Hayes (Amanda) and Karl Malden (the Gentleman Caller), for The Theatre Guild on the Air.[25]. Marlon Brando was cast as his replacement. Edward Montgomery "Monty" Clift (/ m n t m r i /; October 17, 1920 - July 23, 1966) was an American actor.A four-time Academy Award nominee, The New York Times said he was known for his portrayal of "moody, sensitive young men". At 6:30a.m., James woke up and went to wake Clift, but found the bedroom door closed and locked. It wasn't long before he made his way to New York City. The secret life of legendary actor Montgomery Clift has been revealed by his nephew. In 1963, when the "Red River" star recalled the traumatic incident, he mentioned a long day's shoot as the reason he was asleep during the crash. Photographer Vincenzo Dimino captures just a bit of the magic, he says, of New York Fashion Week with his Fuji Instax Mini 40 camera. Actor. All content, including text, and images contained on. [22] On May 24, 1944, he was part of the cast of Eugene O'Neill's Ah, Wilderness! He owed his life to his close friend Taylor, who immediately went to help him when she learned of the incident. He was born Edward Montgomery Clift on October 17, 1920. Clift required intensive physical therapy as well. It is commonly believed that drug addiction was responsible for Clift's many health problems and his death. But the troubled star. However, in 1962, Cliff had to sign up to play Sigmund Feud in Huston's biopic "Freud: The Secret Passion." Clifts undated images depict a more mature Loy, with whom he starred in the 1958 film Lonelyhearts. In 1957 however, he suffered from a terrible car accident and was pulled from the wreck by his friend Eizabeth Taylor. news.AmoMama.com does not take responsibility for any action taken as a result of reading this article. In fact, the attitudes he and his family held towards his relationships with men were strikingly modern. Kim Morgan writes in her not-to-be-missed essay on Clift: Clift' s eyes held secrets, and not merely the secrets we know about after discovering his real life. Thats why his work doesnt feel dated, Demmon said. Paramount Pictures ended up offering him the best of any incoming studio offer (which he accepted): a three-film deal (down from the typical seven-year contract) that came with the freedom to turn down any script and any director, as well as the ability for either himself or the studio to terminate the agreement at any time. [95], Clift was also friends with Marlon Brando, who dropped by his home offering to accompany him to Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. But it was his next pairing with Elizabeth Taylor that proved to be his most dynamic on-screen. Montgomery Clift would've celebrated his 98th birthday on October 17, 2018. Yet, according to a new documentary, titled Making Montgomery Clift, the stars substance abuse had nothing at all to do with his sexuality. He even appeared in the original production of Tennessee Williams' play "You Touched Me" (1945) (per Playbill). 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. The Misfits ran on television that night. Published: 20:36 EST . 1467, Montgomery Clift: Beautiful Loser, Hoskyns, Barney, p. 96, Dropped Names: Famous Men and Women As I Knew Them, by Langella, Frank, p. 336, Capote: A Biography, Clarke Gerald, p. 235, Montgomery Clift: Beautiful Loser, Hoskyns, Barney, p. 34, Lost Friendships: A Memoir of Truman Capote,Tennessee Williams, and Others, Windham, Donald, p. 64, Original Story By: A Memoir of Broadway and Hollywood, Laurents, Arthur, pp. He and Taylor definitely had chemistry while making "A Place in the Sun" (1951), and their connection was so compelling that their co-star Shelley Winters was convinced that they were involved. [31] MGM distributed the film nationwide as magazines generated massive attention for Clift. Ah, Monty. Clift first met Elizabeth Taylor in 1949, and she felt an immediate attraction to him, according to People magazine. In 2000, at the GLAAD Media Awards, where Taylor was honored for her work for the LGBT community, she made the first public declaration by anyone of the fact that Clift was gay and called him her closest friend and confidant. He advanced a collaborative approach with his directors, working over scripts and making suggestions for edits. [87] It is said that McDowall took the breakup with Clift hard. According to McCarthy, Clift told Taylor in a rather unregistered voice that his two front teeth were in his throat, suffocating him. The re-opening of the German market since WW2 put potential profits ahead of everything else and the picture suffered for it. Montgomery Clift had the most earnest of faces: big, pleading eyes, a set jaw, and a side part that reminds you of old pictures of your granddad. [6] His mother was Ethel Fogg "Sunny" Clift ( ne Anderson; 1888-1988). Why not have a musical about Romeo and Juliet but make it with gangs in New York?' ", Montgomery Clift at London Airport from New York to make the new film "Suddenly, Last Summer" on 13 May, 1959 | Photo: Getty Images. Thus, as long as Clift's father was able to pay for it, he and his siblings were privately tutored, travelled extensively in America and Europe, became fluent in German and French, and led a protected life, sheltered from the destitution and communicable diseases which became legion following the First World War. American actor Montgomery Clift (1920 - 1966), circa 1950. According to Clift biographer Patricia Bosworth, Taylor considered Clift her dearest friend, and he was unflinchingly loyal to her. Clift would appear in one last film, The Defector, before dying, apparently in his sleep, in 1966, at the age of 45 a culmination of years of drug and alcohol abuse. 2023 Cond Nast. He earned an impressive four Academy Award nominations during his career. LeMassena remained a close friend to Clift until his death. The song "The Right Profile" by the English punk rock band The Clash, from their album London Calling, is about the later life of Clift. It tells the story of a working-class young man who is entangled with two women: one who works in his wealthy uncle's factory, and the other a beautiful socialite. After the car accident, Clift only took on a few more movie roles. On the morning of July 23, 1966, Montgomery Clift's housemate couldn't wake the actor. Place in the Sun. Above is a photo of American actor Montgomery Clift's automobile after it skidded off a dark road and smashed into a telephone pole. Clift's body was taken to the city morgue about 2 miles (3.2km) away at 520 First Avenue, and autopsied. But the documentary notes Clift made as many movies after the accident as before, and that those projects included some of his most acclaimed performances. As to why Bosworth drew on the gay-self-hate narrative, and why that view took hold, the directors blame the homophobia of the time the book was written, in the 1970s. The stars first worked together in the 1951 drama 'A Place in the Sun,' leading to a close bond that lasted until the actor's death in 1966 at age 45. [44] Marilyn Monroe (in what was to be her last filmed role) was also having emotional and substance abuse problems at the time; she described Clift in a 1961 interview as "the only person I know who is in even worse shape than I am". [23] In 1949, as part of the promotional campaign for the film The Heiress, he played Heathcliff in the one-hour version of Wuthering Heights for Ford Theatre. She left him when one of his beatings made. Despite the studio's concerns over profits, Clift correctly predicted the film would do well, if only because moviegoers would flock to see the difference in his facial appearance before and after the crash.[42]. How to Be a Movie Star: Elizabeth Taylor in Hollywood. Clift also struggled with his . His parents were Quakers and met as students at Cornell University, marrying in 1914. Films like A Place in the Sun and From Here to Eternity made Clift a rare performer enjoyed by audiences and critics alike, but when he passed away in 1966 aged just 45, the actor had long since become best known for his personal dramas, in particular a disfiguring 1956 car accident that undid his once near-saintly beauty and accelerated his . A seeming exception was one in his final years with a man named Lorenzo who had been hired to help him. Monty brought a different masculinity to the screen, said Demmon. Clift died in 1966. On January 13, 1963, a few weeks after the initial release of Freud, Clift appeared on the live television discussion program The Hy Gardner Show, where he spoke at length about the release of his current film, his film career, and treatment by the press. He spent months in the hospital and had major plastic surgeries. The N.Y.P.L.s Montgomery Clift papers also contain several undated images of his Suddenly, Last Summer co-star Katharine Hepburn looking characteristically redoubtable and Waspy. BIPS // Getty Images Monty was also impressed with Elizabeth, at least physically. "[79] Robbins called Clift a "theatrical genius" early on in their affair.[80]. The song alludes to his car crash and drug abuse, as well as the movies A Place in the Sun, Red River, From Here to Eternity, and The Misfits, before closing with what Rolling Stone magazine describes as "a grudging admiration that becomes unexpectedly and astonishingly moving. Montgomery Clift is known for his remarkable diversity onset and great looks. He earned his first Academy Award nomination for best actor for "The Search," and yet "Red River" seems to be better remembered these days. Though Prince William and Princess Kate returned to the awards show for the first time since 2020, several other stars looked regal as they graced the red carpet too. He was only 45. More about Her Life, Maddie Brown Shares Her Postpartum Journey Weeks after Giving Birth to Third Child, Jamie Lee Curtis Admits 'Saying Goodbye' to James Corden Was Harder than She Thought as His Show Ends, Tom Brady & Pregnant Bridget Moynahan Split - She Wed Husband at Secret Ceremony 9 Years Later, Ron Howard Was Most Concerned about His Kids' Values Inside His Decision to Protect Them, Susan Saint James Put Her Career on Hold to Be a Mom - She Was Struck with Death of Younger Son, The information in this article is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Still, the last half of his 20-year career has been referred to as the "longest suicide in Hollywood history" by acting teacher Robert Lewis because of Clift's subsequent abuse of painkillers and alcohol. It all took a toll on him physically and mentally, and movie studios became wary of hiring him. Here was someone who was vulnerable and sensitive - and who actually listened to women.. 1960. . [26] By this time, Clift had developed what would come to be regarded as his signature acting style and biggest impact on the future of modern film acting, as told by biographer Robert LaGuardia: He managed to convince the audience that he was unmitigated male sexuality without making a vulgar display of himself, as most other actors of his age and type would have. Along with his friend and colleague Marlon Brando, Clift was the most visible and gifted of a new generation of movie star who'd been trained . A monthly influx of fashion close-ups, as interpreted by artists and photographers across the globe. He used them to numb his physical pain. Kevin McCarthy: "Montgomery Clift was brilliant in every way". Rock Hudson Visited Doris Day Before His Death While Hiding His Illness . National Board of Review of Motion Pictures, Inc. "Elizabeth Taylor at the 11th Annual GLAAD Media Awards", "TCM Fest: West Side Story's Queer Origins and Other LGBTQ+ Highlights", "Montgomery Clift's Pedigreed Upper East Side Townhouse Could Be Yours", "A Star Is Born Is the Ultimate Hollywood Horror Story, and Lady Gaga Might Be Perfect Casting", "Clift Takes Role in Columbia Film: Will Portray Paul Morel in Adaptation of Lawrence's Novel, 'Sons and Lovers', "The 21st Academy Awards (1949) Nominees and Winners", Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, "The 24th Academy Awards (1952) Nominees and Winners", "The 26th Academy Awards (1954) Nominees and Winners", "The 34th Academy Awards (1962) Nominees and Winners", New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Montgomery Clift papers, Additions, 19291969, Montgomery Clift: better than Brando, more tragic than Dean, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Montgomery_Clift&oldid=1140258718, Short description is different from Wikidata, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, Articles with unsourced statements from January 2023, Articles with unsourced statements from February 2022, Internet Off-Broadway Database person ID same as Wikidata, TCMDb name template using non-numeric ID from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0. Another adaptation of the novel had been filmed once before, as An American Tragedy, in 1931. . He was in the middle of making "Raintree County," a movie that reunited him with his "A Place in the Sun" co-star Elizabeth Taylor, and his accident took place after Clift had been a guest at Taylor's Beverly Hills home. [16] Close to a year later, around the time the family moved again, settling in New York City, Clift debuted on Broadway at 14 years old as Harmer Masters in the comedy Fly Away Home which ran from January to July 1935 at the 48th Street Theatre. After leaving a party at Taylor's house high in the Hollywood Hills and drowsy from two "downers" he'd taken before he left to help him sleep when he got home, Clift crashed into a telephone. Here are some examples: Scenes filmed before the accident involving Montgomery 'Monty' Clift's character of John Wickliff Shawnessy:-Scene with his parents where his dad tells him he is related to Thomas Carlyle-First time John meets Flash Perkins-Photography scene (first time he meets Susannah)-Drinking scene with Flash Perkins-The race-The . Fred Zinnemann's "The Search" preceded "Red River" as his first film in 1948 and first Academy Award nomination. The cause of death was listed as a heart attack, but a major contributing factor was the cumulative effect of pain killers and liquor. As the faded rodeo rider Perce Howland in The Misfits, his first, introductory scene performed inside of a phone booth only took two hours of the scheduled two shooting days which impressed cast and crew. He wanted to be a free agent, and he did it successfully. 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