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. He is best remembered for his roles in Howard Hawks' Red River (1948), William Wyler's The Heiress (1949), George Stevens' A Place in the Sun (1951 . Often, suicides are never fully understood. Here was someone who was vulnerable and sensitive - and who actually listened to women.. 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. 2023 Cond Nast. Edward Montgomery Clift was born on October 17, 1920, in Omaha, Nebraska. Contemporaries like James Dean and Marlon Brando also did. His father, William Brooks "Bill" Clift (18861964), was the vice-president of Omaha National Trust Company. [89][90] One of Clift's first intimate relationships was with composer Lehman Engel. Clift's life was derailed, however, by a terrible car accident in 1956. Montgomery Clift and Elizabeth Taylor star in A Place in the Sun. 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]. [47] Director Stanley Kramer, later wrote in his memoirs that Clift "wasn't always close to the script, but whatever he said fitted in perfectly" and that he suggested Clift turn to Spencer Tracy to "ad lib something" when he struggled to remember his lines for his one scene. ", Montgomery Clift at London Airport from New York to make the new film "Suddenly, Last Summer" on 13 May, 1959 | Photo: Getty Images. While she sounds apologetic, the changes were never made. How Montgomery Clift Self-Destructed. Whether he was leaving from or arriving at Taylor's home, it is an undisputed fact that Clift drove his car into a telephone pole and suffered horrific injuries, including significant facial damage (via Vanity Fair). Clift gave a stronger performance in "The Misfits" (1961), a John Huston contemporary western that proved to be the last film for both his co-stars, Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe. In 1966, Clift finished filming his last project, "The Defector," and returned to his New York City apartment. That year, Clift voted for Brando in A Streetcar Named Desire. Clift had shown an interest in acting and theatrics as a child living in Switzerland and France but did not take the initiative to go out for a part in a local production until age 13, when his family was forced to downsize and relocate from Chicago to Sarasota, Florida. All content, including text, and images contained on. Montgomery Clift died in the bathtub of his Manhattan townhouse of a heart attack brought on by occlusive coronary artery disease on 23 July 1966. Early Years Hailed as one of Hollywood's first true Method actors,. And Jerry said that he just couldn't get it out of his head. Montgomery Clift was not a well man when he agreed to co-star in The Young Lions. I wanted to figure out why there was such a difference., A deep trove of never-before-revealed evidence makes that disparity bracingly clear. "Georgia" meant bad, "Florida" very bad, and "Zanzibar" unworkable. [20] Clift proved to be a successful young stage actor working with, among others, Dame May Whitty, Alla Nazimova, Mary Boland, Cornelia Otis Skinner, Fredric March, Tallulah Bankhead, Alfred Lunt, and Lynn Fontanne. Rock Hudson Visited Doris Day Before His Death While Hiding His Illness . Part of Clift's mother's effort was her determination that her children should be brought up in the style of true aristocrats. Elizabeth Taylor put her salary on the line as insurance in order to have Clift cast as her co-star in Reflections in a Golden Eye, to be directed by John Huston. Liz, caught up in filming and Richard Burton in Paris, sent flowers to the funeral. Thats why his work doesnt feel dated, Demmon said. He pleaded with her to make changes to her book to correct the mischaracterizations. A native of Omaha, Nebraska, Clift got his start on Broadway as a teen and, after turning down film roles for nearly a decade, finally accepted a part in 1948's . He was involved with the Adventures of Superman actor Jack Larson and theater actor William LeMassena,[69][70] with whom he had a three-year relationship. Fred Zinnemann's "The Search" preceded "Red River" as his first film in 1948 and first Academy Award nomination. Clift's career might have continued to go strong if it wasn't for a 1956 car accident. Working with her was like going up and down on an escalator.. The iconic actor gave only a small number of onscreen performances before his untimely death in 1966 at the age of 45. Overall he ended up unhappy with his performance and left early during the film's premiere. She gave so much as an actress, Clift once recalled. [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. "[142] "Monty Got a Raw Deal" by rock band R.E.M. He advanced a collaborative approach with his directors, working over scripts and making suggestions for edits. Taylor also threatened to end any photographer's career who dared to take a picture of the seriously wounded Clift. In this film, Clift plays an ambitious fortune hunter who lands a job in his uncle's factory, dates (and impregnates) a fellow worker (played by a youthful Shelley Winters), but soon falls for Taylor's character - a rich, beautiful young woman well above his social station in life and ostensibly out of his reach. 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. His heavy drinking had already been a problem before his crash and the addition of taking painkillers afterwards only accelerated his decline, according to Vanity Fair. Actress Marilyn Monroe even warned him never to work with Hutson, whom she described as a "sadist. A portrait of Montgomery Clift leaning on a fence with an intent expression before his accident on 01 January, 1950 | Photo: Getty Images. news.AmoMama.com does not take responsibility for any action taken as a result of reading this article. For such a small, slightly-built man Clift had an intensity and depth to his performance that could eclipse Brandoeven with all that actor's realistic improvisations, impressive physicality and "naturalistic body language." Clift and Brando, along with James Dean, were the three "Method" actors who revolutionized . In one tape made by his father in the 1960s, we hear the stars mother tell him, with untroubled candor, that Monty was a homosexual early. The younger Clift serves the added role of narrator, voicing his journey to discover who the late actor really was, in contrast to what so many others have made him out to be. 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. At the 2023 SAG Awards, stars opted to wear gowns in every shade of rose, from soft pastels to neon brights. kofender. On the evening of May 12, 1956, while filming Raintree County, Clift was involved in a serious auto accident when he smashed his car into a telephone pole after leaving a dinner party at the Beverly Hills home of his Raintree County co-star and close friend Elizabeth Taylor and her second husband, Michael Wilding. He played the adopted son of Wayne's character, and the two brought two different images of maleness to the big screen, as The Guardian newspaper pointed out. It took Clift months to recover from his injuries. By the age of thirty, Montgomery Clift seemed to have everything: youth, beauty, talent, and the prospect of a lucrative film career with limitless possibilities. Elegantly titled and captioned in white ink, the pages reveal that Clift had a filmmaker and photographers eye for framing, sense of place, and capturing action at its seminal moment. Montgomery Clift would've celebrated his 98th birthday on October 17, 2018. Montgomery Clift (1920-1966) is one of the most tragic figures in Hollywood history. Paramount executive Luigi Luraschi remembered that Taylor, just like many American teenagers, seemed "unmistakably in love" with Clift around the time of filming A Place in the Sun,[59] which commenced soon after their premiere outing. Clift was there, as were actors Kevin McCarthy and Rock Hudson, and Hudson's wife, Phyllis Gates, per Vanity Fair. He worked extensively on his character, and was again nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor. that benefits the victims. I have visited him there. Life once described them as soul mates, and added: That Clift was gay made little difference in the intensity and duration of the two stars adoration of one another. The pair first starred together in the 1951 film A Place in the Sun; Clifts early nickname for the actress was Bessie Mae. They also appeared together in Raintree County (1957) and Suddenly, Last Summer (1959). In this exclusive excerpt from her forthcoming book, Anne. Clift, Robert Anderson and Hillary Demmon (2018). [49][50] On a taped phone call, Clift said that he played the character in a way that "holds onto himself, in spite of himself" with dignity.[51]. For the latter, Clift committed to building strength and endurance, jogging laps around Hollywood High School as well as learning how to imitate playing the bugle and reading sheet music from trumpeter Mannie Klein for the role of middleweight boxer and bugle-playing soldier Private Robert E. Lee Prewitt. stamps montgomery clift before and after accident Top Rated | Most Relevant | Most Recent 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | >> | 250 These animated pictures were created using the Blingee free online photo editor. The accident changed. To help build their case, the film-makers had rare access to the actors archives. Monty brought a different masculinity to the screen, said Demmon. His parents were Quakers and met as students at Cornell University, marrying in 1914. Before the terrible incident, the star made a significant impact in the entertainment industry. While director William Wyler notably had difficulty with his poor posture, co-star Olivia de Havilland expressed difficulty with his seriousness, saying that "Monty was painstaking and I liked that about him, but I had a sense that Monty was thinking almost entirely of himself and leaving me out of the scene."[34]. As a consequence, he was unable to find film work for four years. Edward Montgomery Clift was born on October 17, 1920, in Omaha, Nebraska. For him, the freedom to be selective about his roles was more important than money or fame. Guided by the key biographies of Clift, they reliably parrot a narrative which paints the actor as a startlingly attractive and prodigiously gifted man who, according to one notably overheated tabloid TV show became a drug-addicted alcoholic living in a self-imposed hell because he had a secret he couldnt live with. A short while later, Taylor and some of the others rushed to the scene of the accident. Born in Omaha, Nebraska, just after his twin sister Roberta,. [citation needed]. [22] On May 24, 1944, he was part of the cast of Eugene O'Neill's Ah, Wilderness! He insisted on performing his stunts himself, including swimming in the river Elbe in March. Clift later stated that he could never have finished the film without McDowall's moral support. AmoMama creates engaging, meaningful content for women. According to McCarthy, Clift told Taylor in a rather unregistered voice that his two front teeth were in his throat, suffocating him. She left him when one of his beatings made. The accident changed his appearance, and many biographers assumed Clift felt ruined by it and, so, drank more. Clift did not serve during World War II, having been given 4-F status after suffering dysentery in 1942. The famed movie star and her leading man first starred together in the 1951 drama, A Place in the Sun, resulting in a life-changing connection that lasted until Clift's death in 1966 at age 45. Vanity Fair may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. The old Hollywood system was breaking apart and he was a major part of that., The first role Clift took, opposite John Wayne in Red River in 1948, offered a stark contrast in masculine presentations. He struggled to make through some of the longer scenes. 108, 135, Jerome Robbins: Something to Dance About American Masters, Season 23, Episode 1, Somewhere the life of Jerome Robbins by Vaill, Amanda, p. 240, Jerome Robbins: his life, his theater, his dance by Jowitt, Deborah, pp. [4] A documentary titled Making Montgomery Clift was made by his nephew in 2018, to clarify many myths that were created about the actor.[5]. In a new documentary, myths and assumptions about the Oscar-nominated heartthrob who struggled with his sexuality are replaced with the little-known truth. As a result, Clift's health and physical appearance deteriorated. It wasn't long before he made his way to New York City. (The director himself never met his famous uncle, having been born eight years after his death). According to Clift biographer Patricia Bosworth, Taylor considered Clift her dearest friend, and he was unflinchingly loyal to her. The information in this article is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. To help build their case, the film-makers had rare access to the actors archives, as well as to the familys story, courtesy of a special connection: the doc was co-directed by the stars nephew, Robert Clift, and his wife, Hillary Demmon. "[79] Robbins called Clift a "theatrical genius" early on in their affair.[80]. The condition (among other things) lowers blood pressure; it could have caused Clift to appear drunk or drugged when he was sober. Clift also struggled with his . Sadly the star got involved in a car crash that ruined his face and impacted his life and career. Girelli, Elisabetta (2013) "Montgomery Clift Queer Star", Wayne University Press. 1951. SAG Awards 2023: See the 34 Best-Dressed Stars. [71], Clift was deeply and intensely involved with Broadway choreographer Jerome Robbins; very few associates were aware of how intimate and emotionally charged the relationship between the pair was. He even appeared in the original production of Tennessee Williams' play "You Touched Me" (1945) (per Playbill). I think he was 12 or 13., Its obviously a non-issue for her, co-director Demmon said. Clift was only 45 years old when he died. Clift never fully physically or emotionally recovered from his car accident. The New York World-Telegram noticed Clifts "amazing poise and dexterity" while producer Theo Bamberger commended him for what he called a "natural histrionic instinct. Clift reunited with Taylor for "Raintree County," a Civil war era romantic drama. One of the few men on this list is actor Montgomery Clift. Actor Montgomery Clift is best remembered for his striking good looks and his compelling dramatic performances in such films as "A Place in the Sun" (1951) and "From Here to Eternity" (1953), per IMDb. With the revelatory documentary Making Montgomery Clift, filmmakers Robert Clift (born eight years after his famous uncle's hyper-mythologized 1966 death) and Hillary Demmon compellingly. He summoned a doctor, but it was already too late. Guided by the key biographies of Clift, they reliably parrot a narrative which paints the actor as a startlingly attractive and prodigiously gifted man who, according to one notably overheated tabloid TV show became a drug-addicted alcoholic living in a self-imposed hell because he had a secret he couldnt live with. Amy Lawrence, The Passion of Montgomery Clift, p. 13, Dance with demons: the life of Jerome Robbins by Lawrence, Greg, pp. [61] Montgomery Clift informed his psychiatrist that he was homosexual and struggling to cope with it. 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 spoke so quietly that at times he was practically inaudible. The character has a tattoo of Mr. Clift and Elizabeth Taylor on his shaved head. His body was discovered by his assistant. A bout five years ago, filmmaking duo Robert Clift and Hillary Demmon Clift decided to make a documentary about Robert's long-dead uncle. [82][83], McDowall was introduced to Clift by his Lassie Come Home co-star Elizabeth Taylor, who was a lifelong friend of both actors. Clift's "Raintree Country" co-star Taylor remained with him at the accident scene and cradled his badly injured head till an ambulance arrived. It all took a toll on him physically and mentally, and movie studios became wary of hiring him. Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift in the 1951 film "A Place in the Sun" on 01 January, 1951 | Photo: Getty Images. Kevin McCarthy: "Montgomery Clift was brilliant in every way". Ex-lover Larson said in the film that Clift actually preferred his work after the accident to his performances before. Marlon Brando was cast as his replacement. 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. Clift received and declined offers for roles in the following films: In 1960, Clift was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6104 Hollywood Boulevard. Here, a primer on a little-understood ingredient, plus 15 products that address everything from wrinkles to dark spots. Clift is said to have valued privacy and ambiguity in his personal life, though he was known to be friendly and affectionate, blurring the emotions of platonic love and sexual attraction, particularly with close friend Elizabeth Taylor, as soon as Paramount Pictures arranged her to attend the Los Angeles premiere of The Heiress as Clift's date to generate publicity.[58]. How? Mini bio of the life of actor Montgomery Clift who is probably most famous for starring in "A place in the sun" and "From here to eternity".This video was ma. Clift had a brother named William Brooks Clift Jr., does not take responsibility for any action taken as a result of reading this article. Clift was born in Omaha, Nebraska, a son . For the next nine years, Clift made nearly as many films after his traumatic car accident as he had previously. Why not have a musical about Romeo and Juliet but make it with gangs in New York?' Clift shared the stage with some of the leading performers of the day, including Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne in "There Shall be No Night" (via Playbill) and Tallulah Bankhead in "The Skin of Our Teeth" (also via Playbill), both in 1942. ", The "Suddenly, Last Summer" star reportedly had the worse of experience with John Huston. When he resumed filming on "Raintree County," he was a different man, one left in chronic pain because of the accident. In studying Clift's output, one can easily see a before-and-after version of the actor, with the line between the two marked by his near-fatal accident on a break from filming "Raintree County" in 1956. Clift first met Elizabeth Taylor in 1949, and she felt an immediate attraction to him, according to People magazine. Hollywood repeatedly came courting, but he put off offers for nearly a decade, even turning down roles in classic films like East of Eden and the co-lead in Sunset Boulevard. [88], While filming for Vittorio De Sica in Italy, Clift had a romance with Truman Capote. George Eastman (Montgomery Clift), the nephew of a wealthy industrialist, arrives in California in the hopes of making his way up in his uncle's company. 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. American actor Montgomery Clift (1920 - 1966), circa 1950. His main acting rival (and fellow Omaha native), Marlon Brando, was so moved by Clift's performance that he voted for Clift to win the Academy Award for Best Actor, sure that he would win. 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. Place in the Sun. [93][94] In his memoir, Arthur Laurents suggests that Clift had a fling with Farley Granger. A four-time Academy Award nominee, he was known for his portrayal of "moody, sensitive young men", according to The New York Times.[1][2]. [30] The film was awarded a screenwriting Academy Award for the credited writers. 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. In fact, the attitudes he and his family held towards his relationships with men were strikingly modern. However, this changed after Clift's car accident that left his face in a terrible condition. After leaving a party at Elizabeth Taylor's house, he wrapped his car around a telephone pole . [37] Clift had veered off one of the twisting hairpin turns and smashed into a telephone pole and the surrounding cliffside. Some sources have the crash occurring when Clift was leaving the event, while others state he was on his way there. Montgomery Clift Hid His Sexuality for Years but Elizabeth Taylor Knew His Secret & Revealed It after His Death. Behind the Scenes at New York Fashion Week 2023. Her romantic interest in him evolved into an intense friendship after he revealed her that he was gay (some sources say he was bisexual). In 1964, he recorded for Caedmon Records The Glass Menagerie, with Jessica Tandy, Julie Harris, and David Wayne. A still of Montgomery Clift. [7][8] Clift had a twin sister, Roberta (who later went by "Ethel"), who survived him by 48 years, and an older brother, William Brooks Clift, Jr. (19191986), known as "Brooks," who had a son with actress Kim Stanley and was later married to political reporter Eleanor Clift. He also detested the man. He also talked publicly for the first time about his 1956 car accident, the injuries he received, and its aftereffects on his appearance. The movie, which plays at the LGBTQ movie festival NewFest in New York, refutes scores of oft-repeated assumptions about Clifts life, from his motivations as an actor, to his relationship with his mother to the characterization of his later years. The crash occurring when Clift was there, as were actors Kevin McCarthy: & quot Montgomery! Face and impacted his life and career build their case, the attitudes he and his family held towards relationships! Entertainment industry Partnerships with retailers unhappy with his performance and left early during the film 's premiere Sun Clifts! Way there two front teeth were in his throat, suffocating him Death in 1966, told. Trust Company voted for Brando in a terrible condition recovered from his car around a telephone.... He had previously friend, and he was 12 or 13., obviously... The Defector, '' and returned to his New York City apartment the character has a tattoo Mr.. 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