But even though his marred looks never made it to the headlines, for Clift, the horror was far from over. MONTY YOU WERE THE BEST!!! He also didnt want to sign a contract with a studio, then the only viable way into the business. By 15, Clift made his Broadway debut in Cole Porters Jubilee. Taylor opened his mouth, put her hand down his throat, and pulled out the teeth. But the tragedies didnt end there. Montgomery Clift had an encounter with Marlon Brando. said: Oh. 2023 Cond Nast. He died. / Is he alive? They went to London to see Laurence Olivier together, ate together, sat in front of the fire together, Clift said. Clift was there, as were actors Kevin McCarthy and Rock Hudson, and Hudson's wife, Phyllis Gates, per Vanity Fair. What does he inspire anyone to do drink, die young? He was one of Hollywoods most desirable leading men, but mystery shrouded his entire private life. When the press talked about Clift, they talked about the skill and the beauty, but they also talked about what an offbeat, weird guy he was. Directors Robert Anderson Clift Hillary Demmon Writers Robert Anderson Clift Hillary Demmon Stars And then there was the physical toll. More, it analyzes the new view of masculine beauty he helped introduce to the screen. During her appearance at the GLAAD Media Awards, Taylor openly spoke about her late friends sexuality while she addressed the rights of gay people. "Bobby was a very fine actor, but as you can imagine, he was no Montgomery Clift," she said. Yet Clift would come to hate the image that constrained him, just as he hated the suggestion that he was a slob, unfriendly, or loathed in Hollywood: after the story of his bare closet came out in the Saturday Evening Post, he worked arduously to set the record straight, underlining the ways in which publicity takes a kernel of the truth and expands it into legend. made. 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. But something of the old talent remainedor at least enough to earn Clift a nomination for best-supporting actor, playing, in the words of film critic David Thomson, a victim irretrievably damaged by suffering. Plans for Clift to play the lead in the film adaptation of Carson McCullerss The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter fell through, in large part due to his uninsurability on set, and promises of a fourth collaboration with Taylor, this time with producer Ray Stark, never came to pass. My mom never told me how her best friend died. ufff q hombre tan guapo y atractivo, y grn actor ademas, como me hubiese gustado conocerlo con unos ojos maravillosos. . However, Clift soon realized that you cant always have your cake and eat it too. In this exclusive excerpt from her forthcoming book, Anne. Montgomery Clift Hid His Sexuality for Years but Elizabeth Taylor Knew His Secret & Revealed It after His Death By Olowokandi Fiyin Aug 14, 2021 04:00 P.M. Montgomery Clift made a name for himself in Hollywood with several awards and nominations. He surely wasnt a suave Prince Charming, and yet, on-screen, he was a downright masterpiece. Whether morally repulsive or philosophically compelling, The Misfits bombed, only to be recuperated, years later, as a masterpiece of the revisionist genre. Indiscretion of an American Wife 1953, 1h 3min - Romance , Drama Jennifer Jones is the American housewife on vacation in Italy who must choose between returning home to her husband and family in Philadelphia or her romance with an Italian academic played by Montgomery Clift. All his life, it was misery," said McCarthy. He hated the criticism and the labels, and eventually, he just couldnt take it anymore. American actor Montgomery Clift was spectacular on the big screen for his portrayal of sensitive male characters. Christine Tran is a history buff(ette) and media scholar. While on his way back, he had an accident. But that wasnt all. There were questions about the woman in his life and why he was single. 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. He died in 1966 at the age of 45. She wouldnt die for another year and a half, but Misfits would be her last completed film. .. The accident changed his appearance, and many biographers assumed Clift felt ruined by it and, so, drank more. The 'Red River star was then tagged a gay icon. He was such a mess on the set of Freud (1962) that Universal sued him. Unlike many of his handsome contemporaries, he never had a blonde bombshell hanging off his arm. To help build their case, the film-makers had rare access to the actors archives. He was a great talent but the male counterpart to Monroe, lonely, sad, and pitiful. Sealed, new. With alarm bells screaming in his head, James raced outside to fetch a ladder, climbing up toward Clifts bedroom window. Above all, Clift was perpetually curious. Montgomery Clift (1920-1966) is one of the most tragic figures in Hollywood history. I thought he was dead. He immediately returned to Taylors house to notify the party of the bloody disaster. Eyebrows were raised when the actor shared in an article he authored that he liked it "lonely. 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. Indiscretion of an American Wife 1953, 1h 3min - Romance , Drama Jennifer Jones is the American housewife on vacation in Italy who must choose between returning home to her husband and family in Philadelphia or her romance with an Italian academic played by Montgomery Clift. [view couple] # 8 Carlo Fiore 12 28. ), Elizabeth Taylor, Roddy McDowell, Dean Martin, Kevin McCarthy, Marilyn Monroe, Jennifer Jones, Libby Holman, Thornton Wilder, Salka Viertel, Stewart Granger, Jack Larson, Oscar Levant, Pilar Levi, Giuseppe Perrone, Fred Zinnemann, Frank Sinatra, Burt Lancaster, Deborah Kerr, Abigail Tommye Adams. Adopted at the age of one, his mother was told by a well-intentioned doctor years later that she was the offspring of Southern aristocrats, so she chose to raise her own children accordingly. 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. Taylor and Clift: Photos From the Set of A Place in the Sun. "Monty," as his family called him, was the son of William Clift, a. Montgomery Clift was an undeniably attractive man, and before long, he'd cultivated a rather passionate female fan base. 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? Montgomery Clift didnt need much to keep himself happy and entertained. He wanted to be a free agent, and he did it successfully. Montgomery Clift, in full Edward Montgomery Clift, (born October 17, 1920, Omaha, Neb., U.S.died July 23, 1966, New York, N.Y.), American motion-picture actor noted for the emotional depth and sense of vulnerability he brought to his roles. Clift was off the Hollywood scene for four years, within which his career declined. Montgomery Clift had an encounter with Marlon Brando. But when hedid get a hankering for a fun excursion, Clift knew exactly where he wanted to be. As his eyes drifted closed, Clift suddenly veered off the road and drove straight into a telephone pole. 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. 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. 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. In his first film, Red River, Clift had the chance to play opposite the western superstar John Wayne. The decline continued. Clifts recuperation took months, and when he finally returned to set, there was more trouble afoot. (The director himself never met his famous uncle, having been born eight years after his death). Whatever the case may be, Montgomery Clifts life was unbelievably impressive and distressing. It also stresses Clifts crucial role in changing the power balance between actors and studio chiefs in Hollywood, as well as the advancements he brought to film acting. When he came to visit storied fan-magazine author Elsa Maxwell at her home, she had her maid darn the elbow in his jacket. Show details Whether platonic or not, these two actors shared an undeniable bond that was undeniably strengthened by this one unfortunate event. 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. There were even speculations that he was warned about being gay. He was the son of Ethel "Sunny" Anderson (Fogg; 1888-1988) and William Brooks Clift (1886-1964). Sometimes it's hard to keep up with the latest celebrity news, but don't worry we have you covered. Montgomery Clift's nephew, co-directing 'Making Montgomery Clift,' an eye-opening documentary about the great movie actor, excavates a treasure trove of family archives. . While he never excelled at school, his extraordinary abilities as an actor showed early. 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. Elizabeth Taylor and Katharine Hepburn came to Clifts defense when the director tried to get rid of him. Okay, if were being totally honest, Montgomery Clifts reserved lifestyle didnt exactly excite the press; it actually kind of stumped them. All rights reserved. Nope. A portrait of Montgomery Clift acting as Matt Garth in the western film "Red River" on 01 January, 1948 | Photo: Getty Images. Please reach out to us to let us know what youre interested in reading. That secret, depending on your source, was that Clift was gay or bisexual. In fact, his doctors considered it amazing that the actor had even pulled through. Born in 1920 in Omaha, Nebraska, Clift was raised like an aristocrat, with a private tutor and frequent trips to Europe. Do you question the accuracy of a fact you just read? Carlo Fiore and Marlon Brando were in . A young naive woman falls for a handsome young man who her emotionally abusive father suspects is a fortune hunter. 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. Because of the accident, the studio worried about the success of Raintree County. It was a huge wager: since everyone knew how much booze and pills Clift was on, he was virtually uninsurable on set. When the duo finally met in Stevens' office, it was pretty magical for Taylor. While working in New York in the early 1940s, he met wealthy former Broadway star Libby Holman. Montgomery Clift was in relationships with Sal Mineo, Paul Newman, Henry Willson, Jack Larson, William LeMassena, Libby Holman, Maurice Leonard and Arnold Saint Subber. 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. During the filming of Raintree County, Clift and Taylor seemed to have rekindled their is-it-or-isnt-it relationship; according to one of Clifts biographers, Some days he would threaten to stop seeing Elizabeth Taylorthen, the thought would make him burst into tears. Other apocryphal legend has Taylor sending Clift piles of love letters, which he then read aloud to his male companion at the time. That was really frightening to see., Penn Badgley Loves His Wife Too Much to Do Sex Scenes in, I askedSera Gamble, the creator, Can I just do no more intimacy scenes? the former, Oscar-winning producer Dede Gardner looks back at her many groundbreaking awards darlings, from the triumph of. Montgomery Clift Born: 1920-10-17, Omaha, Nebraska, USA Education: NA Ethnicity: Caucasian Death Date:-0001-11-30 Addition Websites. Indiscrecin de una esposa: Dirigido por Vittorio De Sica. Clift had a rather negative notion about Taylor even before meeting her. Contact sheets from LIFE photographer Peter Stackpole's shoot on a Paramount lot with Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift in 1950. But he was handsome and beguiling on-screen, creating an appetite for confirmation of that same Clift off the screen. He advanced a collaborative approach with his directors, working over scripts and making suggestions for edits. 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. Unlike many other actors, he didnt jump straight into a contract. It left him with chronic health issues for the rest of his life. He still drank, but not as heavily. Clift was so protective of Holman that when offered the plum role of the male lead in Sunset Boulevard, he turned it downreportedly to avoid any suggestion that Libby Holman was his own delusional Norma Desmond, using a handsome young man to pursue her lost stardom. He also helped bring a more natural acting style to film. Hollywood began to see him as hostile and messy and frugal, and Clift wasnt having it. 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. 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. Elizabeth Taylor stuck by her friends, and Montgomery Clift undoubtedly claimed a special spot in her heart. Still, his second venture was perhaps even more of an impressive feat. Lancaster's . Prior to leaving by train for Paris, a married American woman tries to break off her affair with a young Italian in Rome's Stazione Termini. Years later, I was using her phone when I made an utterly chilling discovery. 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. "Indiscretion of an American Wife" is currently available to stream on Fubo TV. 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. About a month afterThe Misfitswrapped, Gable suffered a heart attack and passed. 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. He read books about Montgomery Clift and James Dean, and credited seeing "Taxi Driver" at age 13 with fueling his desire to be in movies. Montgomery Clift and Elizabeth Taylor in A Place in the Sun. He was set to play in Taylor's Reflections in a Golden Eye (1967), when he died in the early morning hours of July 23, 1966, at his home at age 45. He served in the Lincoln administration cabinet as Postmaster-General from 1861 to 1864, during the Civil War. From here on out, however, he plunged even further into his addiction. 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. . The results were not pretty. Marlon Brando: Portraits of a Charismatic Young Star, 1952, Marilyn, Arthur Miller and More: A Star Producers Spectacular Orbit. Want to tell us to write facts on a topic? Factinate is a fact website that is dedicated to finding and sharing fun facts about science, history, animals, films, people, and much more. Clifts sexuality, like those other 50s idols Rock Hudson and Tab Hunter, was carefully concealed from the public. 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. TAYLOR ON CLIFT'S SEXUALITY AFTER HIS DEATH. Montgomery Clift, Nando Bruno. 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. 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. Months of surgeries, rebuilding, and physical therapy followed. The long suicide was complete. But that wasnt the wildest part of the story. She noted that they needed to live a life of equality while being able to get married and adopt kids. Even his diet was rather spartan: orange juice, steak, and eggs. It wasnt until years after his tragic passing that Clifts darkest secret finally came out. However, this was no quick fix. And even then, he didnt live a glamorous movie star existence. Clift and Hollywood icon Elizabeth Taylor first became acquainted when they played counterparts on George Stevens's "A Place in the Sun." The next year, Taylor used her status to wrangle an acting part for Clift; she demanded that he be a part ofSuddenly, Last Summer. 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. Next came "The Nutty Professor" as Lewis' student, Stella Purdy, who he is infatuated with. The director, Joseph Mankiewicz, was appalled by this wavering professionalismbut when he tried to fire Clift, two angels intervened. Teach, I loved the way how he played in A Place in the Sun. When James offered to join him, the belligerent shot him down immediately, crying, Absolutely not.Sadly, this was Montgomery Clifts final interaction. 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All Rights Reserved. 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. Over the next decade, the burgeoning actor dug his heels in and made a name for himself on the stage. [6] His mother was Ethel Fogg "Sunny" Clift ( ne Anderson; 1888-1988). 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. His decline was never explicitly evoked, but with his visage in Raintree County, it was there for all to see. Born on October 17, 1920, Edward Montgomery Clift was born into a family with lofty ideals. Instead, Clift enjoyed reading, filling his spare moments with Chekov and Aristotlediving into history, or learning about economics. (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. John Wayne and Montgomery Clift in Red River. Clift was able to appear in more Hollywood movies after he recuperated from the accident, but he was deeply affected by the decline in his career. 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. But the drama didn't end there. While they may not make old-timers forget the Greta Garbo-John Gilbert embraces of the 20s, Miss Taylor and Mr. Clift lose no chance to show why they are considered two of the hottest juveniles in Hollywood. However, Clift's life was shrouded by a dark secret that became public after his passing, by actress Elizabeth Taylor. Of course, as unusual as his lifestyle seemed, healso had a number of interesting routines. His own mother, in a voice recording played in Making Montgomery Clift, said, "Monty was a . Apparently, one of Clifts tooths had pierced his tongue, causing him to choke. But if you look at his own words, his testimonies about what acting did to him, youll see the culprit. Free Postage. Clifts early foray into acting led him to a Broadway debut in 1935. It wasnt until years after his tragic passing that Clifts darkest secret finally came out. The script wasnt necessarily that special, but it would give him a chance to re-unite with Elizabeth Taylor, and that, it seemed, was enough to pull him out of semi-retirement. Charles Castillo, author of "Elizabeth & Monty: The Untold Story," shared that the actress tried to seduce Clift. 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. The entire scene was extremely unsettling as Clift still wore his eyeglasses, and had his hands rigidly clenched. From the start, Clift was framed as a rebel and an individual. Jennifer Jones (Actor), Montgomery Clift (Actor), Vittorio De Sica (Director) Format: DVD 127 ratings IMDb 6.2/10.0 $797 Prime Video $0.99 $2.99 Blu-ray $14.99 DVD $7.97 VHS Tape $4.73 See More Frequently bought together + + Total price: $27.95 Add all three to Cart Some of these items ship sooner than the others. 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. Along with Marlon Brando and James Dean, he helped delineate a new paradigm for American cinematic heroes. In truth, his face wasnt truly disfigured. Clifts teacher, Robert Lewis, called his gradual decline the longest suicide in Hollywood history. Although he had problems before filmingRaintree County, Clifts drinking was more pronounced than ever. 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. His interests lay elsewhere. Quite fittingly, he once said, The closer we come to the negative, todeath, the more we blossom. Even after his passing, his forever friend, Elizabeth Taylor, never forgot him. Taylor, on the other hand, felt intimidated when she was yet to meet him. 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? But even the troubled blonde bombshell recognized that her co-star was in dire straits. 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. Not only are you not allowed to be smart, but you were not allowed to be funny in the 90s, the actor said of her career. His leading lady, Olivia de Havilland, disappointed him in every wayand his criticisms were downright brutal. 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.

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