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. Born in 1920 in Omaha, Nebraska, Clift was raised like an aristocrat, with a private tutor and frequent trips to Europe. His parents were Quakers and met as students at Cornell University, marrying in 1914. Taylor talked about the need for staunch support for gay people and their rights. Montgomery Blair. The next morning, James returned to Clifts room to rouse him but found the door locked. True or not, the resilience of the story is a testimony to what people wanted to believe about the bond between the two stars. Fellow actor Kevin McCarthy was driving ahead of Clift when the horror show went down. It was a huge wager: since everyone knew how much booze and pills Clift was on, he was virtually uninsurable on set. Over the next decade, the burgeoning actor dug his heels in and made a name for himself on the stage. But Clift knew the film would be a smash, if only because audiences would want to compare his long unseen face from before and after the accident. 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. Montgomery Clift and Elizabeth Taylor during the filming of A Place in the Sun. However, Clift's life was shrouded by a dark secret that became public after his passing, by actress Elizabeth Taylor. At Factinate, were dedicated to getting things right. He served in the Lincoln administration cabinet as Postmaster-General from 1861 to 1864, during the Civil War. In 1925 Theodore Dreiser [told such a tale in his] long, oppressively powerful novel, An American Tragedy, which in turn made only a fair movie in 1931. He may have been lonely but the distance he put between his public life and his work life helped keep his mysterious bachelorhood in check. 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. In truth, his face wasnt truly disfigured. 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. We collect and tell stories of people from all around the world. There are a few versions that detail the aftermath of Clifts accident, but one has all the drama of a motion picture itself. When James offered to join him, the belligerent shot him down immediately, crying, Absolutely not.Sadly, this was Montgomery Clifts final interaction. "Indiscretion of an American Wife" romance and drama movie produced in Italy and USA and released in 1953. American actor Montgomery Clift was spectacular on the big screen for his portrayal of sensitive male characters. You see, when Clift sat down to read through the script for The Search,he was less than enthused with the writing. Oh dear. He insisted on maintaining his residence in New York, spending as little time in Hollywood as possible. Elizabeth Taylor and Katharine Hepburn came to Clifts defense when the director tried to get rid of him. In the face of such criticism, Clift went ahead and confused the gossip columns even more. Whether morally repulsive or philosophically compelling, The Misfits bombed, only to be recuperated, years later, as a masterpiece of the revisionist genre. ", However, it became more eminent that his single status bordered on his sexuality as time went on. A successful man in the business world, Bill nevertheless deferred to this strong-willed, opinionated woman at home. INDISCRETION OF AN AMERICAN WIFE 1953 DVD PUBLIC DOMAIN FILM MONTGOMERY CLIFT. Contemporaries like James Dean and Marlon Brando also did. Okay, if were being totally honest, Montgomery Clifts reserved lifestyle didnt exactly excite the press; it actually kind of stumped them. 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. His first two films were smashing successesand for veryimpressive reasons. The Searchturned out to be a huge hit for Clift. 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. Little did he know, he was always destined for something more. "Monty," as the performer was known to family and . Unlike many other actors, he didnt jump straight into a contract. Every actor was in the midst of fighting their own demons. However, the filming of The Misfits had a shadow lurking over it. . She continued to stand by his memory by supporting gay rights and speaking out against homophobia. But while his siblings enrolled in prestigious schools, Montgomery Clift went hurtling in a completely different direction. After his accident, Clift had an arduous road to recovery. These are just among the many words which have been used to describe Montgomery Clift, the enigmatic heartthrob of the 1950s. Connect any celebrity with Montgomery Clift to see how closely they are linked romantically! Years before, Clift had battled dysentery, which introduced him to the sinister side effects of pain management. That said, he kept his sexuality a secret: The prejudices of the time left him no choice. The view then about queer people was that they would be inherently conflicted or tormented about their sexuality, said Demmon. However, this was no quick fix. When we do, we depend on our loyal, helpful readers to point out how we can do better. 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. Suddenly, Last Summer (1959), Columbia Pictures, Entrancing Facts About Madame de Pompadour, France's Most Powerful Mistress, Tragic Facts About Catherine of Aragon, Henry VIIIs First Wife, Larger Than Life Facts About Milton Berle, The King Of TV, Vulgar Facts About Lenny Bruce, Stand-Up Comedys Virtuous Villain, Daring Facts About Gina Lollobrigida, Golden Hollywoods Last Survivor, Stunning Facts About Yvonne De Carlo, The Technicolor Queen. But the troubled star. 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. A documented conversation between two stars, Tallulah Bankhead and Dorothy Parker, during a dinner party also showed that there was knowledge among stars that Clift was gay. Whether platonic or not, these two actors shared an undeniable bond that was undeniably strengthened by this one unfortunate event. She once lovingly described how she was in awe of the star actor's perfect facial features. Clift and Taylor would star again in another 1950s film, the Civil War-era drama, Raintree Countythe movie they were making when Clift almost died in the car wreck outside Taylors homeand would remain deeply attached to one another until Clifts death, at the too-young age of 45, in New York City in 1966. Sensitive. Free delivery for many products! Edward Montgomery Clift was born on October 17, 1920, in Omaha, Nebraska. The Big Lift (1950) Approved | 120 min | Drama, War 6.4 Rate 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. The next year, Taylor used her status to wrangle an acting part for Clift; she demanded that he be a part ofSuddenly, Last Summer. James found his patient sitting up in bed and watching his film, The Misfits, but Clift clearly didnt want to be disturbed. 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. He was sick of being a symbol, a symptom, a testament to something. . Allegedly, hed been forewarned that the truth would destroy his career, and as a result, the actor became increasingly wary of appearing feminine in any way. With unprecedented control over the projects he starred in, Clift agreed to do the romantic drama, The Heiress. Montgomery Clifts sexuality finally emerged with the help of two biographers, and before long, the public turned him into a gay icon. 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. Please reach out to us to let us know what youre interested in reading. 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. 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. All rights reserved. Of course, by this time, Clifts drinking problems werent much of a secret, making him a liability to the studio. Join thousands of others and start your morning with our Fact Of The Day newsletter. It wasnt until years after his tragic passing that Clifts darkest secret finally came out. 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. 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)). Itd be his only film with Brando, even though the two barely shared the screen. Help us build our profile of Montgomery Clift! Indeed, it was his apparent lack of romantic attachments that confounded the gossip press the most. You couldn't help but come. / Is he alive? 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. And the cherry on top? In the bathroom, James found Clift in his bathtub, undressed and obviously deceased. While driving, he fell asleep at the wheel and the consequences were utterly gruesome. While working in New York in the early 1940s, he met wealthy former Broadway star Libby Holman. (38) and his wife, Meghan Markle (41), officially . Luckily, over time, they clawed their way back to financial security. Marlon Brando girlfriend, wife list. . Montgomery Clift as the confused, likable, rather stupid social climber; Shelley Winters as the dowdy working girl; Elizabeth Taylor as the dazzling rich girl. 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.
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