Clift wasn't one to hide a feeling, which made him a great actor and also a terrible straight man. Montgomery Clift didnt need much to keep himself happy and entertained. Upon closer inspection, Clifts career reveals notable clues as to who he genuinely was and the private struggles he faced. Monroe and Taylor are shadowed by Montgomery. Of course, Clift didnt walk away unscathed either. Perkins, who once fended off the advances of Brigitte Bardot, later went to a shrink who maintained that homosexuality could be "cured," and in 1973 he married photographer Berry Berenson. 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. 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. Welcome to Who Is Montgomery Clift?, a page dedicated to showcasing actors & movie makers of the Golden Age of Hollywood. The unhinged character he played in the film hit too close to home and psychologically drained him. July 22, 1966, was a sweltering day in New York City, and Montgomery Clift had been languishing in his townhouse on 61st Street. said: Oh. A year and a half away from her own tragic end, Marilyn Monroe described Clift as the only person I know who is in even worse shape than I am. Together, this cast truly reflected a band of withering misfits. The director, Joseph Mankiewicz, was appalled by this wavering professionalismbut when he tried to fire Clift, two angels intervened. The entire scene was extremely unsettling as Clift still wore his eyeglasses, and had his hands rigidly clenched. 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. His own mother, in a voice recording played in Making Montgomery Clift, said, "Monty was a . Sal Mineo and Montgomery Clift had a relationship Montgomery Clift is rumored to have hooked up with Paul Newman Henry Willson and Montgomery Clift had a relationship Jack Larson and Montgomery Clift had a relationship William LeMassena and Montgomery Clift had a relationship Montgomery Clift and Libby Holman had a relationship Maurice Leonard and Montgomery Clift had a relationship Arnold Saint Subber and Montgomery Clift had a relationship Montgomery Clift had an encounter with Marlon Brando shared a link: https://www.allmovie.com/artist/montgomery-clift-p13682, I never used to like him until I saw 'The Heiress' he really was gorgeous, it's such a shame his life was unhappy. In fact, the attitudes he and his family held towards his relationships with men were strikingly modern. His father made a lot of money in banking but was quite poor during the depression. When interviewed, the "From Here to Eternity" actor would wave it off, noting that he would be with a woman when he finds the right person. Liz Ronk edited this gallery for LIFE.com. Factinate is a fact website that is dedicated to finding and sharing fun facts about science, history, animals, films, people, and much more. Montgomery Clift and Elizabeth Taylor in A Place in the Sun. Montgomery Clift had an encounter with Marlon Brando. Itd be his only film with Brando, even though the two barely shared the screen. Taylor had married British actor Michael Wilding in 1952, but by 1956, their marriage was in decline. But just as Clift dove into this exciting new chapter, an unforeseen tragedy changedeverything. He was one of Hollywoods most desirable leading men, but mystery shrouded his entire private life. With unprecedented control over the projects he starred in, Clift agreed to do the romantic drama, The Heiress. 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. Clift appeared in The Misfits, a revisionist western best known as the final film of Marilyn Monroe and Clark Gable. He was such a mess on the set of Freud (1962) that Universal sued him. In this exclusive excerpt from her forthcoming book, Anne Helen Petersen recounts the actors lonely life, ferocious talent, and tragic decline. Whatever the case may be, Montgomery Clifts life was unbelievably impressive and distressing. For us, it seemed there was this big difference between what people thought about Monty in the public sphere and what people that knew him would say, said Clift. . ), 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. Want to tell us to write facts on a topic? Montgomery Clift may have been one of the most self-aware actors of his day, and he certainly knew the name of the game. But for Clift, there was just no escape, and it was only going to get worse. If you have a story that tracks along that line, that will feel true to people. ", However, it became more eminent that his single status bordered on his sexuality as time went on. 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. Con Jennifer Jones, Montgomery Clift, Gino Cervi, Richard Beymer. Montgomery Clift (1920-1966) is one of the most tragic figures in Hollywood history. It has a good rating on IMDb: 6.2 stars out of 10. They went to London to see Laurence Olivier together, ate together, sat in front of the fire together, Clift said. But, in general, his relationships with men had more to do with sex than with a deep emotional connection. His parents were Quakers and met as students at Cornell University, marrying in 1914. Copyright 2023 by Factinate.com. These are just among the many words which have been used to describe Montgomery Clift, the enigmatic heartthrob of the 1950s. Suddenly, the Clift family was completely broke and had no choice to move to New York. It was a huge wager: since everyone knew how much booze and pills Clift was on, he was virtually uninsurable on set. A fellow actor asserts that Clift was equally confident in his sexuality. During the peak period of his career, the actor and some Hollywood friends were returning from a party held at Taylor's home. So finely Taylor and Clift: Photos From the Set of A Place in the Sun. But even the troubled blonde bombshell recognized that her co-star was in dire straits. Clift had a fraternal twin sister, Roberta, and a brother, William Brooks Clift Jr, who had an illegitimate son with actress Kim Stanley. 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. However, this was no quick fix. Now were at a historical point in mainstream queer discourse where that story seems less viable., Though the film aims to update, and to fairly contextualize, the actors story, the directors stress that they dont want to simply swap one image of Montgomery Clift for another. However, Clift's life was shrouded by a dark secret that became public after his passing, by actress Elizabeth Taylor. They seem to have their stories all written out beforehand., Clifts private life was boringhe didnt date, he didnt flirt, he didnt hang out in public. It was ironic his relationship with the bisexual middle-aged Holman would be the principal (and likely the last) heterosexual relationship of his life and only cause him further anguish over his sexuality. 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. 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 may have been lonely but the distance he put between his public life and his work life helped keep his mysterious bachelorhood in check. His decline was never explicitly evoked, but with his visage in Raintree County, it was there for all to see. We want our readers to trust us. In his first film, Red River, Clift had the chance to play opposite the western superstar John Wayne. Some sources have the crash occurring when Clift was leaving the event, while others state he was on his way there. Taylor immediately stuck her delicate, little hand down his throat and removed the obstruction. Can he still feel?). 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. 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. Sensitive, mysterious, brooding, and suspiciously single. But that didnt mean that the gossip press didnt hint at something different, something queer, in the broadest sense of the word, about him. Clift's last 10 years prior to his death from his 1956 car accident were called the "longest suicide in history" by famed acting teacher Robert Lewis. From here on out, however, he plunged even further into his addiction. Even if Clift himself was already spiraling out of control, playing a character that did the same only amplified the psychological toll. Instead, Clift enjoyed reading, filling his spare moments with Chekov and Aristotlediving into history, or learning about economics. Before long, photographers began to descend on the gory scene. 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.. He is most remembered for A Place In The Sun (1951) & From Here To Eternity (1953).. His zodiac sign is Libra. Historys most fascinating stories and darkest secrets, delivered to your inbox daily. In all honesty, his face wasnt horribly changed at all, but there was one shocking difference. 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. Born on October 17, 1920, Edward Montgomery Clift was born into a family with lofty ideals. That said, he kept his sexuality a secret: The prejudices of the time left him no choice. Unlike Rock Hudson, whose affairs were very nearly exposed to the entire nation by Confidential, Clift never made the pages of the scandal rags.
Jeff Currie Weight Loss,
Arbor View High School Famous Alumni,
Bleeding After Hymenectomy,
Articles W