(The director himself never met his famous uncle, having been born eight years after his death). 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 insisted on maintaining his residence in New York, spending as little time in Hollywood as possible. He was, in his words, nothing more than an ordinary, second-class wolf., These anecdotes, and dozens like them, would establish Clift, along with Brando, as the embodiment of 50s youth culture, rebelling against conformity and all that postwar Americans were supposed to embrace. Login Whether he liked it or not, they were out for a storyAnd the one they wanted above all? To revist this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories. The actress had read many articles about Clift's acting prowess and thought she would not be the perfect match. He also sunk into alcoholism, of which Taylor and some other friends tried to help him. (1936), Ghostwriting Gloria Swanson: The Strange, Sexually Charged Genesis of a Legendary Autobiography, A New Power Generation: Radhika Jones Introduces the 2023 Hollywood Issue, Salma Hayek Pinault Explains How She Got Hollywood to Stop Typecasting Her as Sexy. We believe that every person's story is important as it provides our community with an opportunity to feel a sense of belonging, share their hopes and dreams. Although Clift and Montgomery were only good friends, their coupling inA Place in the Sunhelped drive its popularity. While he never excelled at school, his extraordinary abilities as an actor showed early. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Hitchcock's I CONFESS (DVD, 1953); M CLIFT, A BAXTER. 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. Upon closer inspection, Clifts career reveals notable clues as to who he genuinely was and the private struggles he faced. An interviewer once asked him what his hobbies were, Clift replied, "women. "Indiscretion of an American Wife" is currently available to stream on Fubo TV. Clift was unperturbed by his apparent lack of a love life: he told the press that he would get married when he met a girl he wanted to marry; in the meantime, he was playing the field. When another columnist asked him if he had any hobbies, he replied, Yes, women. But as the years passed, it became more and more clear that Clift wasnt just picky. Monroe and Taylor are shadowed by Montgomery. It has a good rating on IMDb: 6.2 stars out of 10. Or, as Bosley Crowther, taking the populist slant in The New York Times, explained, the characters were amusing, but they were also shallow and inconsequential, and that is the dang-busted trouble with this film.. Join thousands of others and start your morning with our Fact Of The Day newsletter. Finally, Clift had a chance to climb out of his slumpbut before he made it over the top, tragedy struck. Elizabeth Taylor and Katharine Hepburn came to Clifts defense when the director tried to get rid of him. While she sounds apologetic, the changes were never made. You couldn't help but come. I do not count myself as a member of the ripped-sweatshirt fraternity.. Although he may not have realized it, Clifts horrific accident sparked the beginning of the end, intensifying his preexisting ailments and sending him down a dark path from which he could never return. Of course, by this time, Clifts drinking problems werent much of a secret, making him a liability to the studio. We bring you all the headlines and gossip in one place! The pieces of the puzzle dont quite fit. He looked about ten years older than the Montgomery Clift audiences remembered and adored. Okay, if were being totally honest, Montgomery Clifts reserved lifestyle didnt exactly excite the press; it actually kind of stumped them. He started out in films in the late 1940's and immediately made a name for himself with his good looks and emotionally raw performances. A still of Montgomery Clift. The long suicide was complete. He was such a mess on the set of Freud (1962) that Universal sued him. Realizing that Clift was in mortal danger, McCarthy raced to the scene of the accident. It turned into John Cassavetes' "Too Late Blues," with Bobby Darrin. 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. But he was handsome and beguiling on-screen, creating an appetite for confirmation of that same Clift off the screen. 5 talking about this. He also detested the man. To help build their case, the film-makers had rare access to the actors archives. According to this version of the story, when photographers arrived, Taylor announced that she knew each and every one of them personally-- and if they took pictures of Clift, who was still very much alive, shed make sure they never worked in Hollywood again. They took a risk on the troubled actorand it endedbadly. / Cut the applause and dim the light. Not only would this film win him respect for his impeccable acting performance, but it would also fuel a brand new cycle of romance rumors. She continued to stand by his memory by supporting gay rights and speaking out against homophobia. While working in New York in the early 1940s, he met wealthy former Broadway star Libby Holman. Clift earned best-actor Oscar nominations for 1951s A Place in the Sun and 1953s From Here to Eternity; both times he lost to older actors (Humphrey Bogart and William Holden, respectively), and established his reputation, alongside Marlon Brando and James Dean, as a young outsider whose talent intimidated Hollywood. Lorenzo was one of the reasons.. But while his siblings enrolled in prestigious schools, Montgomery Clift went hurtling in a completely different direction. Clift appeared in The Misfits, a revisionist western best known as the final film of Marilyn Monroe and Clark Gable. Thanks for your time! It was also a dark, melancholy film: as a review in Variety pointed out, the complex mass of introspective conflicts, symbolic parallels, and motivational contradictions was so nuanced as to seriously confound general audiences, who were likely unable to cope with the philosophical undercurrents of the Arthur Miller script. Not only did he rarely go out in public, but he also didnt date. The most beautiful young man Ive ever seen. Clift cared nothing for appearances: the Los Angeles Times called him the Rumpled Movie Idol; he infamously owned only one suit. Have I said something wrong? It was reported that Taylor even tried to help him find a partner. 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? He died in 1966 at the age of 45. 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. In 1929, the Wall Street Crash hit Clifts father like a ton of bricks, and his mothers dreams disappeared in an instant. Benign to most but, in hindsight, highly suggestive. Here was someone who was vulnerable and sensitive - and who actually listened to women.. Travel back in time with treasured photos and stories, sent right to your inbox. Taped interviews with his brother reveal that the actor felt those roles werent quite right for him and he didnt want to make the wrong first impression. 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. Montgomery Clift 39 30. Clift's brother would later come out to say that the actor was bisexual. His leading lady, Olivia de Havilland, disappointed him in every wayand his criticisms were downright brutal. 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. Montgomery Clift | 20 Gay Hollywood Legends | Purple Clover "I love men in bed, but I really love women," Montgomery Clift is quoted as saying in a 1978 biography. Allegedly, the director brought Clift on board, thinking hed be a soothing effect for Monroe. In this exclusive excerpt from her forthcoming book, Anne Helen Petersen recounts the actors lonely life, ferocious talent, and tragic decline. By 1950, he was troubled with allergies and colitis (the U.S. Army had rejected him for military service in World War II for chronic diarrhea) and, along with pill problems, he was alcoholic. Marlon Brando: Portraits of a Charismatic Young Star, 1952, Marilyn, Arthur Miller and More: A Star Producers Spectacular Orbit. Elizabeth Taylor stuck by her friends, and Montgomery Clift undoubtedly claimed a special spot in her heart. Making Montgomery Clift is a 2018 American documentary film by directors Robert Anderson Clift and Hillary Demmon chronicling the life of the actor Montgomery Clift till his death in 1966. While on his way back, he had an accident. Historys most fascinating stories and darkest secrets, delivered to your inbox daily. Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift in A Place in the Sun. But the press will always be the press, and no amount of Montgomery Clifts ire could change that. Our credibility is the turbo-charged engine of our success. 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. That said, he kept his sexuality a secret: The prejudices of the time left him no choice. He gained excellent theatrical notices and soon piqued the interests of numerous lovelorn actresses; their advances met with awkward conflict. Elizabeth Taylor at Paramount Studios, 1950. Something was seriously wrong. Indeed, it was his apparent lack of romantic attachments that confounded the gossip press the most. About Luckily, although the public was out for blood, there was one woman on his side. "Bobby was a very fine actor, but as you can imagine, he was no Montgomery Clift," she said. But the producer, Sam Spiegel, decided to go forward, no matter the risk. Hepburn was reportedly so incensed by Mankiewiczs treatment of Clift that when the film officially wrapped, she found the director and spat in his face. . While filming his next picture, Lonelyhearts (1958), Clift lashed out, proclaiming, I am notrepeat nota member of the Beat Generation. His perpetual question to himself, as he once scribbled in his journal, was, How to remain thin-skinned, vulnerable, and still alive? For Clift, the task proved impossible. Peter Stackpole The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock. Some of the greatest celebrities of the day came out to mourn Clift at his funeral, including Lauren Bacall and Frank Sinatra. At the end of the day, Clifts private nurse Lorenzo James checked in on him just after midnight. The film went on to win six Academy Awards, including Best Director and Best Screenplay, and is now hailed as a (flawed) classic. Like them, Clift was comfortable with the full contours, and consequences, of his beauty, playing the object in a way previously preserved for female stars. As his eyes drifted closed, Clift suddenly veered off the road and drove straight into a telephone pole. Before long, photographers began to descend on the gory scene. Clift was nominated for awards . Eyebrows were raised when the actor shared in an article he authored that he liked it "lonely. In the bathroom, James found Clift in his bathtub, undressed and obviously deceased. 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. July 22, 1966, was a sweltering day in New York City, and Montgomery Clift had been languishing in his townhouse on 61st Street. Montgomery Clift as the confused, likable, rather stupid social climber; Shelley Winters as the dowdy working girl; Elizabeth Taylor as the dazzling rich girl. Sadly, his greatest friend Elizabeth Taylor could only send flowers from Rome. He believed that the media often, and easily, twisted the truth until it disappeared entirely: I learned that most writers dont need interviews to write about me. Looking back, the film had a legacy of darkness surrounding it: Gable died of a heart attack less than a month after filming; Monroe was only able to attend the films premiere with a pass from her stay at a psychiatric ward. Sometimes it's hard to keep up with the latest celebrity news, but don't worry we have you covered. Whisked away to the morgue, Clifts body underwent an autopsy that shed some light on his sudden demise. When The Heiresscame out, Clifts loyal fanatics came with their claws out and wrote vicious letters to Olivia de Havilland for rejecting Clifts character in the film. Clift was there, as were actors Kevin McCarthy and Rock Hudson, and Hudson's wife, Phyllis Gates, per Vanity Fair. When he wasnt reading or preparing for his next role, he took pleasure in visiting the local night court. Once on stage, Clift truly came into his own. In its May 28, 1951, issue, meanwhile, LIFE magazine wrote of A Place in the Sun: It is easy for an ambitious young man to get himself involved simultaneously with a simple-hearted girl who lives in a cheap boarding house and an extravagant rich girl who gives gay parties. And when it came to riotous parties, well, he avoided nightlife like the plague. Montgomery Clift made a name for himself in Hollywood with several awards and nominations. While driving, he fell asleep at the wheel and the consequences were utterly gruesome. Of course, Clift didnt walk away unscathed either. cocksucker, isnt he, Tallulah? Miss Bankhead said: Well, Courtesy Everett Collection Elizabeth was more visible than the publicity-shy Monty. Clift had a rather negative notion about Taylor even before meeting her. Montgomery Clift had an encounter with Marlon Brando. The director, Joseph Mankiewicz, was appalled by this wavering professionalismbut when he tried to fire Clift, two angels intervened. 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. A fellow actor asserts that Clift was equally confident in his sexuality. (38) and his wife, Meghan Markle (41), officially . Actor Montgomery Clift, 45, three times nominated for Academy Awards, died early Saturday of a heart attack in his plush East Side townhouse. Lancaster's . Which gives that narrative a lot of traction. Taylor immediately stuck her delicate, little hand down his throat and removed the obstruction. Montgomery Clift may have been one of the most self-aware actors of his day, and he certainly knew the name of the game. She made it known that it all boiled down to love. When the duo finally met in Stevens' office, it was pretty magical for Taylor. 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. Some believe that Clifts romantic leanings were much less of a secret than originally thought. Can he still feel?). But even though his marred looks never made it to the headlines, for Clift, the horror was far from over. After filming wrapped, she tracked him down and spat directly in his face. But the drama didnt end there. Clift, of course, knew better. When The Heiress came out, Clift's loyal fanatics came with their claws out and wrote vicious letters to Olivia de Havilland for rejecting Clift's character in the film. This would not only show off his range but allow him to sidestep any dangers of typecasting. He could watch the real grit of humanity play out before himthe court a stage for some of the most sensational high-profile cases. Contact sheets from LIFE photographer Peter Stackpoles shoot on a Paramount lot with Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift in 1950. But for 12 years, he set Hollywood aflame. I mean, he is a to add information, pictures and relationships, join in discussions and get credit for your contributions. He wasnt the only one who challenged such norms at the time. 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. The subject matter, which involved him assisting in the cover-up of a dead mans apparent homosexuality, must have sparked mixed emotions. And the cherry on top? 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. Charles Castillo, author of "Elizabeth & Monty: The Untold Story," shared that the actress tried to seduce Clift. Sensitive, mysterious, brooding, and suspiciously single. Montgomery Clift was certainly one of a kind, and when he landed in Hollywood, it became extremely clear that he was going to do things his own way. 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. Whether platonic or not, these two actors shared an undeniable bond that was undeniably strengthened by this one unfortunate event. But when his nephew dives into the family archives, a much more complicated picture emerges.
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