And so he remains frozen in the popular imagination, circa From Here to Eternitythose high cheekbones, that set jaw, the firm stare: a magnificent, proud, tragically broken thing to behold. As for Clift, the shoot was incredibly taxing, both mentally and physically: in addition to acquiring a scar across his nose from a stray bulls horn, severe rope burns while attempting to tame a wild horse, and various other rough-and-tumble injuries, he also performed what has widely come to be regarded as one of his best scenes, a stilted, heartbreaking conversation with his mother from a phone booth. 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. He served in the Lincoln administration cabinet as Postmaster-General from 1861 to 1864, during the Civil War. . Unlike Rock Hudson, whose affairs were very nearly exposed to the entire nation by Confidential, Clift never made the pages of the scandal rags. Born Edward Montgomery Clift on Oct. 17, 1920 in Omaha, NE, he was the son of Ethel Fogg and William Brooks Clift, a successful Wall Street stockbroker. This was entertainment at its finest. 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. Every actor was in the midst of fighting their own demons. 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. He pleaded with her to make changes to her book to correct the mischaracterizations. Want to tell us to write facts on a topic? Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for The Search _ 1948 DVD Montgomery Clift Aline MacMahon Wendell Corey V Rare at the best online prices at eBay! In fact, Hepburn was so offended by Mankiewicz that she did something outrageous. There were no wild outings for this reserved homebody. He was only 15 years old, but this wasnt just a fun pastimeit was serious business. A four-time Oscar nominee who died at 45, Montgomery Clift was a bright young talent, a tabloid fixture, and a posthumous gay icon. That secret, depending on your source, was that Clift was gay or bisexual. 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. The unhinged character he played in the film hit too close to home and psychologically drained him. It was unheard of, especially for a young star, but it was a sellers market. It hardly helped lend nuance to that reading that Clift was a well-known and long-time abuser of pain killers and alcohol, actions which likely sped his death from a heart attack at 45 in 1966. 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. She noted that they needed to live a life of equality while being able to get married and adopt kids. Of course, as unusual as his lifestyle seemed, healso had a number of interesting routines. He hated the criticism and the labels, and eventually, he just couldnt take it anymore. Montgomery Clift didnt need much to keep himself happy and entertained. .. Madame de Pompadour was the alluring chief mistress of King Louis XV, but few people know her dark historyor the chilling secret shared by her and Louis. Welcome to Who Is Montgomery Clift?, a page dedicated to showcasing actors & movie makers of the Golden Age of Hollywood. While he never excelled at school, his extraordinary abilities as an actor. Universal Studios actuallysued him for the losses they incurred because of his troublesome behavior. Here was someone who was vulnerable and sensitive - and who actually listened to women.. Montgomery Clift and Marlon Brando were in a . However, the filming of The Misfits had a shadow lurking over it. His first two films were smashing successesand for veryimpressive reasons. Yet, according to a new documentary, titled Making Montgomery Clift, the stars substance abuse had nothing at all to do with his sexuality. Taylor opened his mouth, put her hand down his throat, and pulled out the teeth. 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. yo tambien hubiera tenido algo con el claro que si, Monty, I love you. An inside look at the actors secretive love life. He was lonely, yet with the help of his refusal to live in Los Angeles or participate in caf society, he was able to keep his private life private. Months of surgeries, rebuilding, and physical therapy followed. 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. Peter Stackpole The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock. At Factinate, were dedicated to getting things right. (38) and his wife, Meghan Markle (41), officially . . In Truman Capotes unpublished novel Answered Prayers, for example, the author imagines a dinner party between Clift, Dorothy Parker, and flamboyant stage actress Tallulah Bankhead: . Marlon Brando girlfriend, wife list. He looked about ten years older than the Montgomery Clift audiences remembered and adored. AmoMama creates engaging, meaningful content for women. In fact, the attitudes he and his family held towards his relationships with men were strikingly modern. MONTY YOU WERE THE BEST!!! According to Clifts doctors, it was amazing that he was even alive. Whatever the case may be, Montgomery Clifts life was unbelievably impressive and distressing. . During the peak period of his career, the actor and some Hollywood friends were returning from a party held at Taylor's home. 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. Jack Larson, famous for playing Jimmy Olsen in the hit 1950s TV series Adventures of Superman, recalled how Clift gave him a full mouth kiss the first time they casually met. ), 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. He surely wasnt a suave Prince Charming, and yet, on-screen, he was a downright masterpiece. I do not count myself as a member of the ripped-sweatshirt fraternity.. She once lovingly described how she was in awe of the star actor's perfect facial features. You see, the reason behind Montgomery Clifts barren dating life was rather simple: He was gay. All rights reserved. While filming his next picture, Lonelyhearts (1958), Clift lashed out, proclaiming, I am notrepeat nota member of the Beat Generation. Picture 1 of 12 . 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. Elizabeth Taylor Tried to Seduce Montgomery Clift Then Stood By Him After He Came Out to Her Despite his deep attraction to Taylor, at first Clift couldn't bring himself to tell her he was. But just as Clift dove into this exciting new chapter, an unforeseen tragedy changedeverything. 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. But even Monroe reported that Clift was the only person I know who is in even worse shape than I am. The pictures from the set are as poignant as they are heartbreaking: its as if all three were meditating on their respective declines, and theres a sad, peaceful resignation at the difference between what their bodies could do and how people wanted to remember them. Edward Montgomery Clift (nicknamed 'Monty' his entire life) was born on October 17, 1920 in Omaha, Nebraska, just after his twin sister Roberta (1920-2014) and eighteen months after his brother Brooks Clift. Christine Tran is a history buff(ette) and media scholar. Clift's brother would later come out to say that the actor was bisexual. Montgomery Clift and Elizabeth Taylor during the filming of A Place in the Sun. "Indiscretion of an American Wife" is currently available to stream on Fubo TV. 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. Contemporaries like James Dean and Marlon Brando also did. 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. Of course, Clift didnt walk away unscathed either. Montgomery Clift was an undeniably attractive man, and before long, he'd cultivated a rather passionate female fan base. Thanks for your time! 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. But, in general, his relationships with men had more to do with sex than with a deep emotional connection. Over the next 10 years, he earned prominent roles in plays by Tennessee Williams and Thornton Wilder, opposite stars like Fredrick March and Tallulah Bankhead. . But for 12 years, he set Hollywood aflame. 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. Lorenzo came into the picture when Monty was at his lowest. Unlike many other actors, he didnt jump straight into a contract. A portrait of Elizabeth Taylor And Montgomery Clift from the film "A Place In The Sun", 1951 | Photo: Getty Images.