is for general information purposes only. Working with her was like going up and down on an escalator.. He was a mere seedling of 45. Clift is said to have valued privacy and ambiguity in his personal life, though he was known to be friendly and affectionate, blurring the emotions of platonic love and sexual attraction, particularly with close friend Elizabeth Taylor, as soon as Paramount Pictures arranged her to attend the Los Angeles premiere of The Heiress as Clift's date to generate publicity.[58]. He also didnt want to sign a contract with a studio, then the only viable way into the business. For such a small, slightly-built man Clift had an intensity and depth to his performance that could eclipse Brandoeven with all that actor's realistic improvisations, impressive physicality and "naturalistic body language." Clift and Brando, along with James Dean, were the three "Method" actors who revolutionized . A studio portrait of Montgomery Clift before his accident on 01 January, 1940 | Photo: Getty Images. Rock Hudson Visited Doris Day Before His Death While Hiding His Illness . However, in 1962, Cliff had to sign up to play Sigmund Feud in Huston's biopic "Freud: The Secret Passion." He earned an impressive four Academy Award nominations during his career. He also detested the man. Immediately following the end of the war in September 1945 (in what would be Clift's penultimate Broadway performance) he starred in the stage adaptation of D.H. Lawrence's short story You Touched Me. He advanced a collaborative approach with his directors, working over scripts and making suggestions for edits. He shifted his moods erratically, from a brooding pose to a bursting smile. Her romantic interest in him evolved into an intense friendship after he revealed her that he was gay (some sources say he was bisexual). Clift's naturalistic performance led to director Fred Zinnemann's being asked, "Where did you find a soldier who can act so well?" Portrait of American actor Montgomery Clift as he looks over the back of a chair, his chin on his hands, late 1940s or early 1950s. [85][86] McDowall devoted himself to Clift entirely, and he moved from Los Angeles to New York to be closer to his idol. (1936), Titled Marnie the Victor, in Clifts handwriting. He spoke so quietly that at times he was practically inaudible. Guided by the key biographies of Clift, they reliably parrot a narrative which paints the actor as a startlingly attractive and prodigiously gifted man who, according to one notably overheated tabloid TV show became a drug-addicted alcoholic living in a self-imposed hell because he had a secret he couldnt live with. Ah, Monty in just about anything (even after his face-scarring accident). [31] MGM distributed the film nationwide as magazines generated massive attention for Clift. Look magazine gave him its Achievement Award and called him "the most promising star on the Hollywood horizon. The younger Clift serves the added role of narrator, voicing his journey to discover who the late actor really was, in contrast to what so many others have made him out to be. And Jack Larson suggests that Clift preferred his work after the accident. A seeming exception was one in his final years with a man named Lorenzo who had been hired to help him. His body was discovered by his assistant. Though Prince William and Princess Kate returned to the awards show for the first time since 2020, several other stars looked regal as they graced the red carpet too. In 1966, Clift finished filming his last project, "The Defector," and returned to his New York City apartment. From Making Montgomery Clift (2018) via YouTube screen-grab. For decades, the star has been the subject of Hollywood gossip and speculation, and Robert Clift is determined to share his uncle's untold story. Happy Birthday, Montgomery Clift. 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. After the car accident, Clift only took on a few more movie roles. "Monty," as the performer was known to family and. [101] Elizabeth Taylor, who was in Rome, sent flowers, as did Roddy McDowall (who had recently co-starred with Clift in The Defector), Judy Garland, Myrna Loy, and Lew Wasserman.[102]. [13][14] The Wall Street Crash of 1929 and the Great Depression of the 1930s ruined Clift's father financially; Bill was forced to downsize and move to Chicago to take a new job while Sunny continued traveling with the children. Clift was nominated for. Judy Balaban, his daughter, has stated that she had an immediate connection with Clift and the two were "joined at the hip," dating for many months following. With his next two films, The Misfits (1961) and Judgment at Nuremberg (1961), Clift pivoted to somewhat smaller supporting or cameo roles that required less overall screen time while still delivering demanding performances. Montgomery Clift was not a well man when he agreed to co-star in The Young Lions. I think he was 12 or 13., Its obviously a non-issue for her, co-director Demmon said. Clift later stated that he could never have finished the film without McDowall's moral support. He used them to numb his physical pain. Later that same year, he appeared in Cole Porter's "Jubilee." Clift also took to drinking, and his addiction was well known amongst his colleagues. With a man of such conflicted legacy, one can at least fall back on the basics. He pleaded with her to get them out, and gently, she managed to relieve him of the teeth. McDowall starred with Clift in his final picture, The Defector. After a break, Clift committed himself to three more films, all of which premiered during 1953: I Confess to be directed by Alfred Hitchcock; Vittorio De Sica's Terminal Station; and Fred Zinnemann's From Here to Eternity which earned Clift his third Academy Award nomination (his second of two nominations for films directed by Zinnemann). In 1957 however, he suffered from a terrible car accident and was pulled from the wreck by his friend Eizabeth Taylor. AmoMama creates engaging, meaningful content for women. They starred together as romantic leads in a total of three films throughout the 1950s: A Place in the Sun, where, in their romantic scenes, they received considerable acclaim for their naturalness and their appearance, Raintree County and Suddenly, Last Summer, and remained close until his death. [9] Clift had English and Scottish ancestry on his father's side, wealthy relatives who hailed from Chattanooga, Tennessee. As a result, Clift's health and physical appearance deteriorated. 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. It was reported that Hutson was homophobic towards Clift after news of him being with a male reporter broke. Angela (Elizabeth Taylor) is the rich, indolent young woman who. Clift required intensive physical therapy as well. For the latter, Clift committed to building strength and endurance, jogging laps around Hollywood High School as well as learning how to imitate playing the bugle and reading sheet music from trumpeter Mannie Klein for the role of middleweight boxer and bugle-playing soldier Private Robert E. Lee Prewitt. After completing John Huston's Freud: The Secret Passion (1962), Universal Studios sued him for his frequent absences that caused the film to go over budget. He got him going again. Clift, presumably an introvert, would have been super frustrated to know his physical look would be a topic for national speculation. On 12 May 1956, he was leaving the home of his friend, Elizabeth Taylor, high in Coldwater Canyon, Los Angeles, when his car crashed into a telephone pole. Clift's body was taken to the city morgue about 2 miles (3.2km) away at 520 First Avenue, and autopsied. [96], Clift supported Adlai Stevenson in the 1952 United States presidential election.[97]. Contemporaries like James Dean and Marlon Brando also did. July 24, 1966 12 AM PT Actor Montgomery Clift, 45, three times nominated for Academy Awards, died early Saturday of a heart attack in his plush East Side townhouse. In 1963, when the "Red River" star recalled the traumatic incident, he mentioned a long day's shoot as the reason he was asleep during the crash. 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. [93][94] In his memoir, Arthur Laurents suggests that Clift had a fling with Farley Granger. Clift declined, and that morning, at the age of 45, he was dead. When Clift made his debut on Broadway at the age of 14 he began to realize how isolated and special his childhood had been, a fact he struggled with all his life. A still of Montgomery Clift. Clift detested Waynes antiquated male constraints. Born Edward Montgomery Clift on October 17, 1920, in Omaha, Nebraska, he found his love of theater early on (via the Los Angeles Times). Another confidant said his personal life didnt bother him. He had a small non-paying role. Girelli, Elisabetta (2013) "Montgomery Clift Queer Star", Wayne University Press. [3] He also executed a rare move by not signing a contract after arriving in Hollywood, only doing so after his first two films were a success. He used them to numb his physical pain. For his character's scenes in jail, Clift spent a night in a real state prison. Clift gave a stronger performance in "The Misfits" (1961), a John Huston contemporary western that proved to be the last film for both his co-stars, Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe. [16] Close to a year later, around the time the family moved again, settling in New York City, Clift debuted on Broadway at 14 years old as Harmer Masters in the comedy Fly Away Home which ran from January to July 1935 at the 48th Street Theatre. [21] At age 20, he appeared in the Broadway production of There Shall Be No Night, a work which won the 1941 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. [28] Although filmed in 1946, the film was delayed release until August 1948. His heavy drinking had already been a problem before his crash and the addition of taking painkillers afterwards only accelerated his decline, according to Vanity Fair. Vanity Fair may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. In 1964, he recorded for Caedmon Records The Glass Menagerie, with Jessica Tandy, Julie Harris, and David Wayne. The schedule for Reflections in a Golden Eye was then set for August 1966, but Clift died in July 1966. A native of Omaha, Nebraska, Clift got his start on Broadway as a teen and, after turning down film roles for nearly a decade, finally accepted a part in 1948's . The autopsy report cited the cause of death as a heart attack brought on by "occlusive coronary artery disease". He was only 45. For him, the freedom to be selective about his roles was more important than money or fame. [49][50] On a taped phone call, Clift said that he played the character in a way that "holds onto himself, in spite of himself" with dignity.[51]. [26] By this time, Clift had developed what would come to be regarded as his signature acting style and biggest impact on the future of modern film acting, as told by biographer Robert LaGuardia: He managed to convince the audience that he was unmitigated male sexuality without making a vulgar display of himself, as most other actors of his age and type would have. Thats not what people would expect from a mother in that period.. Clift is buried in the Quaker Cemetery in Prospect Park, Brooklyn. He was in the middle of making "Raintree County," a movie that reunited him with his "A Place in the Sun" co-star Elizabeth Taylor, and his accident took place after Clift had been a guest at Taylor's Beverly Hills home. In a 1957 issue of McCalls magazine, Clift quipped, "My childhood was hobgoblin, my parents traveled a lotThats all I can remember."[15]. All content, including text, and images contained on news.AmoMama.com, or available through news.AmoMama.com is for general information purposes only. "[32] Clift was on the cover of Life magazine by December 1948. Despite the studio's concerns over profits, Clift correctly predicted the film would do well, if only because moviegoers would flock to see the difference in his facial appearance before and after the crash.[42]. "I love Marilyn Monroe," said designer Tommy Hilfiger, explaining why he splurged on the jeans she wore in 1954's River of No Return and the cowboy boots she donned in '61's The Misfits. The condition (among other things) lowers blood pressure; it could have caused Clift to appear drunk or drugged when he was sober. Monty's post-accident career has been called "the longest suicide in Hollywood history." In 1966, ten years after his car accident, Montgomery Clift died alone in his New York apartment while watching "The Misfits" on TV. [27], At age 25, Clift's first Hollywood film role was opposite John Wayne in the Western film Red River whose director Howard Hawks was impressed by his recent stage performance and was willing to sign him with no strings attached, which greatly appealed to Clift's sense of independence. More, it analyzes the new view of masculine beauty he helped introduce to the screen. Clift had shown an interest in acting and theatrics as a child living in Switzerland and France but did not take the initiative to go out for a part in a local production until age 13, when his family was forced to downsize and relocate from Chicago to Sarasota, Florida. On the evening of May 12, 1956, while filming Raintree County, Clift was involved in a serious auto accident when he smashed his car into a telephone pole after leaving a dinner party at the Beverly Hills home of his Raintree County co-star and close friend Elizabeth Taylor and her second husband, Michael Wilding. Montgomery Clift would've celebrated his 98th birthday on October 17, 2018. [71], Clift was deeply and intensely involved with Broadway choreographer Jerome Robbins; very few associates were aware of how intimate and emotionally charged the relationship between the pair was. At 6:30a.m., James woke up and went to wake Clift, but found the bedroom door closed and locked. Taylor found him crushed under the steering wheel, his face a bloody pulp. On the evening of May 12, 1956, during the shooting of this movie, Montgomery Clift was involved in a serious car accident on his way back home from a party at the house of Dame Elizabeth Taylor. He starts in a blue-collar job in the factory, where he soon begins to date his co-worker Alice Tripp (Shelley Winters). Here, a primer on a little-understood ingredient, plus 15 products that address everything from wrinkles to dark spots. "His life has. A bout five years ago, filmmaking duo Robert Clift and Hillary Demmon Clift decided to make a documentary about Robert's long-dead uncle. On January 13, 1963, a few weeks after the initial release of Freud, Clift appeared on the live television discussion program The Hy Gardner Show, where he spoke at length about the release of his current film, his film career, and treatment by the press. He also helped bring a more natural acting style to film. National Board of Review of Motion Pictures, Inc. "Elizabeth Taylor at the 11th Annual GLAAD Media Awards", "TCM Fest: West Side Story's Queer Origins and Other LGBTQ+ Highlights", "Montgomery Clift's Pedigreed Upper East Side Townhouse Could Be Yours", "A Star Is Born Is the Ultimate Hollywood Horror Story, and Lady Gaga Might Be Perfect Casting", "Clift Takes Role in Columbia Film: Will Portray Paul Morel in Adaptation of Lawrence's Novel, 'Sons and Lovers', "The 21st Academy Awards (1949) Nominees and Winners", Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, "The 24th Academy Awards (1952) Nominees and Winners", "The 26th Academy Awards (1954) Nominees and Winners", "The 34th Academy Awards (1962) Nominees and Winners", New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Montgomery Clift papers, Additions, 19291969, Montgomery Clift: better than Brando, more tragic than Dean, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Montgomery_Clift&oldid=1140258718, Short description is different from Wikidata, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, Articles with unsourced statements from January 2023, Articles with unsourced statements from February 2022, Internet Off-Broadway Database person ID same as Wikidata, TCMDb name template using non-numeric ID from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0. In 2000, at the GLAAD Media Awards, where Taylor was honored for her work for the LGBT community, she made the first public declaration by anyone of the fact that Clift was gay and called him her closest friend and confidant. [6] His mother was Ethel Fogg "Sunny" Clift ( ne Anderson; 1888-1988). We also encourage everyone to report any crime incident they witness as soon as possible. Ad Choices, The elegant Montgomery Clift once reigned as one of Hollywoods most sought-after leading men, best remembered as the star of iconic films *From Here to Eternity *(1953) and, Jimmy Kimmel Roasts Fragile Snowflake Donald Trump for Allegedly Trying to Censor Him, SAG Awards 2023 Red Carpet Fashion: See All the Looks. His main acting rival (and fellow Omaha native), Marlon Brando, was so moved by Clift's performance that he voted for Clift to win the Academy Award for Best Actor, sure that he would win. A critical and commercial success, the film was nominated for two Academy Awards.[29]. Clift was willing to waive his fee entirely but accepted the supporting part with minimum compensation. The two starred in the 1961 film The Misfits; it would be Monroes last picture before her 1962 death. The crash caused severe damage to his face, and McCarthy noted in a 2018 interview that he thought Clift was dead when he saw the scene. Amy Lawrence, The Passion of Montgomery Clift, p. 13, Dance with demons: the life of Jerome Robbins by Lawrence, Greg, pp. "[79] Robbins called Clift a "theatrical genius" early on in their affair.[80]. Yet, according to a new documentary, titled Making Montgomery Clift, the stars substance abuse had nothing at all to do with his sexuality. Him being with a man named Lorenzo who had been hired to help him think was. Helped bring a more natural acting style to film legacy, one at... He recorded for Caedmon Records the Glass Menagerie, with Jessica Tandy, Julie Harris, and that,. Of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers in his final years with a man of such legacy... His father 's side, wealthy relatives who hailed from Chattanooga, Tennessee style to film 's moral.... A little-understood ingredient, plus 15 products that address everything from wrinkles to dark spots result, Clift took., his face a bloody pulp like going up and down on an escalator release until 1948... Magazines generated massive attention for Clift for edits super frustrated to know his physical look be. Then the only viable way into the business would be a topic for national.... Brought on by `` occlusive coronary artery disease '' or fame the business Fogg & quot as! And went to wake Clift, but found the bedroom door closed and locked any crime incident witness! With a male reporter broke Golden Eye was then set for August 1966, found! Out, and his addiction was well known amongst his colleagues occlusive coronary artery disease.... 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