But the documentary notes Clift made as many movies after the accident as before, and that those projects included some of his most acclaimed performances. By 15, Clift made his Broadway debut in Cole Porters Jubilee. He was born Edward Montgomery Clift on October 17, 1920. is also about him. 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. He was only 45. Montgomery Clift, by contrast, died in early middle-age, after what acting teacher Robert Lewis referred to as "the longest suicide in Hollywood history." He was well past his glory days by that point, his career on a downward trajectory for years before his death, but nowhere near old enough for lifetime achievement conversations to begin. Often, suicides are never fully understood. 2023 Cond Nast. Clift's "Raintree Country" co-star Taylor remained with him at the accident scene and cradled his badly injured head till an ambulance arrived. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. [7][8] Clift had a twin sister, Roberta (who later went by "Ethel"), who survived him by 48 years, and an older brother, William Brooks Clift, Jr. (19191986), known as "Brooks," who had a son with actress Kim Stanley and was later married to political reporter Eleanor Clift. Montgomery Clift and Elizabeth Taylor star in A Place in the Sun. 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. A Place in the Sun was critically acclaimed; Charlie Chaplin called it "the greatest movie made about America". In fact, the attitudes he and his family held towards his relationships with men were strikingly modern. 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. "[142] "Monty Got a Raw Deal" by rock band R.E.M. [36], On the evening of May 12, 1956, while filming Raintree County, Clift was involved in a serious car crash after leaving a dinner party hosted by Elizabeth Taylor and her husband, Michael Wilding. [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]. (Photo by Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images) Happy birthday to Montgomery Clift, who would have turned 97 today. He also detested the man. In a 1957 issue of McCalls magazine, Clift quipped, "My childhood was hobgoblin, my parents traveled a lotThats all I can remember."[15]. [63], Many of Clift's biographers note his relationships with men and some few women based on friends' accounts and interviews. 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. To revisit this article, visit My Profile, thenView saved stories. He earned an Academy Award nomination for his work, displaying some of his old acting chops. Clift made his Broadway debut in "Fly Away Home" in 1935, according to the Irish Times. The crew of Raintree Country even had code words about his state of intoxication. He pleaded with her to get them out, and gently, she managed to relieve him of the teeth. Meeting veteran stage and screen actor Kevin McCarthy in a Hollywood restaurant was a thrilling experience. [48] In nephew Robert Anderson Clift's 2018 documentary, superimposed pages of Clift's own heavily annotated original script show that the actor was actually deliberately and consciously performing with his own rewritten dialogue as opposed to confused improvisation. SAG Awards 2023: The Red Carpet Goes Pink. ", The "Suddenly, Last Summer" star reportedly had the worse of experience with John Huston. Clift had traveled extensively with his family while growing up, and it was while he and the family were in Florida that he landed his first part, per Britannica. How to Be a Movie Star: Elizabeth Taylor in Hollywood. Posted on October 17, 2012 by sheila. Sadly Clift had personal problems and after surviving a terrible car accident those problems only got worse. Clift received and declined offers for roles in the following films: In 1960, Clift was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6104 Hollywood Boulevard. American actor Montgomery Clift (1920 - 1966), circa 1950. 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). 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 was not a well man when he agreed to co-star in The Young Lions. The movie, which plays at the LGBTQ movie festival NewFest in New York, refutes scores of oft-repeated assumptions about Clifts life, from his motivations as an actor, to his relationship with his mother to the characterization of his later years. 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. Marlon Brando was cast as his replacement. He suffered a concussion, broken jaw, broken nose, fractured sinuses, fractured cheekbones, and several facial lacerations which required plastic surgery. Clift suffered from deep emotional problems, was sexually ambivalent, an alcohol and drug abuser. 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. 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. "[79] Robbins called Clift a "theatrical genius" early on in their affair.[80]. According to some reports, she reportedly held Clift and removed two teeth that had fallen out in the crash from his throat, as they were causing him to choke. BIPS // Getty Images Monty was also impressed with Elizabeth, at least physically. 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. Life once described them as soul mates, and added: That Clift was gay made little difference in the intensity and duration of the two stars adoration of one another. The pair first starred together in the 1951 film A Place in the Sun; Clifts early nickname for the actress was Bessie Mae. They also appeared together in Raintree County (1957) and Suddenly, Last Summer (1959). Ah, Monty in just about anything (even after his face-scarring accident). ", Montgomery Clift at London Airport from New York to make the new film "Suddenly, Last Summer" on 13 May, 1959 | Photo: Getty Images. He and actor Kevin McCarthy later wrote a screenplay for a film adaptation that was never made. His body was discovered by his assistant. As to why Bosworth drew on the gay-self-hate narrative, and why that view took hold, the directors blame the homophobia of the time the book was written, in the 1970s. does not take responsibility for any action taken as a result of reading this article. And Jerry said that he just couldn't get it out of his head. At his best, Montgomery Clift was a better actor than Marlon Brando. Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift in a scene from the 1951 movie, "A Place in the Sun." Some sources have the crash occurring when Clift was leaving the event, while others state he was on his way there. He said that he was with Monty at a party on Fire Island [and Clift said] 'I've got an idea for a musical. [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. The New York Times' obituary noted his portrayal of "moody, sensitive young men". The song alludes to his car crash and drug abuse, as well as the movies A Place in the Sun, Red River, From Here to Eternity, and The Misfits, before closing with what Rolling Stone magazine describes as "a grudging admiration that becomes unexpectedly and astonishingly moving. The 'antidote' to Monty was her first disastrous marriage, aged 18, to playboy hotel heir Nicky Hilton, an aggressive drunk who physically abused her. Her romantic interest in him evolved into an intense friendship after he revealed her that he was gay (some sources say he was bisexual). With her to get them out, and gently, she managed to relieve him of the.... 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