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For Clift, The Heiress was a mess from top to bottom, and he even walked out on the films premiere, disgusted with his own performance. She once lovingly described how she was in awe of the star actor's perfect facial features. He looked about ten years older than the Montgomery Clift audiences remembered and adored. Our credibility is the turbo-charged engine of our success. When he read the story that criticized his bare-bones wardrobe, the scandalized actor lashed out with a biting response. Years before, Clift had battled dysentery, which introduced him to the sinister side effects of pain management. He worked on a summer production where his talents blossomed and it opened an auspicious doorone that would seal his fate forever. d-d-darling, I r-r-really wouldnt know. When it came to the lengthier scenes, the actor just couldnt deliver; they had to be divided into smaller cuts just so he could see them through. A car crash in the prime of his career left him in constant pain, and he drank himself to an early death, creating an aesthetic of suffering that has guided the way we think about him today. Picture 1 of 12 . The documentary was released at the Los Angeles Film Festival and . Because of the accident, the studio worried about the success of Raintree County. While he never excelled at school, his extraordinary abilities as an actor. 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. However, despite our best efforts, we sometimes miss the mark. Following The Misfits, Clifts disintegration continued. Something was seriously wrong. In 1961, Montgomery Clift went on to star alongside some of Hollywoods greatest legendsMarilyn Monroe and Clark Gable. Marlon Brando: Portraits of a Charismatic Young Star, 1952, Marilyn, Arthur Miller and More: A Star Producers Spectacular Orbit. I wanted to figure out why there was such a difference., A deep trove of never-before-revealed evidence makes that disparity bracingly clear. His father, William Brooks "Bill" Clift (1886-1964), was the vice-president of Omaha National Trust Company. In his eyes, he wasnt a rebel, he was simply an actor who wanted to portray a slice of life. Tired of being boxed in, he stated, I am notrepeat nota member of the Beat Generation. Of course, Clifts words had always been futile in the face of Hollywood. And when it came to riotous parties, well, he avoided nightlife like the plague. Prior to leaving by train for Paris, a married American woman tries to break off her affair with a young Italian in Rome's Stazione Termini. His apartment, which he rented for 10 dollars a month, was described by friends as beat up and by him as terrific. He survived on two meals a day, mostly combinations of steak, eggs, and orange juice, and he eschewed nightclubs, instead spending his spare time reading Chekov, classic works of history and economics, and Aristotle, whom he praised for his belief in happiness, or the gentle art of the soul. When he wasnt reading or exhausting himself in preparation for a part, he liked to go to the local night court and attend high-profile court cases just to watch the humanity on display. 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. Clift gained actual scars from some filming mishaps. "Monty," as the performer was known to family and . Thats why his work doesnt feel dated, Demmon said. to add information, pictures and relationships, join in discussions and get credit for your contributions. Contact sheet from LIFE photographer Peter Stackpoles shoot on a Paramount lot with Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift in 1950. cocksucker. Then, sweetly, wide-eyed with little girl navet, she An inside look at the actors secretive love life. 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. Not only did he rarely go out in public, but he also didnt date. "Bobby was a very fine actor, but as you can imagine, he was no Montgomery Clift," she said. 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. He was the son of Ethel "Sunny" Anderson (Fogg; 1888-1988) and William Brooks Clift (1886-1964). In all honesty, his face wasnt horribly changed at all, but there was one shocking difference. Edward Montgomery Clift was born on October 17, 1920, in Omaha, Nebraska. Making distraction rewarding since 2017. The surgeries led to the use of strong painkillers. The Life and Sad Ending of Montgomery Clift The Life and Sad Ending 182K subscribers Subscribe 2.2K Share 106K views 2 years ago Mini bio of the life of actor Montgomery Clift who is. The true story of Montgomery Clift, as told by his youngest nephew Making Montgomery Clift explodes the myths surrounding the Hollywood star and queer icon. 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. One infamous fact about Montgomery Clift is that he only owned one suit. Moments after the accident, actor Kevin McCarthy, driving in front of Clift, ran back to check on him, seeing that his face was torn awaya bloody pulp. Actor Montgomery Clift, 45, three times nominated for Academy Awards, died early Saturday of a heart attack in his plush East Side townhouse. However, even with all the negative hubbub surrounding this shoot, it was nothing compared to the darkness of one of Clifts next projects. A young naive woman falls for a handsome young man who her emotionally abusive father suspects is a fortune hunter. Clift was off the Hollywood scene for four years, within which his career declined. He wasnt solely an actor, she said. At the age of 25, Clift made the leap to Hollywoodbut he was a rebel right from the get-go. A Place In The Sun (1951) & From Here To Eternity (1953). Of course, Clift took one of his greatest secrets to his grave. Please fill in your e-mail so we can share with you our top stories! Unlike many of his handsome contemporaries, he never had a blonde bombshell hanging off his arm. Sealed, new. In this exclusive excerpt from her forthcoming book, Anne Helen Petersen recounts the actors lonely life, ferocious talent, and tragic decline. Vanity Fair may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. His decline was never explicitly evoked, but with his visage in Raintree County, it was there for all to see. Heres A Mystery: Why Did Arthur Conan Doyles Son Dress Up Like a Knight? 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. But that didnt mean that the gossip press didnt hint at something different, something queer, in the broadest sense of the word, about him. Montgomery Clift had passed due to a heart attack, but many assumed that his addictions and various health problems contributed to his early death. When he first arrived in Hollywood, he didnt sign a contract, waiting until after the success of his first two films to negotiate a three-picture deal with Paramount that allowed him total discretion over projects. A successful man in the business world, Bill nevertheless deferred to this strong-willed, opinionated woman at home. This showed in his consciousness of being seen as feminine in any way. Contact sheet from LIFE photographer Peter Stackpoles shoot with Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift in 1950. 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. . These are just among the many words which have been used to describe Montgomery Clift, the enigmatic heartthrob of the 1950s. After filming wrapped, she tracked him down and spat directly in his face. Curtis's relationship to the term nepo baby has evolved over the last few months. 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. Merv was a sexual predator who once tried to sexually assault Danny Terrio, then threatened to ruin his career if he talked. Another confidant said his personal life didnt bother him. Free shipping for many products! Clift simply wasnt cut out for school, and unlike his siblings, turned his back on higher education. William Brooks Clift (Was A Vice-President Of Omaha National Trust Company. Who is Montgomery Clift dating? Many Hollywood stars have committed versions of the long suicide. He wasnt the only one who challenged such norms at the time. Itd be his only film with Brando, even though the two barely shared the screen. 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. His body was found by his live-in personal secretary/companion Lorenzo James, who found Clift lying nude on top of his bed, dead from what the autopsy called "occlusive coronary artery disease." 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. She continued to stand by his memory by supporting gay rights and speaking out against homophobia. 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. 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. 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. Copyright 2023 by Factinate.com. As such, Taylors intervention only enhances the very real love story that existed between her and Clift. She developed an intense decade-plus obsession over the young actor, even financing an experimental play, "Mexican Mural" for him. Close friends, such as actor Kevin McCarthy and his wife, tried to get Clift to slow down and dry out, but their pleas . He was sick of being a symbol, a symptom, a testament to something. Picture Information. A four-time Oscar nominee who died at 45, Montgomery Clift was a bright young talent, a tabloid fixture, and a posthumous gay icon. He gained excellent theatrical notices and soon piqued the interests of numerous lovelorn actresses; their advances met with awkward conflict. Clift was nominated for awards . When we do, we depend on our loyal, helpful readers to point out how we can do better.