Copyright 2023 by Factinate.com. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Cond Nast. Montgomery Clift was a great actor. Please submit feedback to [email protected]. Its the season for starting anew: peppermint-scented window cleaner, fresh inspiration by way of the late artist Nicola L., a gentle serum for skin repair, and more. He could barely remember his lines and often didnt show up to set. 2023 Cond Nast. The accident severely damaged his face and many thought he wouldn't live. Filming was halted after Montgomery Clift's automobile accident on May 13, 1956 and did not resume until July 23, 1956. In the face of such criticism, Clift went ahead and confused the gossip columns even more. does not support or promote any kind of violence, self-harm, or abusive behavior. But while his siblings enrolled in prestigious schools, Montgomery Clift went hurtling in a completely different direction. Hollywood Stars. In: Egan, K., Thomas, S. (eds) Cult Film Stardom. One of the few men on this list is actor Montgomery Clift. It left him with chronic health issues for the rest of his life. Clifts lifestyle had the press slotting him in with non-conformists of the dayright alongside hotshots like Marlon Brandobut the actor didnt respond well to being labeled and defined. Soon, Montgomery Clift became almost impossible to work with. To revisit this article, visit My Profile, thenView saved stories. Clift first met Elizabeth Taylor in 1949, and she felt an immediate attraction to him, according to People magazine. The cause of death was listed as a heart attack, but a major contributing factor was the cumulative effect of pain killers and liquor. I like Red River best of these films so for me I guess Monty wins. The actor died there on July 23, 1966, of an apparent heart attack. Violet-eyed siren Elizabeth Taylor and classically handsome Montgomery Clift were the most gorgeous screen couple of their time. Do you question the accuracy of a fact you just read? In the years since From Here to Eternity, Clift's drinking had spiraled out of control . While director William Wyler notably had difficulty with his poor posture, co-star Olivia de Havilland expressed difficulty with his seriousness, saying that "Monty was painstaking and I liked that about him, but I had a sense that Monty was thinking almost entirely of himself and leaving me out of the scene."[34]. Clift's life was derailed, however, by a terrible car accident in 1956. The majority of the interior scenes were shot at MGM Studios in Hollywood, California before the accident. In "The Heiress" (1949), Clift took the role of romantic lead, playing up his charismatic good looks. Hollywood Glamour. 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. [38] She pulled a hanging tooth that was cutting into his tongue, before accompanying him into the ambulance.[39]. While Cinema Visions Danced In My Head - Pinterest Liz Taylor, Montgomery Clift: Rare Photos, 'A Place in the Sun,' 1950 Kouvaros, George (2010) Famous Faces Yet Not Themselves: The Misfits and Icons of Postwar America. He had a small non-paying role. This page was last edited on 26 March 2023, at 00:06. Clift, presumably an introvert, would have been super frustrated to know his physical look would be a topic for national speculation. Clift made his Broadway debut in "Fly Away Home" in 1935, according to the Irish Times. But while Clift certainly seemed like a budding Hollywood heartthrob on the outside, in reality, he wasfar from it. Clift's life was derailed, however, by a terrible car accident in 1956. The star attempted to put the record straight, suggesting that, despite the immediate impact of the crash, he could now proclaim confidently: Im exactly the same as I was before. The evidence on screen, however, indicated otherwise. Vanity Fair may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. At age 7, aboard a European ship, a boy forced Clift's head underwater in the swimming pool for so long that a gland in his neck burst from his struggle to breathe; he had a long scar from the resulting infection and operation. [12] At age 7, aboard a European ship, a boy forced Clifts head underwater in the swimming pool for so long that a gland in his neck burst from his struggle to breathe; he had a long scar from the resulting infection and operation. The Death of Tormented Actor Montgomery Clift (July 23, 1966) Actor: From Here to Eternity. In 1929, the Wall Street Crash hit Clifts father like a ton of bricks, and his mothers dreams disappeared in an instant. He had to undergo plastic surgery and increased his intake of alcohol and pain . He suffered a concussion, broken jaw, broken nose, fractured sinuses, fractured cheekbones, and several facial lacerations which required plastic surgery. A near-fatal auto accident in 1957 changed his looks and sent him into drug and alcohol addiction. 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. After leaving a party organized by co-star Elizabeth Taylor in May 1956, Clift raced along a steep road before crashing. Many were sure to have played a macabre game of 'spot the difference,' gazing in terrified awe at the new face of Montgomery Clift. [28] Although filmed in 1946, the film was delayed release until August 1948. The story of Clift's devastating car crash varies somewhat from one account to the next. Elizabeth Taylor and Katharine Hepburn came to Clifts defense when the director tried to get rid of him. However, in 1962, Cliff had to sign up to play Sigmund Feud in Huston's biopic "Freud: The Secret Passion." He never met the family's most famous member, but he grew up regaled with stories, and with his father's immense collection of artefacts he had stockpiled on Monty. Luckily, over time, they clawed their way back to financial security. While filmingRaintree County, Clift attended a dinner party at Taylors housebut sadly, he didnt make it home in one piece. In the early 1950s, Barney Balaban (president of Paramount Pictures) invited Clift on one of the Balaban family vacations to Nassau, Bahamas. Instead, Clift enjoyed reading, filling his spare moments with Chekov and Aristotlediving into history, or learning about economics. He earned an Academy Award nomination for his work, displaying some of his old acting chops. Continued pain from his injuries led him to rely on alcohol and pills for relief as he had done after an earlier bout with dysentery left him with chronic intestinal problems. that benefits the victims. Montgomery Clift muri a los 45 aos por complicaciones de salud debidas a su adiccin al alcohol y a las drogas. Palgrave Macmillan, London. External Reviews His first two films were smashing successesand for veryimpressive reasons. [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]. Actress Marilyn Monroe even warned him never to work with Hutson, whom she described as a "sadist. Instead, he bided his time, and thankfully, luck was on his side. This was described as "a power differential that would go on to structure the starstudio relationship for the next 40 years". [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. [96], Clift supported Adlai Stevenson in the 1952 United States presidential election.[97]. Clift was driving a Chevrolet Bel Air sedan when the accident occurred. 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. (1936), Titled Marnie the Victor, in Clifts handwriting. That same year, he had a small but powerful role in "Judgment at Nuremberg," playing Polish man who testified during the Nazi trials about being sterilized, per the Los Angeles Times. news.AmoMama.com does not take responsibility for any action taken as a result of reading this article. Paramount executive Luigi Luraschi remembered that Taylor, just like many American teenagers, seemed "unmistakably in love" with Clift around the time of filming A Place in the Sun,[59] which commenced soon after their premiere outing. Above all, Clift was perpetually curious. [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. Also in 1951, Clift was for the first time cast as Tom in the radio world premiere of Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie, with Helen Hayes (Amanda) and Karl Malden (the Gentleman Caller), for The Theatre Guild on the Air.[25]. His father, William Brooks "Bill" Clift (18861964), was the vice-president of Omaha National Trust Company. [47] Director Stanley Kramer, later wrote in his memoirs that Clift "wasn't always close to the script, but whatever he said fitted in perfectly" and that he suggested Clift turn to Spencer Tracy to "ad lib something" when he struggled to remember his lines for his one scene. This image is titled Cheval et Marnie, in Clifts handwriting. [citation needed], Following a 15-minute funeral at St. James' Church on Madison Avenue in Manhattan, which was attended by 150 guests, including Lauren Bacall, Frank Sinatra, and Nancy Walker, Clift was buried in the Friends Quaker Cemetery, Prospect Park, Brooklyn. Determined to make it better, he made some key changesand they made allthe difference. Luckily, his isolated lifestyle gave him an advantage. does not take responsibility for any action taken as a result of reading this article. Years before, Clift had battled dysentery, which introduced him to the sinister side effects of pain management. [100] Underactive thyroids also raise cholesterol, which might have contributed to his heart disease. [43] He began to behave erratically in public, which embarrassed his friends. But when hedid get a hankering for a fun excursion, Clift knew exactly where he wanted to be. Montgomery Clift. Actor Montgomery Clift was born October 17, 1920, in Omaha, Nebraska. . During the first half of the 1950s Clift was considered one . Contact sheets from LIFE photographer Peter Stackpole's shoot on a Paramount lot with Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift in 1950. After midnight, shortly before 1:00a.m., James went to his own bedroom to sleep, without saying another word to Clift. Vintage Hollywood. His body was discovered by his assistant. 36, No. Horrified, James immediately called for help, but of course, it was already too late. Grasping at straws, the media decided to do what little they could to sensationalize the actors non-existent, One of Clifts closest friends was a woman named Myra Letts, and for the ruthless gossip columns, it wasnt a huge leap from friend to girlfriend. Clift didnt entertain this for a second and shot the sordid speculations down immediately, saying that there was zero intimacy between them: those romantic rumors are embarrassing to both of us.. Although hed only been away from Hollywood for four and a half years, the handsome Montgomery Clift looked incrediblyoldand the reason was downright heartbreaking. 51, No. 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. [95], Clift was also friends with Marlon Brando, who dropped by his home offering to accompany him to Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. news.AmoMama.com does not support or promote any kind of violence, self-harm, or abusive behavior. The film's success at the box office brought numerous awards for screenwriting and directing, but none for Clift himself. Hollywood began to see him as hostile and messy and frugal, and Clift wasnt having it. Nope. for The Theatre Guild on the Air. A four-time Academy Award nominee, he was known for his portrayal of "moody, sensitive young men", according to The New York Times.[1][2]. The next year, Taylor used her status to wrangle an acting part for Clift; she demanded that he be a part ofSuddenly, Last Summer.