After all, his leading lady was none other than the beguiling Elizabeth Taylor, and together, these two stars were pure fire. He would continue to act, but by the 1960's his career wasn't going well and he died prematurely at 45 suffering a heart attack most likely brought on by years of drug and alcohol abuse. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Cond Nast. PubMedGoogle Scholar, McNally, K. (2013). The accident severely damaged his face and many thought he wouldn't live. This image is titled Cheval et Marnie, in Clifts handwriting. The entire scene was extremely unsettling as Clift still wore his eyeglasses, and had his hands rigidly clenched. Universal Studios actuallysued him for the losses they incurred because of his troublesome behavior. Before the terrible incident, the star made a significant impact in the entertainment industry. Hollywood's Montgomery Clift, who was highly wanted for his diverse acting skill in the industry, kept the public entertained during his time. Contact sheets from LIFE photographer Peter Stackpole's shoot on a Paramount lot with Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift in 1950. These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. He finished Raintree County, although the segments of the film that were shot after his accident are painfully noticeable, with the left side of Clift's face almost entirely paralyzed and his injuries still only partially recovered, giving him a visible limp. In January 1963 Montgomery Clift made an uncharacteristic appearance on television to be interviewed on New York Herald Tribune columnist Hy Gardners show. [6] His mother was Ethel Fogg "Sunny" Clift (ne Anderson; 18881988). New Edition. He was only 45. Her interests include the European Renaissance, popular culture, and Internet history. Edward Montgomery Clift was born on October 17, 1920, in Omaha, Nebraska. In fact, his doctors considered it amazing that the actor had even pulled through. Something was seriously wrong. Clift was driving a Chevrolet Bel Air sedan when the accident occurred. Our credibility is the turbo-charged engine of our success. Clift reunited with Taylor for "Raintree County," a Civil war era romantic drama. But even the troubled blonde bombshell recognized that her co-star was in dire straits. 3. 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. Though Clift would survive, the accident necessitated plastic surgery on his face, which permanently changed his appearance. You see, when Clift sat down to read through the script for The Search,he was less than enthused with the writing. But right as filming began, he realized that hed made a terrible mistake. Violet-eyed siren Elizabeth Taylor and classically handsome Montgomery Clift were the most gorgeous screen couple of their time. Durham and London: Duke University Press. In one instant Montgomery Clift's life changed forever. Years later, I was using her phone when I made an utterly chilling discovery. Working with her was like going up and down on an escalator.. In a 1957 issue of McCalls magazine, Clift quipped, "My childhood was hobgoblin, my parents traveled a lotThats all I can remember."[15]. Dyer, Richard (1998) Stars. In order to get him the part, she had to offer up some kind of insurance, and this time, she put her own salary on the line. He also won a nomination for Best Actor. McCann, Graham (1991) Rebel Males: Clift, Brando and Dean. Si Hollywood (y l mismo) hubiese permitido a Montgomery Clift ser l mismo, su (breve) vida habra sido diferente. White, Susan (2011) A Surface Collaboration: Hitchcock and Performance, in Thomas Leitch and Leland Poague (eds), A Companion to Alfred Hitchcock. 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. Realizing that Clift was in mortal danger, McCarthy raced to the scene of the accident. Historys most fascinating stories and darkest secrets, delivered to your inbox daily. Clift's 'before' was a remarkable portrait of movie star beauty that established his image as a screen idol. A poor boy gets a job working for his rich uncle and ends up falling in love with two women. [100] Underactive thyroids also raise cholesterol, which might have contributed to his heart disease. He used them to numb his physical pain. 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. 51, No. [62] In a taped telephone conversation with his brother, Clift's mother stated she had known Clift was homosexual early on. Christine Tran is a history buff(ette) and media scholar. With unprecedented control over the projects he starred in, Clift agreed to do the romantic drama, The Heiress. [24] In January 1951, he participated in the episode "The Metal in the Moon" for the series Cavalcade of America, sponsored by the chemical company DuPont Company. We raise awareness about these issues to help potential victims seek professional counseling and prevent anyone from getting hurt. He and actor Kevin McCarthy later wrote a screenplay for a film adaptation that was never made. On July 22, 1966, Clift was in his New York City townhouse, located at 217 East 61st Street. 5, 114, Montgomery Clift: A Biography, Patricia Bosworth, 2012, List of actors with Academy Award nominations, List of actors with two or more Academy Award nominations in acting categories, List of LGBT Academy Award winners and nominees, "Montgomery Clift Dead at 45; Nominated 3 Times for Oscar; Completed Last Movie, 'The Defector,' in June Actor Began Career at Age 13", "Scandals of Classic Hollywood: The Long Suicide of Montgomery Clift", "Making Montgomery Clift: truth behind gay self-loathing myth". And even then, he didnt live a glamorous movie star existence. Naremore, James (1988) Acting in the Cinema. [93][94] In his memoir, Arthur Laurents suggests that Clift had a fling with Farley Granger. Vanity Fair may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. This was described as "a power differential that would go on to structure the starstudio relationship for the next 40 years". The information in this article is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. He described their relationship with fondness and kept taped film reels of Clift and the company of There Shall Be No Night enjoying leisure time together. [72] Clift and Robbins camouflaged their relationship by dating women. Moreover? Hollywood Cinema. Clift died in 1966. Concerned and unable to break the door down, James ran down to the back garden and climbed up a ladder to enter through the second-floor bedroom window. 2023 Springer Nature Switzerland AG. My mom never told me how her best friend died. 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. I am not one of Americas Angry Young Men. This page was last edited on 26 March 2023, at 00:06. In Clifts eyes, de Havilland imparted nothing of herself into the role. 36, No. After the car accident, Clift only took on a few more movie roles. . Votes: 23,513. Jared Leto, Doja Cat and More Pay Homage to Choupette, Karl Lagerfelds Cat and Heir, at the Met Gala 2023. Clift was willing to waive his fee entirely but accepted the supporting part with minimum compensation. Amy Lawrence, The Passion of Montgomery Clift, p. 13, Dance with demons: the life of Jerome Robbins by Lawrence, Greg, pp. And the cherry on top? When James offered to join him, the belligerent shot him down immediately, crying, Absolutely not.Sadly, this was Montgomery Clifts final interaction. It took Clift months to recover from his injuries. That year, Clift voted for Brando in A Streetcar Named Desire. Report Save Follow. Montgomery Clift was certainly one of a kind, and when he landed in Hollywood, it became extremely clear that he was going to do things his own way. Along with Marlon Brando and James Dean, Clift was considered one of the original method actors in Hollywood (though Clift distanced himself from the term); he was one of the first actors to be invited to study in the Actors Studio with Lee Strasberg and Elia Kazan. [96], Clift supported Adlai Stevenson in the 1952 United States presidential election.[97]. In his first film, Red River, Clift had the chance to play opposite the western superstar John Wayne. (1) Mann, William J. - Montgomery Clift; Peter Cook [panel] (Jan 20, 1963) What's My. LeMassena remained a close friend to Clift until his death. 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]. For the next nine years, Clift made nearly as many films after his traumatic car accident as he had previously. Whisked away to the morgue, Clifts body underwent an autopsy that shed some light on his sudden demise. [43] He began to behave erratically in public, which embarrassed his friends. Elizabeth Taylor stuck by her friends, and Montgomery Clift undoubtedly claimed a special spot in her heart. [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. [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. Were always looking for your input! The film's success at the box office brought numerous awards for screenwriting and directing, but none for Clift himself. In one of the most evocative treasures in the Clift papers at the N.Y.P.L., this black-page scrapbook, titled My Trip West, details Clifts Depression-era visit to the American West. And yet, the mystery persists. It wasn't long before he found his way to the big screen. Palgrave Macmillan, London. 3 (Fall): 89111. Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift in the 1951 film "A Place in the Sun" on 01 January, 1951 | Photo: Getty Images. In 1929, the Wall Street Crash hit Clifts father like a ton of bricks, and his mothers dreams disappeared in an instant. He naturally gravitated to the theater. Before,. He had a small non-paying role. He needed a lot of plastic surgery to repair his face, according to the Los Angeles Times. Suddenly, the Clift family was completely broke and had no choice to move to New York. In his one 12-minute cameo scene in Judgment at Nuremberg (1961), Clift played a developmentally disabled German baker who had been a victim of the Nazi sterilisation programme testifying at the Nuremberg trials. With Clift on board, Suddenly, Last Summer morphed into a verifiable mess. Midway through filming, Clift was in a near-fatal car accident. Austin, TX: University of Austin Press, 90101. The pieces of the puzzle dont quite fit. A studio portrait of Montgomery Clift before his accident on 01 January, 1940 | Photo: Getty Images. However, this changed after Clift's car accident that left his face in a terrible condition. All content, including text, and images contained on news.AmoMama.com, or available through news.AmoMama.com is for general information purposes only. Brando: The Men, Streetcar Named Desire, Viva Zapata. Luckily, over time, they clawed their way back to financial security. [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. His interests lay elsewhere. However, this was no quick fix. To Clift, however, he considered his humble home terrific.. He was one of Hollywoods most desirable leading men, but mystery shrouded his entire private life. Although hed only been away from Hollywood for four and a half years, the handsome Montgomery Clift looked incrediblyoldand the reason was downright heartbreaking. He told everyone that hed marry when he met the right girl, but that in the meantime, he was simply playing the field. Once, when questioned about his pastimes, he quipped, Yes, women. But where were they? In 1951, Clift embarked upon one of his most famous roles as George Eastman inA Place in the Sun. Farmer, Brett (2000) Spectacular Passions: Cinema, Fantasy, Gay Male Spectatorship. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell, 18197. Clift did the film without pay because he just wanted to tackle this character. After the success of 1953sFrom Here to Eternity, Montgomery Clift suddenly stopped making films. While his brother claimed that Clift was bisexual, writer Truman Capotes unpublished work alludes to Clifts gayness quite explicitly. Clift, of course, knew better. The Kafka photograph showed a shy, contemplative face with large dark eyes beautiful in a way; Clift's face, too, had been beautiful, until a nearfatal car accident changed it. 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. Actor. He apparently fell asleep at the wheel of his car while driving and smashed his car into a telephone pole. Suddenly, the Clift family was completely broke and had no choice to move to New York. Apparently, one of Clifts tooths had pierced his tongue, causing him to choke. But this wasnt the actors first time at the rodeo. You see, the reason behind Montgomery Clifts barren dating life was rather simple: He was gay. (1936), Titled Marnie the Victor, in Clifts handwriting. Hollywood began to see him as hostile and messy and frugal, and Clift wasnt having it. Following his fateful car accident, Montgomery Clift didn't just look different, his broken handsomeness now lending him an everyman quality; with the left side of his face left 'frozen' due to nerve damage, Clift compensated by becoming a performer reliant on gesture and expression through the eyes. The next morning, James returned to Clifts room to rouse him but found the door locked. Of course, Clifts words had always been futile in the face of Hollywood. User Ratings Instead, Clift enjoyed reading, filling his spare moments with Chekov and Aristotlediving into history, or learning about economics.