[91][92] He was also involved with Donald Windham and his partner Sandy Campbell. After the car accident, Clift only took on a few more movie roles. [31] MGM distributed the film nationwide as magazines generated massive attention for Clift. The condition (among other things) lowers blood pressure; it could have caused Clift to appear drunk or drugged when he was sober. (Photo by Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images) Happy birthday to Montgomery Clift, who would have turned 97 today. 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 wasnt solely an actor, she said. The information in this article is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. After midnight, shortly before 1:00a.m., James went to his own bedroom to sleep, without saying another word to Clift. Edward Montgomery "Monty" Clift (/ m n t m r i /; October 17, 1920 - July 23, 1966) was an American actor.A four-time Academy Award nominee, The New York Times said he was known for his portrayal of "moody, sensitive young men". His 15 minute funeral was at attended by 150 mourners, including Lauren Bacall and Sinatra. He is best remembered for his roles in Howard Hawks's Red River (1948), George Stevens's A Place in the Sun (1951), Fred Zinnemann's From Here to Eternity (1953), Stanley Kramer's Judgment at Nuremberg (1961), and John Huston's The Misfits (1961). Clift would appear in one last film, The Defector, before dying, apparently in his sleep, in 1966, at the age of 45 a culmination of years of drug and alcohol abuse. 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 . Clift's second film role, though it premiered first that same year, was The Search which earned him his first nomination for an Academy Award for Best Actor. The actor died there on July 23, 1966, of an apparent heart attack. 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. It is commonly believed that drug addiction was responsible for Clift's many health problems and his death. Working with her was like going up and down on an escalator.. The song "The Right Profile" by the English punk rock band The Clash, from their album London Calling, is about the later life of Clift. He was born Edward Montgomery Clift on October 17, 1920. 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]. Clift asserts that the actors use of alcohol and prescription drugs stemmed, primarily, from a near-fatal car accident in 1956. In neon and stretch knits, dance straight on till morn. However, in 1962, Cliff had to sign up to play Sigmund Feud in Huston's biopic "Freud: The Secret Passion." 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. At the time, Clift was encouraged to hide his sexuality because it would destroy his career as a leading man in Hollywood. [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. Overall he ended up unhappy with his performance and left early during the film's premiere. kofender. In one instant Montgomery Clift's life changed forever. Here are some examples: Scenes filmed before the accident involving Montgomery 'Monty' Clift's character of John Wickliff Shawnessy:-Scene with his parents where his dad tells him he is related to Thomas Carlyle-First time John meets Flash Perkins-Photography scene (first time he meets Susannah)-Drinking scene with Flash Perkins-The race-The . Clift did not serve during World War II, having been given 4-F status after suffering dysentery in 1942. He was only 12 years old when he appeared in a production of "As Husbands Go" in Sarasota. Clift, who lived in Room 928 for three months while filming "From Here to Eternity" in 1952, was one of Hollywood's most appealing leading men, a slender Tom Cruise with edgy good looks. He had terrific roles in "The Misfits," "Confess," and he was last seen on screen in "Freud," which earned him his highest fee ever. The Misfits ran on television that night. Clift was recovering from a car accident during the movie's shoot (the actor was "dying on his feet," according to one biography), but Hepburn treated him with great kindness. At his best, Montgomery Clift was a better actor than Marlon Brando. A portrait of Montgomery Clift after his accident on 01 January, 1958 | Photo: Getty Images, After Clift's terrible car accident, the star faced some challenging moments in the movie industry. A critical and commercial success, the film was nominated for two Academy Awards.[29]. In addition to lingering effects of dysentery and chronic colitis, an underactive thyroid was later revealed during the autopsy. Place in the Sun. Clift, however, was so unsteady and unstable while filming "Freud" (1962) that his movie studio brought a lawsuit against him (via Vanity Fair). He had a small non-paying role. Clifts undated images depict a more mature Loy, with whom he starred in the 1958 film Lonelyhearts. And Jack Larson suggests that Clift preferred his work after the accident. Thus, as long as Clift's father was able to pay for it, he and his siblings were privately tutored, travelled extensively in America and Europe, became fluent in German and French, and led a protected life, sheltered from the destitution and communicable diseases which became legion following the First World War. Along with his friend and colleague Marlon Brando, Clift was the most visible and gifted of a new generation of movie star who'd been trained . The accident changed. George (Montgomery Clift) is an upwardly scrambling young man, embarrassed by his origins, dipping a toe in wealth's pool. A near-fatal auto accident in 1957 changed his looks and sent him into drug and alcohol addiction. He was not worried [about being gay], Larson asserts in the film. Observers also point out that Clift had sexual relationships with women. But, in general, his relationships with men had more to do with sex than with a deep emotional connection. [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. How to Be a Movie Star: Elizabeth Taylor in Hollywood. Clift's naturalistic performance led to director Fred Zinnemann's being asked, "Where did you find a soldier who can act so well?" His father, William Brooks "Bill" Clift (1886-1964), was the vice-president of Omaha National Trust Company. Inside, he found Clift dead: he was undressed, lying in his bed still wearing his eyeglasses and with both fists clenched by his side. He started out in films in the late 1940's and immediately made a name for himself with his good looks and emotionally raw performances. And Jerry said that he just couldn't get it out of his head. 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. Which gives that narrative a lot of traction. Clift declined, and that morning, at the age of 45, he was dead. He even appeared in the original production of Tennessee Williams' play "You Touched Me" (1945) (per Playbill). [61] Montgomery Clift informed his psychiatrist that he was homosexual and struggling to cope with it. This was described as "a power differential that would go on to structure the starstudio relationship for the next 40 years". He was a mere seedling of 45. Amy Lawrence, The Passion of Montgomery Clift, p. 13, Dance with demons: the life of Jerome Robbins by Lawrence, Greg, pp. Clift detested Waynes antiquated male constraints. No evidence was found that suggested foul play or suicide. It was taken in 1936. He said that he was with Monty at a party on Fire Island [and Clift said] 'I've got an idea for a musical. He is best remembered for his role as Private Robert E. Lee Prewitt in the 1953 film From Here to Eternity. It tells the story of a working-class young man who is entangled with two women: one who works in his wealthy uncle's factory, and the other a beautiful socialite. In 1964, he recorded for Caedmon Records The Glass Menagerie, with Jessica Tandy, Julie Harris, and David Wayne. Meeting veteran stage and screen actor Kevin McCarthy in a Hollywood restaurant was a thrilling experience. 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. This tragedy changed the course of his career and may have hastened his death a decade later. [87] It is said that McDowall took the breakup with Clift hard. Clift was driving a Chevrolet Bel Air sedan when the accident occurred. Audiences turned out to see the movie and to catch a glimpse of the before and after versions of Clift on the big screen. For him, the freedom to be selective about his roles was more important than money or fame. Clift first met Elizabeth Taylor in 1949, and she felt an immediate attraction to him, according to People magazine. He tended to funnel most of his energy into intense rehearsals with acting coach Mira Rostova who accompanied him on set. 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