It was ironic his relationship with the bisexual middle-aged Holman would be the principal (and likely the last) heterosexual relationship of his life and only cause him further anguish over his sexuality. Luckily, his isolated lifestyle gave him an advantage. You see, the reason behind Montgomery Clifts barren dating life was rather simple: He was gay. They seem to have their stories all written out beforehand., Clifts private life was boringhe didnt date, he didnt flirt, he didnt hang out in public. Of course, as unusual as his lifestyle seemed, healso had a number of interesting routines. It was a flimsy speculation built on shaky evidence, but with no sign of any real lovemaking in Clifts life, it was all the fan magazines had. Hitchcock's I CONFESS (DVD, 1953); M CLIFT, A BAXTER. Sealed, new made. However, he became more comfortable with her and eventually found it easy to open up about his sexuality. You see, when Clift sat down to read through the script for The Search,he was less than enthused with the writing. Dazzling Facts About Elizabeth Taylor, The Queen Of Hollywood, Stabbed In The Back: These Real-Life Betrayals Are Straight Up Brutal, The Truth Always Comes Out: Dark Family Secrets Exposed, Plot Twist: These Surprise Endings Made Our Jaws Hit The Floor, These Ultra-Spoiled Brats Made Our Eyes Roll Into Our Heads. Clifts recuperation took months, and when he finally returned to set, there was more trouble afoot. A way into the 70s, there was more clarification to his sexuality. I do not count myself as a member of the ripped-sweatshirt fraternity. He wasnt a young rebel, an old rebel, a tired rebel, or a rebellious rebelall he cared about was re-creating a slice of life on the screen. After filming wrapped, she tracked him down and spat directly in his face. Montgomery Clift's Disastrous Car Wreck Changed His Career Forever cocksucker. Then, sweetly, wide-eyed with little girl navet, she Merv was a sexual predator who once tried to sexually assault Danny Terrio, then threatened to ruin his career if he talked. Contact sheets from LIFE photographer Peter Stackpoles shoot on a Paramount lot with Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift in 1950. Montgomery Clift spent a miserly 10 dollars a month on what his friends referred to as a beat up apartment. 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. Montgomery Clift | American actor | Britannica His own mother, in a voice recording played in Making Montgomery Clift, said, "Monty was a . He wasnt the only one who challenged such norms at the time. Tellingly, theyre always pitched under working titles like Beautiful Loser and' Tragic Beauty. He was one of Hollywoods most desirable leading men, but mystery shrouded his entire private life. From here on out, however, he plunged even further into his addiction. Yet Clift would come to hate the image that constrained him, just as he hated the suggestion that he was a slob, unfriendly, or loathed in Hollywood: after the story of his bare closet came out in the Saturday Evening Post, he worked arduously to set the record straight, underlining the ways in which publicity takes a kernel of the truth and expands it into legend. Marlon Brando: Portraits of a Charismatic Young Star, 1952, Marilyn, Arthur Miller and More: A Star Producers Spectacular Orbit. Once on stage, Clift truly came into his own. The documentary was released at the Los Angeles Film Festival and . She developed an intense decade-plus obsession over the young actor, even financing an experimental play, "Mexican Mural" for him. Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift in A Place in the Sun. It also stresses Clifts crucial role in changing the power balance between actors and studio chiefs in Hollywood, as well as the advancements he brought to film acting. Director: William Wyler | Stars: Olivia de Havilland, Montgomery Clift, Ralph Richardson, Miriam Hopkins Votes: 16,212 4. The film went on to win six Academy Awards, including Best Director and Best Screenplay, and is now hailed as a (flawed) classic. The revelation of his sexuality did not emerge until the 70s, when two high-profile biographers, one endorsed by his close confidants, revealed as much, rendering him a gay icon within the span of two years. He was the son of Ethel "Sunny" Anderson (Fogg; 1888-1988) and William Brooks Clift (1886-1964). 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. It turned into John Cassavetes' "Too Late Blues," with Bobby Darrin. His smashed face was rebuilt, he reconciled with his estranged father, but he continued bedeviled by dependency on drugs and his unrelenting guilt over his homosexuality.With his Hollywood career in an irreversible slide despite giving an occasional riveting performance, such as in Stanley Kramer's Judgment at Nuremberg (1961), Monty returned to New York and tried to slowly develop a somewhat more sensible lifestyle in his brownstone row house on East 61st Street in Manhattan. Montgomery Clift and Elizabeth Taylor during the filming of A Place in the Sun. 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. He was the son of Francis Preston Blair, elder brother of Francis Preston Blair Jr. and cousin of B. Gratz Brown . Page 20230228-006 | e-Edition | rdrnews.com By 1950, he was troubled with allergies and colitis (the U.S. Army had rejected him for military service in World War II for chronic diarrhea) and, along with pill problems, he was alcoholic. Montgomery Clift, in full Edward Montgomery Clift, (born October 17, 1920, Omaha, Neb., U.S.died July 23, 1966, New York, N.Y.), American motion-picture actor noted for the emotional depth and sense of vulnerability he brought to his roles. The decline continued. MONTY YOU WERE THE BEST!!! His mother wanted all of her children to be raised as distinguished aristocrats, and as such, little Clift and his siblings received an elite upbringing: private tutors, extensive travel, and language lessons. Indiscretion of an American Wife (1954) - Turner Classic Movies Montgomery Clift is American by birth. Who Is Montgomery Clift? - Facebook It has a good rating on IMDb: 6.2 stars out of 10. Help us build our profile of Marlon Brando! A portrait of Elizabeth Taylor And Montgomery Clift from the film "A Place In The Sun", 1951 | Photo: Getty Images. He still drank, but not as heavily. In the bathroom, James found Clift in his bathtub, undressed and obviously deceased. However, despite our best efforts, we sometimes miss the mark. . With Clift on board, Suddenly, Last Summer morphed into a verifiable mess. Taylor and Clift: Photos From the Set of A Place in the Sun. The entire scene was extremely unsettling as Clift still wore his eyeglasses, and had his hands rigidly clenched. ", A portrait of Montgomery Clift against a wooden backdrop on 01 January, 1948 | Photo: Getty mages. 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. Edward Montgomery Clift (; October 17, 1920 July 23, 1966) was an American actor. When The Heiresscame out, Clifts loyal fanatics came with their claws out and wrote vicious letters to Olivia de Havilland for rejecting Clifts character in the film. Unlike Rock Hudson, whose affairs were very nearly exposed to the entire nation by Confidential, Clift never made the pages of the scandal rags. And when it came to riotous parties, well, he avoided nightlife like the plague. But that wasnt the wildest part of the story. d-d-darling, I r-r-really wouldnt know. Of course, Clift didnt walk away unscathed either. Even if Clift himself was already spiraling out of control, playing a character that did the same only amplified the psychological toll. In 1929, the Wall Street Crash hit Clifts father like a ton of bricks, and his mothers dreams disappeared in an instant. Tellingly, theyre always pitched under working titles like Beautiful Loser and' Tragic Beauty. Unlike many of his handsome contemporaries, he never had a blonde bombshell hanging off his arm. "Indiscretion of an American Wife" romance and drama movie produced in Italy and USA and released in 1953. In this exclusive excerpt from her forthcoming book, Anne Helen Petersen recounts the actors lonely life, ferocious talent, and tragic decline. . 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. He looked about ten years older than the Montgomery Clift audiences remembered and adored. When The Heiress came out, Clift's loyal fanatics came with their claws out and wrote vicious letters to Olivia de Havilland for rejecting Clift's character in the film. Clift detested Waynes antiquated male constraints. A four-time Oscar nominee who died at 45, Montgomery Clift was a bright young talent, a tabloid fixture, and a posthumous gay icon. Montgomery Clift Hid His Sexuality for Years but Elizabeth - AmoMama 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. Edward Montgomery Clift (nicknamed 'Monty' his entire life) was born on October 17, 1920 in Omaha, Nebraska, just after his twin sister Roberta (1920-2014) and eighteen months after his brother Brooks Clift. Actor Montgomery Clift, 45, three times nominated for Academy Awards, died early Saturday of a heart attack in his plush East Side townhouse. Clifts early foray into acting led him to a Broadway debut in 1935. The director, Joseph Mankiewicz, was appalled by this wavering professionalismbut when he tried to fire Clift, two angels intervened. She continued to stand by his memory by supporting gay rights and speaking out against homophobia. He wanted to be a free agent, and he did it successfully. That was really frightening to see., Penn Badgley Loves His Wife Too Much to Do Sex Scenes in, I askedSera Gamble, the creator, Can I just do no more intimacy scenes? the former, Oscar-winning producer Dede Gardner looks back at her many groundbreaking awards darlings, from the triumph of. .. Between 1963 and 1966, he faded from public view, emerging only to film a final performance in the French spy thriller The Defector (1966). 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." Christine Tran is a history buff(ette) and media scholar. Clift was there, as were actors Kevin McCarthy and Rock Hudson, and Hudson's wife, Phyllis Gates, per Vanity Fair. When we do, we depend on our loyal, helpful readers to point out how we can do better. Montgomery Clift Hid His Sexuality for Years but Elizabeth Taylor Knew His Secret & Revealed It after His Death By Olowokandi Fiyin Aug 14, 2021 04:00 P.M. Montgomery Clift made a name for himself in Hollywood with several awards and nominations. She made it known that it all boiled down to love. Clift's brother would later come out to say that the actor was bisexual. The Search _ 1948 DVD Montgomery Clift Aline MacMahon Wendell Corey V Elizabeth Taylor stuck by her friends, and Montgomery Clift undoubtedly claimed a special spot in her heart. Contact sheet from LIFE photographer Peter Stackpoles shoot on a Paramount lot with Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift in 1950. He spent a great deal of time and money on psychiatry.In 1956, during filming of Raintree County (1957), he ran his Chevrolet into a tree after leaving a party at Elizabeth Taylor's; it was she who saved him from choking by pulling out two teeth lodged in his throat. To help build their case, the film-makers had rare access to the actors archives. Peace. Determined to make it better, he made some key changesand they made allthe difference. to add information, pictures and relationships, join in discussions and get credit for your contributions. Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift goofed around during a break in filming A Place in the Sun. What happened next has since become the stuff of Hollywood legend. . Clift wasn't one to hide a feeling, which made him a great actor and also a terrible straight man. While driving, he fell asleep at the wheel and the consequences were utterly gruesome. Allegedly, the director brought Clift on board, thinking hed be a soothing effect for Monroe. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights.