For somewhat mysterious reasons, Robert Clifts father Brooks taped endless conversations with his famous brother, as well as with their mother and other figures relevant to the story. He spent months in the hospital and had major plastic surgeries. A portrait of Montgomery Clift leaning on a fence with an intent expression before his accident on 01 January, 1950 | Photo: Getty Images. He starts in a blue-collar job in the factory, where he soon begins to date his co-worker Alice Tripp (Shelley Winters). In a new documentary, myths and assumptions about the Oscar-nominated heartthrob who struggled with his sexuality are replaced with the little-known truth. Clifts undated images depict a more mature Loy, with whom he starred in the 1958 film Lonelyhearts. When he resumed filming on "Raintree County," he was a different man, one left in chronic pain because of the accident. [23] In 1949, as part of the promotional campaign for the film The Heiress, he played Heathcliff in the one-hour version of Wuthering Heights for Ford Theatre. He earned an impressive four Academy Award nominations during his career. According to Clift biographer Patricia Bosworth, Taylor considered Clift her dearest friend, and he was unflinchingly loyal to her. [76][77] He told Clift "I could make you love me," at the end of their two-year affair. He still drank, but not as heavily. In this classic version of Theodore Dreiser's novel "An American Tragedy," George Eastman (Montgomery Clift), the nephew of a wealthy industrialist, is excluded from high society and given a blue . Kim Morgan writes in her not-to-be-missed essay on Clift: Clift' s eyes held secrets, and not merely the secrets we know about after discovering his real life. [20] Clift proved to be a successful young stage actor working with, among others, Dame May Whitty, Alla Nazimova, Mary Boland, Cornelia Otis Skinner, Fredric March, Tallulah Bankhead, Alfred Lunt, and Lynn Fontanne. Clift's next major films were "The Heiress" (1949) and "A Place in the Sun" (1951), cementing his romantic lead status. By the age of thirty, Montgomery Clift seemed to have everything: youth, beauty, talent, and the prospect of a lucrative film career with limitless possibilities. He was not worried [about being gay], Larson asserts in the film. Guided by the key biographies of Clift, they reliably parrot a narrative which paints the actor as a startlingly attractive and prodigiously gifted man who, according to one notably overheated tabloid TV show became a drug-addicted alcoholic living in a self-imposed hell because he had a secret he couldnt live with. Meeting veteran stage and screen actor Kevin McCarthy in a Hollywood restaurant was a thrilling experience. 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. On the evening of May 12, 1956, while filming Raintree County, Clift was involved in a serious auto accident when he smashed his car into a telephone pole after leaving a dinner party at the Beverly Hills home of his Raintree County co-star and close friend Elizabeth Taylor and her second husband, Michael Wilding. It is commonly believed that drug addiction was responsible for Clift's many health problems and his death. In "The Heiress" (1949), Clift took the role of romantic lead, playing up his charismatic good looks. This tragedy changed the course of his career and may have hastened his death a decade later. He had a holistic view.. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. We raise awareness about these issues to help potential victims seek professional counseling and prevent anyone from getting hurt. Fred Zinnemann's "The Search" preceded "Red River" as his first film in 1948 and first Academy Award nomination. In Making Montgomery Clift, the film-makers note that the actor made as many movies after the accident as before. 11:50 AM. He was only 45. Six Hollywood Stars on the Good Life, With a Nod to a Classic Perfume. During the filming of the movie in 1956, Taylor and her then-husband, Michael Wilding, had guests over for a party one night. Guided by the key biographies of Clift, they reliably parrot a narrative which paints the actor as a startlingly attractive and prodigiously gifted man who, according to one notably overheated tabloid TV show became a drug-addicted alcoholic living in a self-imposed hell because he had a secret he couldnt live with. Born in Omaha, Nebraska, just after his twin sister Roberta,. Clifts papers include several undated, intimate, tender images of a young Elizabeth Taylor with one of her sons. For the latter, Clift committed to building strength and endurance, jogging laps around Hollywood High School as well as learning how to imitate playing the bugle and reading sheet music from trumpeter Mannie Klein for the role of middleweight boxer and bugle-playing soldier Private Robert E. Lee Prewitt. Jan 30, 2016 - In 1956, Montgomery Clift checked into the Chateau Marmont to recuperate from a near-fatal automobile accident that occurred while he was in production on "Raintree County." The accident occurred as he was leaving a dinner party at the home of his co-star and close friend, Elizabeth Taylor, at the top of Tower Road in Beverly Another confidant said his personal life didnt bother him. [33], Clift's first film for Paramount was The Heiress (1949). [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. As the faded rodeo rider Perce Howland in The Misfits, his first, introductory scene performed inside of a phone booth only took two hours of the scheduled two shooting days which impressed cast and crew. While his mother, Ethel Fogg 'Sunny' Clift was your typical American homemaker. McDowall starred with Clift in his final picture, The Defector. He owed his life to his close friend Taylor, who immediately went to help him when she learned of the incident. Ah, Monty in just about anything (even after his face-scarring accident). In this film, Clift plays an ambitious fortune hunter who lands a job in his uncle's factory, dates (and impregnates) a fellow worker (played by a youthful Shelley Winters), but soon falls for Taylor's character - a rich, beautiful young woman well above his social station in life and ostensibly out of his reach. 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. To revisit this article, select My Account, thenView saved stories, Titled Refueling at Albuquerque, New Mexico, in Clifts handwriting. Clift received four Academy Award nominations during his career, three for Best Actor and one for Best Supporting Actor. A portrait of actor Montgomery Clift on 01 January, 1960 | Photo: Getty Images, Clift died at age 45 of a heart attack in his East Side townhouse. Edward Montgomery Clift (October 17, 1920 - July 23, 1966) was an American film and stage actor. 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]. 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. For such a small, slightly-built man Clift had an intensity and depth to his performance that could eclipse Brandoeven with all that actor's realistic improvisations, impressive physicality and "naturalistic body language." Clift and Brando, along with James Dean, were the three "Method" actors who revolutionized . The film received added media attention due to the rumors that Clift and co-star Elizabeth Taylor were dating in real life. Edward Montgomery Clift was born on October 17, 1920, in Omaha, Nebraska. Girelli, Elisabetta (2013) "Montgomery Clift Queer Star", Wayne University Press. He also talked publicly for the first time about his 1956 car accident, the injuries he received, and its aftereffects on his appearance. When they left, they got into their . news.AmoMama.com does not support or promote any kind of violence, self-harm, or abusive behavior. When I saw him entering his favorite restaurant Musso & Frank Grill, on Hollywood Boulevard, where he'd meet every Wednesday evening Karl Malden, Robert Wise, and a . It took Clift months to recover from his injuries. He insisted on performing his stunts himself, including swimming in the river Elbe in March. stamps montgomery clift before and after accident Top Rated | Most Relevant | Most Recent 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | >> | 250 These animated pictures were created using the Blingee free online photo editor. [43] He began to behave erratically in public, which embarrassed his friends. After midnight, shortly before 1:00a.m., James went to his own bedroom to sleep, without saying another word to Clift. Edward Montgomery Clift was born on October 17, 1920, in Omaha Nebraska. McCarthy had been driving in front of Clift when the crash occurred, and he thought that Clift had been killed. Clift is buried in the Quaker Cemetery in Prospect Park, Brooklyn. On July 22, 1966, Clift was in his New York City townhouse, located at 217 East 61st Street. Clift was there, as were actors Kevin McCarthy and Rock Hudson, and Hudson's wife, Phyllis Gates, per Vanity Fair. 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]. [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. [28] Although filmed in 1946, the film was delayed release until August 1948. A seeming exception was one in his final years with a man named Lorenzo who had been hired to help him. As to why Bosworth drew on the gay-self-hate narrative, and why that view took hold, the directors blame the homophobia of the time the book was written, in the 1970s. He represented the new wave of post-World War II actors who were handsome, intelligent, soft-spoken, introspective, and acted with intensity. It wasn't long before he made his way to New York City. He suffered a concussion, broken jaw, broken nose, fractured sinuses, fractured cheekbones, and several facial lacerations which required plastic surgery. As a result, Clift's health and physical appearance deteriorated. It was reported that Hutson was homophobic towards Clift after news of him being with a male reporter broke. After all, his book was based on his own wartime experiences in the US Army. [100] Underactive thyroids also raise cholesterol, which might have contributed to his heart disease. James then used the bedroom telephone to call some of Clift's personal physicians and the medical examiner's office before an ambulance arrived.[99]. After a two-month recovery period, Clift returned to the set to finish the film. Clift suffered from deep emotional problems, was sexually ambivalent, an alcohol and drug abuser. Then again, nothing about Clifts life was expected. The accident changed his appearance, and many biographers assumed Clift felt ruined by it and, so, drank more. She left him when one of his beatings made. He used them to numb his physical pain. Part of Clift's mother's effort was her determination that her children should be brought up in the style of true aristocrats. Working with her was like going up and down on an escalator.. [37] Clift had veered off one of the twisting hairpin turns and smashed into a telephone pole and the surrounding cliffside. The schedule for Reflections in a Golden Eye was then set for August 1966, but Clift died in July 1966. This page was last edited on 19 February 2023, at 06:50. He owed his life to his close friend Taylor, who immediately went to help him when she learned of the incident. It wasn't long before he found his way to the big screen. Posted on October 17, 2012 by sheila. He was in the middle of making "Raintree County," a movie that reunited him with his "A Place in the Sun" co-star Elizabeth Taylor, and his accident took place after Clift had been a guest at Taylor's Beverly Hills home. In fact, the attitudes he and his family held towards his relationships with men were strikingly modern. BIPS // Getty Images Monty was also impressed with Elizabeth, at least physically. Clift was driving a Chevrolet Bel Air sedan when the accident occurred. On the evening of May 12, 1956, while filming Raintree County, Clift was involved in a serious auto accident when he apparently fell asleep while driving and smashed his car into a telephone pole minutes after leaving a dinner party at the Beverly Hills home of his Raintree County co-star and close friend Elizabeth Taylor and her second husband, [93][94] In his memoir, Arthur Laurents suggests that Clift had a fling with Farley Granger. 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