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]. He earned his first Academy Award nomination for best actor for "The Search," and yet "Red River" seems to be better remembered these days. Before the terrible incident, the star made a significant impact in the entertainment industry. (The director himself never met his famous uncle, having been born eight years after his death). BAFTA Awards 2023: The 19 Best-Dressed Stars. For him, the freedom to be selective about his roles was more important than money or fame. 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. Clift's naturalistic performance led to director Fred Zinnemann's being asked, "Where did you find a soldier who can act so well?" 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. After midnight, shortly before 1:00a.m., James went to his own bedroom to sleep, without saying another word to Clift. In one tape made by his father in the 1960s, we hear the stars mother tell him, with untroubled candor, that Monty was a homosexual early. 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". But, in general, his relationships with men had more to do with sex than with a deep emotional connection. 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. All rights reserved. In the Spotlight A critical and commercial success, the film was nominated for two Academy Awards.[29]. Clift's "Raintree Country" co-star Taylor remained with him at the accident scene and cradled his badly injured head till an ambulance arrived. He apparently fell asleep at the wheel of his car while driving and smashed his car into a telephone pole. BIPS // Getty Images Monty was also impressed with Elizabeth, at least physically. When he resumed filming on "Raintree County," he was a different man, one left in chronic pain because of the accident. The younger Clift serves the added role of narrator, voicing his journey to discover who the late actor really was, in contrast to what so many others have made him out to be. Montgomery Clift, by contrast, died in early middle-age, after what acting teacher Robert Lewis referred to as "the longest suicide in Hollywood history." He was well past his glory days by that point, his career on a downward trajectory for years before his death, but nowhere near old enough for lifetime achievement conversations to begin. Another adaptation of the novel had been filmed once before, as An American Tragedy, in 1931. A monthly influx of fashion close-ups, as interpreted by artists and photographers across the globe. Lawrence, Amy (2010) "The Passion of Montgomery Clift", Berkeley and Los Angeles, University of California Press. that benefits the victims. "[17] Clift spent a short time at the Dalton School in Manhattan but struggled with traditional schooling. After leaving a party at Elizabeth Taylor's house, he wrapped his car around a telephone pole . George Eastman (Montgomery Clift), the nephew of a wealthy industrialist, arrives in California in the hopes of making his way up in his uncle's company. [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. He is best remembered for his role as Private Robert E. Lee Prewitt in the 1953 film From Here to Eternity. No evidence was found that suggested foul play or suicide. Gardner recalled the 'rumours' of Clift's disfigurement following the car accident that occurred in May 1956 in the midst of filming for Raintree County (1957) as Clift drove away from a dinner party hosted by co-star Elizabeth Taylor. He used them to numb his physical pain. For decades, the star has been the subject of Hollywood gossip and speculation, and Robert Clift is determined to share his uncle's untold story. is for general information purposes only. Hollywood repeatedly came courting, but he put off offers for nearly a decade, even turning down roles in classic films like East of Eden and the co-lead in Sunset Boulevard. Over the next 10 years, he earned prominent roles in plays by Tennessee Williams and Thornton Wilder, opposite stars like Fredrick March and Tallulah Bankhead. Nevertheless, he showed no bitterness and remained one of Clift's loyal friends. 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. Still makes me weak in the knees. advocates for a healthy discussion about the instances of violence, abuse, sexual misconduct, animal cruelty, abuse etc. To help build their case, the film-makers had rare access to the actors archives, as well as to the familys story, courtesy of a special connection: the doc was co-directed by the stars nephew, Robert Clift, and his wife, Hillary Demmon. When they left, they got into their . Fred Zinnemann's "The Search" preceded "Red River" as his first film in 1948 and first Academy Award nomination. Isabella Rossellini, Zendaya, and more on Lancmes La Vie Est Belle, plus five new fragrances worthy of big-screen adaptations. Whether he was leaving from or arriving at Taylor's home, it is an undisputed fact that Clift drove his car into a telephone pole and suffered horrific injuries, including significant facial damage (via Vanity Fair). He was not worried [about being gay], Larson asserts in the film. He had a small non-paying role. [96], Clift supported Adlai Stevenson in the 1952 United States presidential election.[97]. After leaving a party at Taylor's house high in the Hollywood Hills and drowsy from two "downers" he'd taken before he left to help him sleep when he got home, Clift crashed into a telephone. Clift's life was derailed, however, by a terrible car accident in 1956. While the press assumed that Balaban and Clift were an item, Clift secretly dated British actor Roddy McDowall. He was a mere seedling of 45. A bout five years ago, filmmaking duo Robert Clift and Hillary Demmon Clift decided to make a documentary about Robert's long-dead uncle. He was the first shot fired in the revolution in stage and film acting that. 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. 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. Why not have a musical about Romeo and Juliet but make it with gangs in New York?' Clift was the subject of fascination by the character Vikar (James Franco) in the film Zeroville, which was shot in 2015 and released on September 20, 2019, in limited theaters, to largely negative reviews. Clift was only 45 years old when he died. During the interview, Gardner jokingly mentioned that it is "the first and last appearance on a television interview program for Montgomery Clift". The character has a tattoo of Mr. Clift and Elizabeth Taylor on his shaved head. Clift did not serve during World War II, having been given 4-F status after suffering dysentery in 1942. He and his co-star Olivia de Havilland made an appealing couple in this film adaptation of a Henry James novel. For us, it seemed there was this big difference between what people thought about Monty in the public sphere and what people that knew him would say, said Clift. 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. SAG Awards 2023: See the 34 Best-Dressed Stars. We believe that every person's story is important as it provides our community with an opportunity to feel a sense of belonging, share their hopes and dreams. He was born Edward Montgomery Clift on October 17, 1920. They went to London to see Laurence Olivier together, ate together, sat in front of the fire together, Clift said. Observers also point out that Clift had sexual relationships with women. Clift reunited with Taylor for "Raintree County," a Civil war era romantic drama. [100] Underactive thyroids also raise cholesterol, which might have contributed to his heart disease. Born Edward Montgomery Clift on October 17, 1920, in Omaha, Nebraska, he found his love of theater early on (via the Los Angeles Times). And Jack Larson suggests that Clift preferred his work after the accident. 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]. Montgomery Clift had the most earnest of faces: big, pleading eyes, a set jaw, and a side part that reminds you of old pictures of your granddad. Clift asserts that the actors use of alcohol and prescription drugs stemmed, primarily, from a near-fatal car accident in 1956. is also about him. For the next nine years, Clift made nearly as many films after his traumatic car accident as he had previously. [85][86] McDowall devoted himself to Clift entirely, and he moved from Los Angeles to New York to be closer to his idol. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Cond Nast. Clift was driving a Chevrolet Bel Air sedan when the accident occurred. The two starred in the 1961 film The Misfits; it would be Monroes last picture before her 1962 death. that benefits the victims. The accident permanently damaged his looks and health, and his fortunes were further eroded by his abuse of drugs and alcohol. [13][14] The Wall Street Crash of 1929 and the Great Depression of the 1930s ruined Clift's father financially; Bill was forced to downsize and move to Chicago to take a new job while Sunny continued traveling with the children. Clifts papers include several undated, intimate, tender images of a young Elizabeth Taylor with one of her sons. [76][77] He told Clift "I could make you love me," at the end of their two-year affair. 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