who was montgomery clift wife

American actor Montgomery Clift was spectacular on the big screen for his portrayal of sensitive male characters. 2023 Cond Nast. The film-makers interviewed Bosworth extensively for the movie, but they contrast her words with old taped conversations she had with the actors brother. said: Oh. We want our readers to trust us. Some of the greatest celebrities of the day came out to mourn Clift at his funeral, including Lauren Bacall and Frank Sinatra. His perpetual question to himself, as he once scribbled in his journal, was, How to remain thin-skinned, vulnerable, and still alive? For Clift, the task proved impossible. Elizabeth Taylor (all of 17 years old) and Montgomery Clift posed together at Paramount Studios during a break in filming A Place in the Sun. In fact, Hepburn was so offended by Mankiewicz that she did something outrageous. and his wife, the former Ethel Fogg. About Of course, Clift didnt walk away unscathed either. Here was someone who was vulnerable and sensitive - and who actually listened to women.. 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. July 24, 1966 12 AM PT. Taylor immediately stuck her delicate, little hand down his throat and removed the obstruction. He gained excellent theatrical notices and soon piqued the interests of numerous lovelorn actresses; their advances met with awkward conflict. John Wayne and Montgomery Clift in Red River. All rights reserved. at the best online prices at eBay! "Monty," as his family called him, was the son of William Clift, a. 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. 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. What happened next is somewhat fuzzy: one version has Hudson pulling Clift from the car and Taylor cradling him in her arms, at which point Clift started choking and motioning to his throat, where, it soon became clear, two of his teeth had lodged themselves after coming loose during the accident. He used them to numb his physical pain. Before long, photographers began to descend on the gory scene. 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. While filmingRaintree County, Clift attended a dinner party at Taylors housebut sadly, he didnt make it home in one piece. Nobody wanted to deal with him anymore, and for four years, he couldnt land a single role. But he was handsome and beguiling on-screen, creating an appetite for confirmation of that same Clift off the screen. His decline was never explicitly evoked, but with his visage in Raintree County, it was there for all to see. I thought he was dead. He immediately returned to Taylors house to notify the party of the bloody disaster. 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." He still drank, but not as heavily. He wanted to be a free agent, and he did it successfully. Montgomery Clift and Marlon Brando were in a . The director, Joseph Mankiewicz, was appalled by this wavering professionalismbut when he tried to fire Clift, two angels intervened. Little did he know, he was always destined for something more. Woodbury Blair was the son of Montgomery Blair, after whom his great-grandson received his middle name, and wife Mary Elizabeth Woodbury, daughter of Levi Woodbury (1789-1851), United States Supreme Court, and wife Elizabeth Wendell Clapp. This made him an A-list actor and a multi-award-winning star. Clift and Hollywood icon Elizabeth Taylor first became acquainted when they played counterparts on George Stevens's "A Place in the Sun." Hailed as one of Hollywood's first true Method actors, Edward Montgomery Clift was born October 17, 1920, in Omaha, Nebraska. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Cond Nast. 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. Although hed only been away from Hollywood for four and a half years, the handsome Montgomery Clift looked incrediblyoldand the reason was downright heartbreaking. Please reach out to us to let us know what youre interested in reading. But the press will always be the press, and no amount of Montgomery Clifts ire could change that. And even more shocking? July 22, 1966, was a sweltering day in New York City, and Montgomery Clift had been languishing in his townhouse on 61st Street. 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. . Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift, Hollywood, 1950. . He worked on a summer production where his talents blossomed and it opened an auspicious doorone that would seal his fate forever. Not only are you not allowed to be smart, but you were not allowed to be funny in the 90s, the actor said of her career. . Nope. He wasnt the only one who challenged such norms at the time. Were not trying to give a definitive version of who Monty was, added Clift. The Big Lift (1950) Approved | 120 min | Drama, War 6.4 Rate Or, as Bosley Crowther, taking the populist slant in The New York Times, explained, the characters were amusing, but they were also shallow and inconsequential, and that is the dang-busted trouble with this film.. 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. Lancaster's . Picture 1 of 12 . So the fan magazines got creative: the August 1949 cover of Movieland, for example, featured a grinning, suited, respectable-looking Clift paired with the tantalizing headline Making Love the Clift Way. But when readers looked inside the magazine, all they found was a two-page spread of stills from The Heiress, featuring Clift in various stages of flirtation with Olivia de Havilland, extrapolating that Clifts kissing style was soft yet possessively brutal; pleading, but demanding all. You`ve being alwasy an inspiration for me. However, Clift soon realized that you cant always have your cake and eat it too. In his words, I learned that most writers dont need interviews to write about me. With Clift on board, Suddenly, Last Summer morphed into a verifiable mess. The Life and Sad Ending of Montgomery Clift The Life and Sad Ending 182K subscribers Subscribe 2.2K Share 106K views 2 years ago Mini bio of the life of actor Montgomery Clift who is. Some sources have the crash occurring when Clift was leaving the event, while others state he was on his way there. He was the son of Ethel "Sunny" Anderson (Fogg; 1888-1988) and William Brooks Clift (1886-1964). to add information, pictures and relationships, join in discussions and get credit for your contributions. According to two A-list biographers, the late star was gay. Even if Clift himself was already spiraling out of control, playing a character that did the same only amplified the psychological toll. Clift couldnt get through longer scenes, having to split them up into two or three chunks. 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. To revist this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories. But the drama didn't end there. Just look at the fan magazine titles: Making Love the Clift Way, Two Loves Has Monty, Montgomery Clifts Tragic Love Story, Is It True What They Say About Monty? Who Is Monty Kidding? Hes Travelin Light, The Lurid Love Life of Montgomery Clift, and, perhaps most flagrantly, Monty Clift: Woman Hater or Free Soul?. She once lovingly described how she was in awe of the star actor's perfect facial features. Taped interviews with his brother reveal that the actor felt those roles werent quite right for him and he didnt want to make the wrong first impression. In 1966, Clifts stalwart friend, Elizabeth Taylor, came to his aid once again and managed to get him a part in Reflections in a Golden Eye. But the producer, Sam Spiegel, decided to go forward, no matter the risk. What finally brought him back to the screen? Director Joseph Mankiewicz tried to replace Clift, but Taylor and co-star Katharine Hepburn defended and supported him. Elizabeth Taylor and Katharine Hepburn came to Clifts defense when the director tried to get rid of him. Montgomery Blair. Over the next decade, the burgeoning actor dug his heels in and made a name for himself on the stage. It was reported that Taylor even tried to help him find a partner. A young naive woman falls for a handsome young man who her emotionally abusive father suspects is a fortune hunter. d-d-darling, I r-r-really wouldnt know. "Indiscretion of an American Wife" romance and drama movie produced in Italy and USA and released in 1953. He was only 15 years old, but this wasnt just a fun pastimeit was serious business. He was set to play in Taylor's Reflections in a Golden Eye (1967), when he died in the early morning hours of July 23, 1966, at his home at age 45. The director, John Huston, supposedly brought in Clift because he thought hed have a soothing effect on Monroe, who was deeply embroiled in her own addictions, with her own personal demons. 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. Monty brought a different masculinity to the screen, said Demmon. He had a close friendship with a woman named Myra Letts, whom the gossip columnists tried arduously to frame as a love interest. Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift in A Place in the Sun. Montgomery Clift and Elizabeth Taylor in A Place in the Sun. Randy Chrisley Is Todd Chrisley's Brother Who Was Diagnosed with Cancer in 2014, Johnny Depp's Weight Gain & Changes in Appearance over the Years, 'Whos the Boss? Montgomery Clift | 20 Gay Hollywood Legends | Purple Clover "I love men in bed, but I really love women," Montgomery Clift is quoted as saying in a 1978 biography. It is a feature-length film with a runtime of 1h 3min. Indiscretion of an American Wife 1953, 1h 3min - Romance , Drama Jennifer Jones is the American housewife on vacation in Italy who must choose between returning home to her husband and family in Philadelphia or her romance with an Italian academic played by Montgomery Clift. Born Edward Montgomery Clift on Oct. 17, 1920 in Omaha, NE, he was the son of Ethel Fogg and William Brooks Clift, a successful Wall Street stockbroker. Montgomery Clift made a name for himself in Hollywood with several awards and nominations. After filming wrapped, she tracked him down and spat directly in his face. William Brooks Clift (Was A Vice-President Of Omaha National Trust Company. There were even speculations that he was warned about being gay. While he never excelled at school, his extraordinary abilities as an actor showed early. From the start, Clift was framed as a rebel and an individual. 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 was one of Hollywoods most desirable leading men, but mystery shrouded his entire private life. Heres A Mystery: Why Did Arthur Conan Doyles Son Dress Up Like a Knight? The subject matter, which involved him assisting in the cover-up of a dead mans apparent homosexuality, must have sparked mixed emotions. When he first arrived in Hollywood, he didnt sign a contract, waiting until after the success of his first two films to negotiate a three-picture deal with Paramount that allowed him total discretion over projects. His father made a lot of money in banking but was quite poor during the depression. Carlo Fiore and Marlon Brando were in . Montgomery Clift didnt need much to keep himself happy and entertained. Fed up with the script, Clift desperately wanted to change her lines, saying, She isnt giving me enough to respond [to]. Of course, poor de Havilland soon had more than just her prickly love interest to contend with. 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. He was the son of Francis Preston Blair, elder brother of Francis Preston Blair Jr. and cousin of B. Gratz Brown . Please submit feedback to contribute@factinate.com. You see, Clift wasnt just a pretty face, he also had a bunch of quirks that made him incredibly singular in comparison to other leading men. It was unheard of, especially for a young star, but it was a sellers market. Clift, however, lived a two-faceted life concerning his sexuality. A portrait of Montgomery Clift acting as Matt Garth in the western film "Red River" on 01 January, 1948 | Photo: Getty Images. Clift was nominated for awards . Montgomery Clift was an undeniably attractive man, and before long, he'd cultivated a rather passionate female fan base. Factinate is a fact website that is dedicated to finding and sharing fun facts about science, history, animals, films, people, and much more. Clift detested Waynes antiquated male constraints. Whether he liked it or not, they were out for a storyAnd the one they wanted above all? He was, in his words, nothing more than an ordinary, second-class wolf., These anecdotes, and dozens like them, would establish Clift, along with Brando, as the embodiment of 50s youth culture, rebelling against conformity and all that postwar Americans were supposed to embrace. The next morning, James returned to Clifts room to rouse him but found the door locked. Regardless of the veracity of this story, one thing remains true: theres not a single picture of Clifts broken face. Even his diet was rather spartan: orange juice, steak, and eggs. Clift once said, The closer we come to the negative, to death, the more we blossom. He took himself to that precipice, but he fell straight in. I tried to get my ex-wife served with divorce papers. He believed that the media often, and easily, twisted the truth until it disappeared entirely: I learned that most writers dont need interviews to write about me. The entire experience had a cursed tinge to it, and before long, it left disaster in its wake. Montgomery Clift spent a miserly 10 dollars a month on what his friends referred to as a beat up apartment. (1950), (originally written specifically for him; the story perhaps hitting a little too close to home) and High Noon (1952).His long apprenticeship on stage made him a thoroughly accomplished actor, notable for the intensity with which he researched and approached his roles. But the troubled star. Throughout filming, members of the crew came up with code words to alert everyone about the lead actors level of intoxication. Taylor had married British actor Michael Wilding in 1952, but by 1956, their marriage was in decline. 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. Of course, by this time, Clifts drinking problems werent much of a secret, making him a liability to the studio. Taylor, caught up in filming with Richard Burton in Paris, sent flowers to the funeral. He is most remembered for A Place In The Sun (1951) & From Here To Eternity (1953).. His zodiac sign is Libra. For over 30 years, scripts have floated around Hollywood promising to tell the story of Montgomery Clift, one of the most innovative and handsome actors in history. But that wasnt the wildest part of the story. Taylor, at last free from her long-standing contract with MGM, next used her power as the biggest star in Hollywood to insist that Clift be cast in her new project, Suddenly, Last Summer (1959). Unlike many of his handsome contemporaries, he never had a blonde bombshell hanging off his arm. 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, he helped delineate a new paradigm for American cinematic heroes. Clift wasn't one to hide a feeling, which made him a great actor and also a terrible straight man. In fact, after the lovers have been separated for good and the young man is in the death house [Clifts character murders Winters after getting her pregnant], the face of the girl comes floating in via double exposure to give him a last unsubstantial peck before he goes out to be executed. During the peak period of his career, the actor and some Hollywood friends were returning from a party held at Taylor's home. The long suicide was complete. Jennifer Jones (Actor), Montgomery Clift (Actor), Vittorio De Sica (Director) Format: DVD 127 ratings IMDb 6.2/10.0 $797 Prime Video $0.99 $2.99 Blu-ray $14.99 DVD $7.97 VHS Tape $4.73 See More Frequently bought together + + Total price: $27.95 Add all three to Cart Some of these items ship sooner than the others. Clift's last 10 years prior to his death from his 1956 car accident were called the "longest suicide in history" by famed acting teacher Robert Lewis. .. But Clifts rebuttal was firm, emphasizing that they were neither in love nor engagedtheyd known each other for 10 years, she helped him with his work, and those romantic rumors are embarrassing to both of us. He was also close with stage actress Libby Holman, 16 years his senior, who had become a notorious feature in the gossip columns following the suspicious death of her wealthy husband, rumors of lesbianism, and her general practice of dating younger men. But this wasnt the actors first time at the rodeo. Montgomery Clift girlfriend, wife list. This showed in his consciousness of being seen as feminine in any way. The old Hollywood system was breaking apart and he was a major part of that., The first role Clift took, opposite John Wayne in Red River in 1948, offered a stark contrast in masculine presentations. Sadly, his greatest friend Elizabeth Taylor could only send flowers from Rome. 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. A wild exclusive excerpt from the new book, Oscars 2023: Yes, Some Awards Movies Flopped, but Art Matters, How in the F--k Does Anyone Live Here?: Bret Easton Ellis on Life, Art, and What the Hell Happened to Manhattan, Todd Field on 2 Decades of Oscar Campaigns, From, I didnt realize the deadly minefield of a campaign season, the Oscar nominee says in a career-spanning interview. In the face of such criticism, Clift went ahead and confused the gossip columns even more. The truth didnt come out until the 70s. Lorenzo was one of the reasons.. Then again, nothing about Clifts life was expected. 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. In all honesty, his face wasnt horribly changed at all, but there was one shocking difference. Merv was a sexual predator who once tried to sexually assault Danny Terrio, then threatened to ruin his career if he talked. Contact sheet from LIFE photographer Peter Stackpoles shoot on a Paramount lot with Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift in 1950. He could watch the real grit of humanity play out before himthe court a stage for some of the most sensational high-profile cases. In 1925 Theodore Dreiser [told such a tale in his] long, oppressively powerful novel, An American Tragedy, which in turn made only a fair movie in 1931. It hardly helped lend nuance to that reading that Clift was a well-known and long-time abuser of pain killers and alcohol, actions which likely sped his death from a heart attack at 45 in 1966. Determined to keep his gayness under wraps, Clift made sure that his masculine facade shone onscreen. INDISCRETION OF AN AMERICAN WIFE 1953 DVD PUBLIC DOMAIN FILM MONTGOMERY CLIFT. Years later, I was using her phone when I made an utterly chilling discovery. Absolutely stunning. Please let us know if a fact weve published is inaccurate (or even if you just suspect its inaccurate) by reaching out to us at contribute@factinate.com. That secret, depending on your source, was that Clift was gay or bisexual. Which gives that narrative a lot of traction. But Clift knew the film would be a smash, if only because audiences would want to compare his long unseen face from before and after the accident. 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. His image was, more than anything else, confusingunmalleable to Hollywoods preexisting star categories. However, the filming of The Misfits had a shadow lurking over it. RIP GEORGOUS MONTY. 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. Indiscretion of an American Wife 1953, 1h 3min - Romance , Drama Jennifer Jones is the American housewife on vacation in Italy who must choose between returning home to her husband and family in Philadelphia or her romance with an Italian academic played by Montgomery Clift. Sumner Redstone in Love: The Cringey Sexcapades of a Horny Billionaire, The elderly media titan flexed his MTV ownership, rang his grandson at 3 a.m. for hookups with new women, and rewarded companions with stock options and TV shows. As he lay wounded in the arms of his dear friend, Clift began choking and pointing to his throat. Montgomery Clift and Elizabeth Taylor during the filming of A Place in the Sun. But when he climbed into the room, he discovered something absolutely gut-wrenching. Still, his second venture was perhaps even more of an impressive feat. Elizabeth Taylor at Paramount Studios, 1950. cocksucker, isnt he, Tallulah? Miss Bankhead said: Well, But this was only the beginning. And even then, he didnt live a glamorous movie star existence. When we do, we depend on our loyal, helpful readers to point out how we can do better. She made it known that it all boiled down to love. Clift was so protective of Holman that when offered the plum role of the male lead in Sunset Boulevard, he turned it downreportedly to avoid any suggestion that Libby Holman was his own delusional Norma Desmond, using a handsome young man to pursue her lost stardom.

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