who was montgomery clift wife
More, it analyzes the new view of masculine beauty he helped introduce to the screen. Want to tell us to write facts on a topic? 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. He called it as he saw it, describing himself as an ordinary, second-class wolf.. While driving, he fell asleep at the wheel and the consequences were utterly gruesome. It wasnt until years after his tragic passing that Clifts darkest secret finally came out. Montgomery Clift girlfriend, wife list. 3.80. 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." But when he climbed into the room, he discovered something absolutely gut-wrenching. RIP GEORGOUS MONTY. They took a risk on the troubled actorand it endedbadly. is the hero of a long, oppressively powerful movie called A Place in the Sun. Directed by George Stevens for Paramount, it gives three young actors [Shelley Winters brilliantly played the poor girl] the chance to give the most natural performances of their careers. 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. Whether platonic or not, these two actors shared an undeniable bond that was undeniably strengthened by this one unfortunate event. Clift detested Waynes antiquated male constraints. 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. Horrified, James immediately called for help, but of course, it was already too late. According to two A-list biographers, the late star was gay. His parents were Quakers and met as students at Cornell University, marrying in 1914. What a pity hes a But the press will always be the press, and no amount of Montgomery Clifts ire could change that. 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. Your suggestions can be as general or specific as you like, from Life to Compact Cars and Trucks to A Subspecies of Capybara Called Hydrochoerus Isthmius. Well get our writers on it because we want to create articles on the topics youre interested in. 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. But just as Clift dove into this exciting new chapter, an unforeseen tragedy changedeverything. But the drama didnt end there. For Clift, The Heiress was a mess from top to bottom, and he even walked out on the films premiere, disgusted with his own performance. When Clift became a household name in the movie industry, his romantic life became a widely-discussed subject by the press. But this was only the beginning. In truth, his face wasnt truly disfigured. Making distraction rewarding since 2017. Directors Robert Anderson Clift Hillary Demmon Writers Robert Anderson Clift Hillary Demmon Stars He was a great talent but the male counterpart to Monroe, lonely, sad, and pitiful. Clift was nominated for awards . He surely wasnt a suave Prince Charming, and yet, on-screen, he was a downright masterpiece. He has a ghastly, shattered expression. And it wasnt just in private record: in October 1956, Louella Parsons reported on Clifts very bad health and Holmans attempts to clean him up. / Montys face is broken on a wheel. A seeming exception was one in his final years with a man named Lorenzo who had been hired to help him. Moreover? Oh dear. She developed an intense decade-plus obsession over the young actor, even financing an experimental play, "Mexican Mural" for him. Of course, as unusual as his lifestyle seemed, healso had a number of interesting routines. Montgomery Clift (1920-1966) is one of the most tragic figures in Hollywood history. Sadly, his greatest friend Elizabeth Taylor could only send flowers from Rome. It was reported that Taylor even tried to help him find a partner. Grasping at straws, the media decided to do what little they could to sensationalize the actors non-existent, One of Clifts closest friends was a woman named Myra Letts, and for the ruthless gossip columns, it wasnt a huge leap from friend to girlfriend. Clift didnt entertain this for a second and shot the sordid speculations down immediately, saying that there was zero intimacy between them: those romantic rumors are embarrassing to both of us.. All rights reserved. When James offered to join him, the belligerent shot him down immediately, crying, Absolutely not.Sadly, this was Montgomery Clifts final interaction. Indiscretion Of An American Wife -- (Movie Clip) Open, Rome High-wattage credits in unusual combination, from David O. Selznick's short feature Indiscretion Of An American Wife, 1954, starring Jennifer Jones and Montgomery Clift, directed by Vittorio De Sica, dialogue by Truman Capote. There are a few versions that detail the aftermath of Clifts accident, but one has all the drama of a motion picture itself. July 22, 1966, was a sweltering day in New York City, and Montgomery Clift had been languishing in his townhouse on 61st Street. (He never won an Academy Award, although most movie aficionados feel he deserved at least one, for his unforgettable turn as the tortured Robert E. Lee Prewitt in From Here to Eternity.). Her interests include the European Renaissance, popular culture, and Internet history. For example, in 1956 Taylor likely saved Clifts life when, after he crashed his car leaving a party at her home, she raced to the wreck and literally pulled from his mouth broken teeth on which he had begun to choke. Determined to make it better, he made some key changesand they made allthe difference. But when his nephew dives into the family archives, a much more complicated picture emerges. Lorenzo came into the picture when Monty was at his lowest. But the producer, Sam Spiegel, decided to go forward, no matter the risk. Can he still feel?). That secret, depending on your source, was that Clift was gay or bisexual. I do not count myself as a member of the ripped-sweatshirt fraternity.. Montgomery Clift later resided in . I mean, he is a When the duo finally met in Stevens' office, it was pretty magical for Taylor. He wasnt solely an actor, she said. This was entertainment at its finest. Sal Mineo and Montgomery Clift had a relationship Montgomery Clift is rumored to have hooked up with Paul Newman Henry Willson and Montgomery Clift had a relationship Jack Larson and Montgomery Clift had a relationship William LeMassena and Montgomery Clift had a relationship Montgomery Clift and Libby Holman had a relationship Maurice Leonard and Montgomery Clift had a relationship Arnold Saint Subber and Montgomery Clift had a relationship Montgomery Clift had an encounter with Marlon Brando shared a link: https://www.allmovie.com/artist/montgomery-clift-p13682, I never used to like him until I saw 'The Heiress' he really was gorgeous, it's such a shame his life was unhappy. Part of honoring someone is being open to that person not being just one, reductive thing., Making Montgomery Clift is showing at NewFest with a release date yet to be announced, Tab Hunter: how Hollywood's boy next door became a gay icon, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. Even his diet was rather spartan: orange juice, steak, and eggs. 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. Still, unlike other notable gay actors, any affairs Montgomery Clift had were secured behind a lock and key. Allegedly, the director brought Clift on board, thinking hed be a soothing effect for Monroe. Montgomery Clift was in relationships with Sal Mineo, Paul Newman, Henry Willson, Jack Larson, William LeMassena, Libby Holman, Maurice Leonard and Arnold Saint Subber. . Observers also point out that Clift had sexual relationships with women. Some believe that Clifts romantic leanings were much less of a secret than originally thought. Indiscrecin de una esposa: Dirigido por Vittorio De Sica. This year the young man . By the time they shared the screen together for the first time, in the classic murder-romance-melodrama, A Place in the Sun (1951), both were bona fide box-office draws: Taylor had been onscreen since she was 10, and Clift a soulful, introverted Method actor who influenced countless others who came after him had already garnered the first of his four career Oscar nominations. On the set of 1958sLonelyhearts,Clift had a message for those that tried to fit him into a box. If you have a story that tracks along that line, that will feel true to people. It wasnt until years after his tragic passing that Clifts darkest secret finally came out. But after an initial flurry of coverage, he retreated from public view entirely. He also detested the man. But when hedid get a hankering for a fun excursion, Clift knew exactly where he wanted to be. And yet, the mystery persists. 2023 Cond Nast. When he came to visit storied fan-magazine author Elsa Maxwell at her home, she had her maid darn the elbow in his jacket. It was also a dark, melancholy film: as a review in Variety pointed out, the complex mass of introspective conflicts, symbolic parallels, and motivational contradictions was so nuanced as to seriously confound general audiences, who were likely unable to cope with the philosophical undercurrents of the Arthur Miller script. Not only did he rarely go out in public, but he also didnt date. In Montgomery Clift: A Biography, author Patricia Bosworth describes Monty's father Bill as passive, good-natured, and very dependent on his charismatic wife, Sunny. He pointed out that she just let the director determine her every move. She would wield considerable influence over the early part of his film career, advising him in decisions to decline lead roles in Sunset Blvd. Nothing could have prepared him for what he discovered. When he read the story that criticized his bare-bones wardrobe, the scandalized actor lashed out with a biting response. He still drank, but not as heavily. But that didnt mean that the gossip press didnt hint at something different, something queer, in the broadest sense of the word, about him. 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. 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. Lorenzo was one of the reasons.. We bring you all the headlines and gossip in one place! Director Joseph Mankiewicz tried to replace Clift, but Taylor and co-star Katharine Hepburn defended and supported him. Contemporaries like James Dean and Marlon Brando also did. As his eyes drifted closed, Clift suddenly veered off the road and drove straight into a telephone pole. He also won a nomination for Best Actor. At the end of the day, Clifts private nurse Lorenzo James checked in on him just after midnight. The decline continued. Taylor had married British actor Michael Wilding in 1952, but by 1956, their marriage was in decline. When we do, we depend on our loyal, helpful readers to point out how we can do better. "Bobby was a very fine actor, but as you can imagine, he was no Montgomery Clift," she said. MONTY YOU WERE THE BEST!!! Clift gained actual scars from some filming mishaps. .. ), Elizabeth Taylor, Roddy McDowell, Dean Martin, Kevin McCarthy, Marilyn Monroe, Jennifer Jones, Libby Holman, Thornton Wilder, Salka Viertel, Stewart Granger, Jack Larson, Oscar Levant, Pilar Levi, Giuseppe Perrone, Fred Zinnemann, Frank Sinatra, Burt Lancaster, Deborah Kerr, Abigail Tommye Adams. . Montgomery Clift and Marlon Brando were in a . A four-time Academy Award nominee, The New York Times said he was known for his portrayal of "moody, sensitive young men". I wanted to figure out why there was such a difference., A deep trove of never-before-revealed evidence makes that disparity bracingly clear. 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. He advanced a collaborative approach with his directors, working over scripts and making suggestions for edits. His injuries included a broken nose and jaw, a fractured sinus, and deep cuts across his face that called for extensive plastic surgery. 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. 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. William Brooks Clift (Was A Vice-President Of Omaha National Trust Company. Christine Tran is a history buff(ette) and media scholar. Whisked away to the morgue, Clifts body underwent an autopsy that shed some light on his sudden demise. (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. Many Hollywood stars have committed versions of the long suicide. 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. I tried to get my ex-wife served with divorce papers. Eyebrows were raised when the actor shared in an article he authored that he liked it "lonely. 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. Taylor immediately stuck her delicate, little hand down his throat and removed the obstruction. He wanted to be a free agent, and he did it successfully. But the troubled star. To Clift, however, he considered his humble home terrific.. A Place In The Sun (1951) & From Here To Eternity (1953). Ex-lover Larson said in the film that Clift actually preferred his work after the accident to his performances before. Unlike many of his handsome contemporaries, he never had a blonde bombshell hanging off his arm. He had a holistic view.. Montgomery Clift 39 30. This made him an A-list actor and a multi-award-winning star. They went to London to see Laurence Olivier together, ate together, sat in front of the fire together, Clift said. Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift, Hollywood, 1950. Over the next decade, the burgeoning actor dug his heels in and made a name for himself on the stage. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for The Search _ 1948 DVD Montgomery Clift Aline MacMahon Wendell Corey V Rare at the best online prices at eBay! But her heroism didnt end there. One infamous fact about Montgomery Clift is that he only owned one suit. He knew that people would flock to the cinema just to see his damaged face. Contact sheets from LIFE photographer Peter Stackpole's shoot on a Paramount lot with Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift in 1950. Teach, I loved the way how he played in A Place in the Sun. Every actor was in the midst of fighting their own demons. He read books about Montgomery Clift and James Dean, and credited seeing "Taxi Driver" at age 13 with fueling his desire to be in movies. Sal Mineo and Montgomery Clift were in a rela Montgomery Clift and Paul Newman were rumored Henry Willson and Montgomery Clift were in a Jack Larson and Montgomery Clift were in a re William LeMassena and Montgomery Clift were i Montgomery Clift and Libby Holman were in a r Maurice Leonard and Montgomery Clift are sepa Arnold Saint Subber and Montgomery Clift were Montgomery Clift and Marlon Brando were in a Heart attack (brought on by "occlusive coronary artery disease"), Friends Quaker Cemetery, Prospect Park, Brooklyn, Kings County (Brooklyn), New York City, New York, USA. He insisted on maintaining his residence in New York, spending as little time in Hollywood as possible. Upon closer inspection, Clifts career reveals notable clues as to who he genuinely was and the private struggles he faced. 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). They were even called the most beautiful couple in Hollywood. As hard as the press tried, they couldnt seem to breathe life into this nonexistent romance. Until it sinks into a sentimental quagmire the end, the second movie excels first in being remarkably faithful to Dreisers tale of three pitiful youngsters and in telling the story with the same earnestness and breadth that have made the novel survive as a classic. His other side was mostly hidden and only became widely known after he passed on, thanks to his friend and colleague Elizabeth Taylor. Many of the myths surrounding Clift sprang from two biographies: a salacious one by Robert Laguardia and another flawed work by Patricia Bosworth, titled A Life. Copyright 2023 by Factinate.com. . 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. 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. He could watch the real grit of humanity play out before himthe court a stage for some of the most sensational high-profile cases. It was, however, much olderby the time Raintree County made its way to theaters, hed been off the screen for four and a half years. (1936), Ghostwriting Gloria Swanson: The Strange, Sexually Charged Genesis of a Legendary Autobiography, A New Power Generation: Radhika Jones Introduces the 2023 Hollywood Issue, Salma Hayek Pinault Explains How She Got Hollywood to Stop Typecasting Her as Sexy. Help us build our profile of Marlon Brando! The view then about queer people was that they would be inherently conflicted or tormented about their sexuality, said Demmon. . Even if Clift himself was already spiraling out of control, playing a character that did the same only amplified the psychological toll. 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. . Author Christopher Isherwood aptly illustrated Montgomery Clifts shocking transformation: Nearly all his good looks are goneHe has a ghastly, shattered expression. But remember, Clift was never one to dwell on his looks, and it must have been frustrating that everyone else cared so much. His own mother, in a voice recording played in Making Montgomery Clift, said, "Monty was a . He was lonely, yet with the help of his refusal to live in Los Angeles or participate in caf society, he was able to keep his private life private. Clift's reputation in the 1960s was coloured by the brutal comment of Robert Lewis, Clift's teacher at the Actors Studio, who called his late . But that wasnt all. Between 1963 and 1966, he faded from public view, emerging only to film a final performance in the French spy thriller The Defector (1966). Soon, the washed-up actor was completely out of work. Documentary Biography Classic film star and queer icon Montgomery Clift's legacy has long been a story of tragedy and self-destruction. You see, the entire healing process put Clift through the paces. We collect and tell stories of people from all around the world. The director, Joseph Mankiewicz, was appalled by this wavering professionalismbut when he tried to fire Clift, two angels intervened. Realizing that Clift was in mortal danger, McCarthy raced to the scene of the accident. . Benign to most but, in hindsight, highly suggestive. A fellow actor asserts that Clift was equally confident in his sexuality. Of course, Clift didnt walk away unscathed either. Please reach out to us to let us know what youre interested in reading. The duo eventually got to know each other better, and according to Taylor, they liked each other. Apparently, one of Clifts tooths had pierced his tongue, causing him to choke. Connect any celebrity with Montgomery Clift to see how closely they are linked romantically! 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. Montgomery Clift as Noah Ackerman Dean Martin as Michael Whiteacre Hope Lange as Hope Plowman Barbara Rush as Margaret Freemantle May Britt as Gretchen Hardenberg Maximilian Schell as Captain Hardenberg Dora Doll as Simone Lee Van Cleef as First Sergeant Rickett Liliane Montevecchi as Franoise Parley Baer as Sergeant Brandt But the documentary notes Clift made as many movies after the accident as before, and that those projects included some of his most acclaimed performances. The truth didnt come out until the 70s. The Clift picture didn't pan out either, at least with her promised co-star. Elizabeth Taylor at Paramount Studios, 1950. However, Clift soon realized that you cant always have your cake and eat it too. That Clift was gay made little difference in the intensity and duration of the two stars adoration of one another: here, after all, were two talented, passionate artists who met at a young age (she was in her teens; he was in his late twenties) and immediately discovered that they were, for lack of a better phrase, soul mates. His . He had a close friendship with a woman named Myra Letts, whom the gossip columnists tried arduously to frame as a love interest. The subject matter, which involved him assisting in the cover-up of a dead mans apparent homosexuality, must have sparked mixed emotions. She made it known that it all boiled down to love. Absolutely stunning. However, Clift's sexuality was not much of a secret within the movie industry. Sometimes it's hard to keep up with the latest celebrity news, but don't worry we have you covered. While filming his next picture, Lonelyhearts (1958), Clift lashed out, proclaiming, I am notrepeat nota member of the Beat Generation. What does he inspire anyone to do drink, die young? But something of the old talent remainedor at least enough to earn Clift a nomination for best-supporting actor, playing, in the words of film critic David Thomson, a victim irretrievably damaged by suffering. Plans for Clift to play the lead in the film adaptation of Carson McCullerss The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter fell through, in large part due to his uninsurability on set, and promises of a fourth collaboration with Taylor, this time with producer Ray Stark, never came to pass. . Edward Montgomery Clift (; October 17, 1920 July 23, 1966) was an American actor. Ad Choices. He may have been lonely but the distance he put between his public life and his work life helped keep his mysterious bachelorhood in check. Oddly enough, when he died, the homocons on Gay Patriot praised him on . 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. The entire experience had a cursed tinge to it, and before long, it left disaster in its wake. 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. Perkins, who once fended off the advances of Brigitte Bardot, later went to a shrink who maintained that homosexuality could be "cured," and in 1973 he married photographer Berry Berenson. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Cond Nast. While he never excelled at school, his extraordinary abilities as an actor. The long suicide was complete.
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