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. A portrait of Montgomery Clift acting as Matt Garth in the western film "Red River" on 01 January, 1948 | Photo: Getty Images. Merv was a sexual predator who once tried to sexually assault Danny Terrio, then threatened to ruin his career if he talked. d-d-darling, I r-r-really wouldnt know. 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. Montgomery Clift was an undeniably attractive man, and before long, he'd cultivated a rather passionate female fan base. The next morning, James returned to Clifts room to rouse him but found the door locked. He gained excellent theatrical notices and soon piqued the interests of numerous lovelorn actresses; their advances met with awkward conflict. Marlon Brando girlfriend, wife list. INDISCRETION OF AN AMERICAN WIFE 1953 DVD PUBLIC DOMAIN FILM MONTGOMERY CLIFT. But, in general, his relationships with men had more to do with sex than with a deep emotional connection. Montgomery Clift, Nando Bruno. 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. Clift, of course, knew better. She would wield considerable influence over the early part of his film career, advising him in decisions to decline lead roles in Sunset Blvd. Making Montgomery Clift, which was co-directed by Clift's nephew Robert Clift (and Robert's wife Hillary. This showed in his consciousness of being seen as feminine in any way. Montgomery Clift girlfriend, wife list. Liz Ronk edited this gallery for LIFE.com. He was sick of being a symbol, a symptom, a testament to something. This made him an A-list actor and a multi-award-winning star. Then again, nothing about Clifts life was expected. Taylor opened his mouth, put her hand down his throat, and pulled out the teeth. With alarm bells screaming in his head, James raced outside to fetch a ladder, climbing up toward Clifts bedroom window. His beat-up car was 10 years old, and his best friends were all outside of the movie business. Madame de Pompadour was the alluring chief mistress of King Louis XV, but few people know her dark historyor the chilling secret shared by her and Louis. Here was someone who was vulnerable and sensitive - and who actually listened to women.. Beautiful man. You see, when Clift sat down to read through the script for The Search,he was less than enthused with the writing. Who is Montgomery Clift dating? (38) and his wife, Meghan Markle (41), officially . However, Clift soon realized that you cant always have your cake and eat it too. . Clifts early foray into acting led him to a Broadway debut in 1935. yo tambien hubiera tenido algo con el claro que si, Monty, I love you. Which gives that narrative a lot of traction. From here on out, however, he plunged even further into his addiction. Montgomery Clifts sexuality finally emerged with the help of two biographers, and before long, the public turned him into a gay icon. Montgomery Clift had an encounter with Marlon Brando. According to Clifts doctors, it was amazing that he was even alive. Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift, Hollywood, 1950. Luckily, over time, they clawed their way back to financial security. Elizabeth Taylor and Katharine Hepburn came to Clifts defense when the director tried to get rid of him. ': What Happened to the Stars of the Iconic Series through the Years, Debbie Reynolds Called Elizabeth Taylor's Phone Yet Her Own Husband Eddie Fisher Picked Up, Rock Hudson & Jim Nabors Never Spoke Again after They Were Reportedly Seen Getting Married, Elizabeth Taylor Proposed to an Actor 20 Years Her Senior & Replaced Him with 25-Year Older Man. His own mother, in a voice recording played in Making Montgomery Clift, said, "Monty was a . While he never excelled at school, his extraordinary abilities as an actor showed early. Regardless of the veracity of this story, one thing remains true: theres not a single picture of Clifts broken face. Vanity Fair may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. 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. At Factinate, were dedicated to getting things right. Even his diet was rather spartan: orange juice, steak, and eggs. 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. Elizabeth Taylor stuck by her friends, and Montgomery Clift undoubtedly claimed a special spot in her heart. Montgomery Clift and Elizabeth Taylor in A Place in the Sun. 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. The unspoken truth was that Clift was gay. Carlo Fiore and Marlon Brando were in . Clift was there, as were actors Kevin McCarthy and Rock Hudson, and Hudson's wife, Phyllis Gates, per Vanity Fair. Montgomery Clift didnt need much to keep himself happy and entertained. In the face of such criticism, Clift went ahead and confused the gossip columns even more. In fact, Hepburn was so offended by Mankiewicz that she did something outrageous. 3.80. Will she ride the term to Oscar gold? During the filming of Raintree County, Clift and Taylor seemed to have rekindled their is-it-or-isnt-it relationship; according to one of Clifts biographers, Some days he would threaten to stop seeing Elizabeth Taylorthen, the thought would make him burst into tears. Other apocryphal legend has Taylor sending Clift piles of love letters, which he then read aloud to his male companion at the time. Heres A Mystery: Why Did Arthur Conan Doyles Son Dress Up Like a Knight? His parents were Quakers and met as students at Cornell University, marrying in 1914. I am not one of Americas Angry Young Men. Determined to keep his gayness under wraps, Clift made sure that his masculine facade shone onscreen. But the press will always be the press, and no amount of Montgomery Clifts ire could change that. He is most remembered for A Place In The Sun (1951) & From Here To Eternity (1953).. His zodiac sign is Libra. 2023 Cond Nast. July 22, 1966, was a sweltering day in New York City, and Montgomery Clift had been languishing in his townhouse on 61st Street. Making Montgomery Clift is a 2018 American documentary film by directors Robert Anderson Clift and Hillary Demmon chronicling the life of the actor Montgomery Clift till his death in 1966. 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. But 1961 audiences were too close to the day-to-day deterioration of its stars to see the meditative genius of The Misfits. Montgomery Clift had an encounter with Marlon Brando. Instead, he bided his time, and thankfully, luck was on his side. (The Clash famously referenced that awful scene, which changed the course of Clifts career and set him on a winding path of booze-and-painkiller-fueled decay, in the song The Right Profile from London Calling: I see a car smashed at night. He didnt want the studios to dictate the kinds of roles he would play, his nephew said. Join thousands of others and start your morning with our Fact Of The Day newsletter. While driving, he fell asleep at the wheel and the consequences were utterly gruesome. TAYLOR ON CLIFT'S SEXUALITY AFTER HIS DEATH. 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.. True or not, the resilience of the story is a testimony to what people wanted to believe about the bond between the two stars. 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. One time when he was delivering his line on the set of "The Search," he mistakenly called a boy 'dear' and insisted that the director did a reshoot. There were no wild outings for this reserved homebody. 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. .. Montgomery Blair (May 10, 1813 - July 27, 1883) was an American politician and lawyer from Maryland. A still of Montgomery Clift. It has a good rating on IMDb: 6.2 stars out of 10. said: Oh. One infamous fact about Montgomery Clift is that he only owned one suit. The most beautiful young man Ive ever seen. Close friends, such as actor Kevin McCarthy and his wife, tried to get Clift to slow down and dry out, but their pleas . Director Joseph Mankiewicz tried to replace Clift, but Taylor and co-star Katharine Hepburn defended and supported him. Hepburn was reportedly so incensed by Mankiewiczs treatment of Clift that when the film officially wrapped, she found the director and spat in his face. After Eternity he dropped out of Hollywood for several years, and signed a three-year contract with MGM in 1955 to make Raintree County, which re-united him with his Place in the Sun co-star Elizabeth Taylor. . In the bathroom, James found Clift in his bathtub, undressed and obviously deceased. He could barely remember his lines and often didnt show up to set. Montgomery Clift was in relationships with Sal Mineo, Paul Newman, Henry Willson, Jack Larson, William LeMassena, Libby Holman, Maurice Leonard and Arnold Saint Subber.