Montgomery Clift

-Born Edward Montgomery Clift to William Brooks Clift and Ethel Anderson Fogg Blair on October 17, 1920 in Omaha, Nebraska. -At 13, Montgomery achieved success on Broadway and appeared there for 10 years before moving to Hollywood, debuting in 1948's Red River opposite of John Wayne. -He had a highly successful film career, performing in many Oscar-nominated roles and becoming a matinee idol because of his good looks and sex appeal. His love scenes with Elizabeth Taylor in A Place in the Sun (1951) set a new standard for romance in cinema. His roles in A Place in the Sun, the 1953 classic From Here to Eternity and The Young Lions (1958) are considered signatures of his career. -On May 12, 1956, while filming Raintree County, he smashed his car into a telephone pole after leaving a party at the home of his Raintree County co-star Elizabeth Taylor. -Taylor raced to Clift's side and kept him from choking to death by removing two of his teeth, which had become lodged in his throat. -Clift needed extensive reconstructive surgery on his face (although his broken nose was never repaired) and he returned after several weeks to finish the film, his handsome appearance permanently disfigured. -He appeared in Elia Kazan's Wild River (1960), a film listed in the United States National Film Registry. -He then costarred in John Huston's The Misfits (1961), which turned out to be the last film for both Marilyn Monroe and Clark Gable. By the time Clift was making John Huston's Freud (1962) his destructive lifestyle was affecting his health. Universal sued him for his frequent absences which caused the film to go over budget. The case was later settled; the film's success at the box office won Clift a lucrative settlement. -Montgomery Clift died in 1966 at the age of 45 of complications brought on by his severe drug and alcohol addictions.