Clift, Montgomery

Clift, (Edward) Montgomery

(born Oct. 17, 1920, Omaha, Neb., U.S.—died July 23, 1966, New York, N.Y.) U.S. actor. He acted on Broadway and was a founding member of the Actors Studio (1947). He made his film debut in The Search (1948) and became a star with Red River (1948). Noted for his serious, sensitive roles, he portrayed troubled heroes in films such as A Place in the Sun (1951), From Here to Eternity (1953), The Young Lions (1958), Judgment at Nuremberg (1961), and Freud (1962). Scarred by a car crash in 1956, he became addicted to drugs and alcohol and died of a heart attack at 45.

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Clift, (Edward) Montgomery (1920–66) film actor; born in Omaha, Nebr. After ten years as a stage performer, he went to Hollywood for his role in The Search (1948). Four times nominated for an Academy Award, this brooding, intense actor usually played an outsider. Rumors of heavy drinking, drug use, and homosexuality surrounded him, and a car accident left him scarred, but the disfigurements seemed to give him added strength and pathos.