Marlon Brando, who calls him a "friend" in his autobiography, says that Clift was a tormented soul addicted to alcohol and chloral hydrate, a depressant and sedative which he drank. On the set of The Young Lions (1958), he warned Clift that he was destroying himself like Brando's own alcoholic mother had. For his part, Clift was always supportive of Brando as an actor, even when his career began faltering after Mutiny on the Bounty (1962).
Marilyn Monroe described him as "the only person I know who is in worse shape than I am."
1995: Chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history (#29).
A sometime guest of Broadway legends Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne at their rural retreat Ten Chimneys in Genesee Depot, Wisconsin.
Always in high demand as an actor, he turned down the role played by William Holden in Sunset Blvd. (1950) and the part of James Dean's brother in East of Eden (1955). In 1955, alone, he passed on five Broadway plays, (among them Eugene O'Neill's "Desire Under the Elms"), and he turned down the films Desirée (1954), Friendly Persuasion (1956), Prince of Players (1955), Fahrenheit 451 (1966), Moby Dick (1956) and The Trouble with Harry (1955).
At his near-fatal car accident in 1956, Rock Hudson, Michael Wilding and Kevin McCarthy formed a protective shield to prevent Clift's photo from being taken by photographers as he was carried from the wreck to the ambulance.
Became good friends with Dean Martin while filming The Young Lions (1958), and Clift helped the singer, who was best known at that time as a light comedian, with rehearsing his heavy dramatic scenes. In later years, as Clift was ostracized by the Hollywood social set for his substance abuses and mental instability, Martin stuck by the troubled actor and often brought him along as his guest to parties.
He had so many health problems on the set of Freud (1962) that Universal sued him for the cost of the film's production delays. During the trial, the film opened and was such a huge hit that Clift's lawyers brought up the point that the film was doing well because of Clift's involvement. Clift won a lucrative settlement.
He is referred to in the Jets to Brazil song, "Conrad" on their album, "Orange Rhyming Dictionary".
He is the subject of R.E.M.'s song "Monty Got a Raw Deal", from their LP "Automatic For the People".
He is the subject of the song "The Right Profile" on The Clash's album "London Calling".
He was a close friend of Elizabeth Taylor, although he greatly disliked her husband Richard Burton, and the feeling was mutual. Clift once said, "Richard Burton doesn't act, he just recites.".
He was voted the 60th Greatest Movie Star of all time by Entertainment Weekly.
His father was a violent, abusive, ultra-conservative bigot and did not get along with his son. As an actor, whenever Clift was playing characters snapping as they went up against ignorance or brutality, Clift was said to have acted with his father in mind as an antagonist.
Hollywood folklore has it that his ghost haunts the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. The actor had stayed there while filming From Here to Eternity (1953), even though all filming locations for "From Here to Eternity" were in Hawaii.
In Italy, most of his early films were dubbed by Giulio Panicali, then by Giuseppe Rinaldi. He was occasionally dubbed by Gianfranco Bellini (in The Search (1948) and Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)), Nando Gazzolo (in The Young Lions (1958)) and once by Pino Locchi in Raintree County (1957).
In Robert Laguardia's "Monty" (1977), the first published biography, Laguardia tells of how Clift was discomfited when he initially met co-star Burt Lancaster on the set of From Here to Eternity (1953). Lancaster was in awe of Monty and was so nervous, he actually shook during their first scene (as also mentioned in Lancaster's biography).
In the James Kirkwood novel "Hit Me With A Rainbow", early on the lead character is told that he resembles Montgomery Clift. He reflects that this has been happening often and surmises is it due to Clift's recent death.
Interred at Quaker Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York, USA.
Is portrayed by Jeffrey Combs in Norma Jean & Marilyn (1996) (TV)