Happy birthday, Montgomery Clift

Montgomery Clift would have turned 87 today. He got his start on Broadway as a young teen and after ten years of turning down film roles, he finally accepted a part in 1948's Red River opposite John Wayne. That film, along with The Search (for which he was nominated for an Academy Award), made him a Hollywood star.

One of the first "method actors" to hit Hollywood (his film career predated those of James Dean and Marlon Brando), he was billed as a "new kind of leading man." Sensitive, with brooding good looks, he was the type of guy that "women would want to take care of." In fact, in his personal life he was bisexual if not predominantly gay, though he had a number of close platonic relationships with women. Among them Nancy Walker, Libby Holman, and most famously Elizabeth Taylor.

In 1956, while filming Raintree County, Clift was involved in a motorcycle accident while leaving a party at costar Elizabeth Taylor's house. His face was horribly disfigured and, while waiting for an ambulance, he almost choked. (Taylor saved his life by removing two teeth from the back of his throat.)

After weeks of recovery, Clift return to film his final scenes in Raintree County, and it's easy to spot before and after evidence of his disfigurement in that film.

Clift continued to work after the accident but became increasingly dependent on drugs and alcohol. His post-accident career has been called "one of the longest suicides in Hollywood." He died in 1966 of a heart attack brought on by severe drug and alcohol abuse. He was 45.

As a special birthday treat, after the break we have some Montgomery Clift trivia, as well as a home video clip of the star in his youth, kidding around at home with Marlon Brando. It's a hoot to see these two together camping it up.

Montgomery Clift Trivia:

• Political commentator Eleanor Clift was the actor's sister-in-law. She was married to his older brother, Brooks.

• Clift turned down parts in countless classic movies. Among them, staring roles in East of Eden, High Noon, and Sunset Boulevard.

• Clift has been referenced numerous times in popular music. The songs "Monty got a Raw Deal" by R.E.M. and "The Right Profile" by The Clash are about him, and even The Clash's live album was named for one of his films (From Here to Eternity).

• Marilyn Monroe, who starred with the actor in The Misfits, described Clift as: "The only person I know who is in worse shape than I am."