Monty

Yesterday I finished Patricia Bosworth's very fine biography, "Montgomery Clift", a fascinating yet depressing portrait of the haunted, tortured, and ultimately self-destructive Hollywood actor. He was the star of such classic motion pictures as "Red River", "A Place in the Sun", "From Here to Eternity", "I Confess", and "The Misfits", whose face was disfigured at the height of his popularity in a horrible car accident.

The book

Montgomery Clift in his heyday

I was surprised to read that in the last five declining years of his life Clift owned a four story townhouse only a few blocks from my house at 217 East 61st Street.

217 East 61st Street today

The current front door

He lived there from 1960 to 1966. I happen to walk down that block every week because it's the stop where the Hampton Jitney drops me off on my walk home. I've admired this tree lined street with its uniformly lovely townhouses every time I see it, so it was pleasing to read this famous matinee idol once resided there. A little quick online research revealed that this block and 62nd Street are designated a small historic district named Treadwell Farms, named after the Treadwell family, fur traders who originally owned the land and developed it back in colonial days. It's a very sweet and charming couple of blocks, a fitting final resting spot for such a talented actor.