Charles Casillo

the private life of a public icon

Marilyn Monroe

This story of the decades-long relationship between Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift chronicles her devotion to the troubled star through a near fatal car crash and the descent into alcoholism and addiction that effectively ended his Hollywood career.

The Untold Story of Their Intimate Friendship

Elizabeth and Monty

This enlightening biography provides an absorbing picture of the outlaw writer, examining Rechy's life as both a respected author and professor and a tough-as-nails sex worker. Working closely with Rechy himself as well as his family, friends, admirers and colleagues, Casillo presents a complex portrait of a man who found sexual liberation through prostitution and used it to create a vivid and influential artistic legacy.

The Lives and Careers of John Rechy

Outlaw

By Hollywood biographer Charles Casillo, ELIZABETH AND MONTY is the critically acclaimed dual biography that charts the legendary lifelong friendship and platonic "love affair" of legendary matinee idol Montgomery Clift and a teenage movie queen Elizabeth Taylor. Violet-eyed siren Elizabeth Taylor and classically handsome Montgomery Clift were the most gorgeous screen couple of their time. Over two decades of friendship they made, separately and together, some of the era''s defining movies--including Cat on a Hot Tin Roof; The Misfits; Suddenly, Last Summer; and Cleopatra. Yet the relationship between these two figures--one a larger-than-life star, the other hugely talented yet fatally troubled--has never truly been explored until now. "Monty, Elizabeth likes me, but she loves you." --Richard Burton When Elizabeth Taylor was cast opposite Montgomery Clift in A Place in the Sun, he was already a movie idol, with a natural sensitivity that set him apart. At seventeen, Elizabeth was known for her beauty rather than her talent. But Monty took her seriously, inspiring and encouraging her. In her words, "That''s when I began to act." The press, convinced the stars were more than friends, clamored for a wedding. But Monty was sexually attracted to men--a fact that, if made public, would destroy his career. Yet he found acceptance and kinship with Elizabeth. Her devotion was never clearer than after his devastating car crash near her Hollywood home, when she crawled into the wreckage and saved him from choking. Monty''s accident shattered his face and left him in constant pain. As he sank into alcoholism and addiction, Elizabeth used her power to keep him working. In turn, he was her constant. Their relationship endured until his death in 1966. His influence continued in her outspoken support for the gay community, especially during the AIDS crisis. Far more than the story of two icons, this is a unique and extraordinary love story that shines new light on both stars, revealing their triumphs, demons--and the loyalty that united them to the end. Praise for Elizabeth and Monty "Casillo weaves an engrossing story about the intertwined lives of his subjects--the parallel worlds of privilege that they came from, the personal misfortunes that each suffered and the seemingly inextricable path that led to that fateful night. The author approaches them both with sympathy and comes away with a melodrama as good as any that they ever starred in." --The New York Times "In a riveting new book that brings Hollywood''s golden age to life with colorful, well-researched details and interviews with stars who knew Taylor and Clift, Casillo explores the intense bond the two shared." --People Magazine "A new dual biography details a relationship that became a Hollywood legend." --Town & Country "Their on-screen magic translated outside of the spotlight, and the duo enjoyed a long-lasting friendship that''s explored in the new book Elizabeth and Monty: The Untold Story of Their Intimate Friendship by Charles Casillo...Classic movie buffs get a glimpse into their unique bond." --Southern Living "As Casillo reveals in Elizabeth And Monty: The Untold Story Of Their Intimate Friendship, they had an intense, even romantic, relationship which, while never consummated, would weigh heavily on Taylor''s life, propelling her into a string of misguided marriages." --Daily Mail UK "So jammed packed with sex, pill-popping, alcoholism, affairs, breakdowns, suicide attempts and multiple brushes with death that most readers will want to read it in one greedy, high-caloric gulp. Readers may come for the nonstop scandals but what will keep them reading is Casillo''s deeply empathetic and nuanced portrait of two Hollywood stars who forged a loving and loyal friendship." --Shelf Awareness "Has the feel of a novel. A well-researched work that will appeal to readers who like their celebrity biographies juicy." --Library Journal "In this dual biography, their intertwined lives and careers are recounted with new and vivid detail, and their #FriendshipGoals are considered from all angles by Casillo, the author of Marilyn Monroe: The Private Life of a Public Icon and Outlaw: The Lives and Careers of John Rechy. The book is incisive on the politics and personalities of bygone Hollywood, an understanding Casillo credits to friends like the late screenwriter and film historian Gavin Lambert (Inside Daisy Clover, The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone)." --Everything Zoomer

Violet-eyed siren Elizabeth Taylor and classically handsome Montgomery Clift were the most gorgeous screen couple of their time. Over two decades of friendship they made, separately and together, some of the era’s defining movies—including Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, The Misfits, Suddenly, Last Summer, and Cleopatra. Yet the relationship between these two figures—one a dazzling, larger-than-life star, the other hugely talented yet fatally troubled—has never truly been explored until now. “Monty, Elizabeth likes me, but she loves you.” —Richard Burton When Elizabeth Taylor was cast opposite Montgomery Clift in A Place in the Sun, he was already a movie idol, with a natural sensitivity that set him apart. At seventeen, Elizabeth was known for her ravishing beauty rather than her talent. Directors treated her like a glamorous prop. But Monty took her seriously, inspiring and encouraging her. In her words, “That’s when I began to act.” To Monty, she was “Bessie Mae,” a name he coined for her earthy, private side. The press clamored for a wedding, convinced this was more than friendship. The truth was even more complex. Monty was drawn to women but sexually attracted to men—a fact that, if made public, would destroy his career. But he found acceptance and kinship with Elizabeth. Her devotion was never clearer than after his devastating car crash near her Hollywood home, when she crawled into the wreckage and saved him from choking. Monty’s accident shattered his face and left him in constant pain. As he sank into alcoholism and addiction, Elizabeth used her power to keep him working. In turn, through scandals and multiple marriages, he was her constant. Their relationship endured until his death in 1966, right before he was to star with her in Reflections in a Golden Eye. His influence continued in her outspoken support for the gay community, especially during the AIDS crisis. Far more than the story of two icons, this is a unique and extraordinary love story that shines new light on both stars, revealing their triumphs, demons—and the loyalty that united them to the end. “Casillo weaves an engrossing story about the intertwined lives of his subjects — the parallel worlds of privilege that they came from, the personal misfortunes that each suffered and the seemingly inextricable path that led to that fateful night. The author approaches them both with sympathy and comes away with a melodrama as good as any that they ever starred in.” —The New York Times “In a riveting new book that brings Hollywood's golden age to life with colorful, well-researched details and interviews with stars who knew Taylor and Clift, Casillo explores the intense bond the two shared.” —People Magazine

What if Marilyn Monroe left a diary? In this NEW EXPANDED EDITION of THE MARILYN DIARIES, imagine the secret, lost diary of Marilyn Monroe is being published for the first time. Fantasize that you are reading her enigmatic life story as if told in her own words. This is a fascinating tale of triumph and pain, beauty and tragedy. In these pages the eternal blonde goddess comes across as a living, breathing human being who will stun you with her humanity rather than the cardboard caricature based on the sexy, dumb blonde image that she created for the public. Without turning her into a series of labels, Charles Casillo recreates Marilyn Monroe as a brilliant and bewitching human being, while never looking away from her self-destructive darkside. He dramatizes Marilyn's relationships with some of the most well-know and powerful men of her era, her struggles with her work, her fear of aging, and her constant battle with personal demons. The Marilyn Diaries is a serious exploration of a complex woman overcome with complicated, unresolved contrasts-a doomed siren that, even beyond the grave, never lost her power to seduce. ANNIVERSARY EDITION WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY THE AUTHOR AND MANY NEW AND EXTENDED DIARY ENTRIES In 1999 Charles Casillo published the best-selling novel The Marilyn Diaries, with a fresh and dramatic concept of fictionalizing the life of Marilyn Monroe-in the diary format-fantasized by the author. The book became a groundbreaking addition to Marilyn Monroe literature. In this stunning new edition the author includes numerous new passages and expanded entries that further explore the mind of one of the most infamous and exciting women of all time.

Charles Casillo

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