Join us for a virtual conversation with Charles Casillo to discuss Elizabeth & Monty. We will be discussing films featuring Elizabeth & Monty the week before (6/5/22). Please register for both events separately. Both events will be moderated by Bob Kagan and Tina Panik

The critically acclaimed dual biography of the lifelong, platonic “love affair” between Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift – now in paperback!

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.

Charles Casillo is the author of the biographies Marilyn Monroe: The Private Life of a Public Icon and Outlaw: The Lives and Careers of John Rechy, as well as the novels The Fame Game and The Marilyn Diaries, and the short story collection Boys, Lost & Found. His profiles, short stories, articles, and reviews have appeared in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, New York Magazine, The Los Angeles Review of Books, and many others. He has appeared in Monroe documentaries such as Behind the Headlines: Marilyn and Her Men on Lifetime and Scandalous: The Death of Marilyn Monroe. His movies include Let Me Die Quietly and Fetish. He divides his time between New York and Los Angeles. Find him online at CharlesCasillo on Facebook and Twitter or @charles_casillo on Instagram.

Please register; Zoom links will be sent out before the event. PLUS: audience giveaways!