James Dean looked up to both Monty and Marlon Brando. I know Dean met Brando a couple of times, Brando even talked about it in his book, he even said Jimmy could've been one of the great actors had he lived. But I always wondered about Montgomery Clift, did he meet Jimmy Dean? Was there an interview where he talks about him? Was he a fan?
shareFrom what I've read, he was a massive fan.
Brando & Clift were his idols, and I think Jimmy got hold of Clift's phone number & kept calling him, saying he had to meet him but Clift wasn't interested.
When Jimmy died, Clift was gutted, that's what I've read anyway.
I read the same thing about Cliff's reaction when he heard Dean had died. The story is that he immediately threw up. Also, Lee Strasberg was so devastated that he could not talk about Dean for over a year. When he did finally address Dean's death to the members of the Actor's studio, it was quite moving. He talked about the clever imaginative things Dean did in Giant. Then he ended his rememberance with a heartfelt comment about how Dean's death was such a waste. In a way, I got the impression that Strasburg was angry at Dean for taking so many unnecessary chances and wasting his gifts by his death.
Does anyone know how Brando reacted?