Births on October 17

Montgomery Clift, American actor (d. 1966)

Edward Montgomery Clift (; October 17, 1920 – July 23, 1966) was an American actor. A four-time Academy Award nominee, The New York Times said he was known for his portrayal of "moody, sensitive young men".He is best remembered for his roles in Howard Hawks's Red River (1948), William Wyler's The Heiress (1949), George Stevens's A Place in the Sun (1951), Alfred Hitchcock's I Confess (1953), Fred Zinnemann's From Here to Eternity (1953), Edward Dmytryk's The Young Lions (1958), Stanley Kramer's Judgment at Nuremberg (1961), and John Huston's The Misfits (1961).

Along with Marlon Brando and James Dean, Clift was one of the original method actors in Hollywood; he was one of the first actors to be invited to study in the Actors Studio with Lee Strasberg and Elia Kazan. He also executed a rare move by not signing a contract after arriving in Hollywood, only doing so after his first two films were a success. This was described as "a power differential that would go on to structure the star–studio relationship for the next 40 years". A documentary titled Making Montgomery Clift was made by his nephew in 2018, to clarify many myths that were created about the actor.