Humphrey Bogart
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Humphrey DeForest Bogart (; December 25, 1899 – January 14, 1957), nicknamed Bogie, was an American film and stage actor. His performances in Classical Hollywood cinema films made him an American cultural icon. In 1999, the
American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees. Lead ...
selected Bogart as the greatest male star of classic American cinema. Bogart began acting in Broadway shows, beginning his career in motion pictures with '' Up the River'' (1930) for Fox and appeared in supporting roles for the next decade, regularly portraying gangsters. He was praised for his work as Duke Mantee in ''
The Petrified Forest ''The Petrified Forest'' is a 1936 American film directed by Archie Mayo and based on Robert E. Sherwood's 1935 Broadway drama of the same name. The motion picture stars Leslie Howard, Bette Davis and Humphrey Bogart. The screenplay was writ ...
'' (1936), but remained cast secondary to other actors at Warner Bros. who received leading roles. Bogart also received positive reviews for his performance as gangster Hugh "Baby Face" Martin, in '' Dead End'' (1937), directed by
William Wyler William Wyler (; born Willi Wyler (); July 1, 1902 – July 27, 1981) was a Swiss-German-American film director and producer who won the Academy Award for Best Director three times, those being for '' Mrs. Miniver'' (1942), '' The Best Years o ...
. His breakthrough from supporting roles to stardom was set in motion with '' High Sierra'' (1941) and catapulted in '' The Maltese Falcon'' (1941), considered one of the first great '' noir'' films. Bogart's private detectives,
Sam Spade Sam Spade is a fictional character and the protagonist of Dashiell Hammett's 1930 novel '' The Maltese Falcon''. Spade also appeared in four lesser-known short stories by Hammett. ''The Maltese Falcon'', first published as a serial in the pulp ...
(in ''The Maltese Falcon'') and
Philip Marlowe Philip Marlowe () is a fictional character created by Raymond Chandler, who was characteristic of the hardboiled crime fiction genre. The hardboiled crime fiction genre originated in the 1920s, notably in ''Black Mask'' magazine, in which Dashiel ...
(in 1946's '' The Big Sleep''), became the models for detectives in other ''noir'' films. His most significant romantic lead role was with Ingrid Bergman in '' Casablanca'' (1942), which earned him his first nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor. 44-year-old Bogart and 19-year-old
Lauren Bacall Lauren Bacall (; born Betty Joan Perske; September 16, 1924 – August 12, 2014) was an American actress. She was named the 20th-greatest female star of classic Hollywood cinema by the American Film Institute and received an Academy Honorary ...
fell in love during filming of ''
To Have and Have Not ''To Have and Have Not'' is a novel by Ernest Hemingway published in 1937 by Charles Scribner's Sons. The book follows Harry Morgan, a fishing boat captain out of Key West, Florida. ''To Have and Have Not'' was Hemingway's second novel set in th ...
'' (1944). In 1945, a few months after principal photography for ''The Big Sleep'', their second film together, he divorced his third wife and married Bacall. After their marriage, they played each other's love interest in the mystery thrillers '' Dark Passage'' (1947) and '' Key Largo'' (1948). Bogart's performances in '' The Treasure of the Sierra Madre'' (1948) and ''
In a Lonely Place ''In a Lonely Place'' is a 1950 American film noir directed by Nicholas Ray and starring Humphrey Bogart and Gloria Grahame, produced for Bogart's Santana Productions. The script was written by Andrew P. Solt from Edmund H. North's adaptation of ...
'' (1950) are now considered among his best, although they were not recognized as such when the films were released. He reprised those unsettled, unstable characters as a World War II naval-vessel commander in '' The Caine Mutiny'' (1954), which was a critical and commercial hit and earned him another Best Actor nomination. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of a cantankerous river steam launch skipper opposite
Katharine Hepburn Katharine Houghton Hepburn (May 12, 1907 – June 29, 2003) was an American actress in film, stage, and television. Her career as a Hollywood leading lady spanned over 60 years. She was known for her headstrong independence, spirited perso ...
's missionary in the World War I African adventure '' The African Queen'' (1951). Other significant roles in his later years included '' The Barefoot Contessa'' (1954) with Ava Gardner and his on-screen competition with William Holden for
Audrey Hepburn Audrey Hepburn (born Audrey Kathleen Ruston; 4 May 1929 – 20 January 1993) was a British actress and humanitarian. Recognised as both a film and fashion icon, she was ranked by the American Film Institute as the third-greatest female screen ...
in '' Sabrina'' (1954). A heavy smoker and drinker, Bogart died from esophageal cancer in January 1957.


Early life and education

Humphrey DeForest Bogart was born on
Christmas Day Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, ...
1899 in New York City, the eldest child of Belmont DeForest Bogart and Maud Humphrey. Belmont was the only child of the unhappy marriage of Adam Welty Bogart (a Canandaigua, New York, innkeeper) and Julia Augusta Stiles, a wealthy heiress. The name "Bogart" derives from the Dutch surname, "Bogaert". Belmont and Maud married in June 1898. He was a
Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their n ...
, of English and Dutch descent, and a descendant of Sarah Rapelje (the first European child born in
New Netherland New Netherland ( nl, Nieuw Nederland; la, Novum Belgium or ) was a 17th-century colonial province of the Dutch Republic that was located on the east coast of what is now the United States. The claimed territories extended from the Delmarva ...
). Maud was an Episcopalian of English heritage, and a descendant of ''
Mayflower ''Mayflower'' was an English ship that transported a group of English families, known today as the Pilgrims, from England to the New World in 1620. After a grueling 10 weeks at sea, ''Mayflower'', with 102 passengers and a crew of about 30, ...
'' passenger John Howland. Humphrey was raised Episcopalian, but was non-practicing for most of his adult life. The date of Bogart's birth has been disputed. Clifford McCarty wrote that Warner Bros. publicity department had altered it to January 23, 1900 "to foster the view that a man born on Christmas Day couldn't really be as villainous as he appeared to be on screen". The "corrected" January birthdate subsequently appeared—and in some cases, remains—in many otherwise-authoritative sources. According to biographers Ann M. Sperber and
Eric Lax Eric Lax is an American author who has written books on modern medicine, four books on Woody Allen including a biography, and a personal memoir ''Faith: Interrupted'' about his loss of Christian faith. Biography Lax was raised in an Episcopalian ...
, Bogart always celebrated his birthday on December 25 and listed it on official records (including his marriage license).
Lauren Bacall Lauren Bacall (; born Betty Joan Perske; September 16, 1924 – August 12, 2014) was an American actress. She was named the 20th-greatest female star of classic Hollywood cinema by the American Film Institute and received an Academy Honorary ...
wrote in her autobiography that Bogart's birthday was always celebrated on Christmas Day, saying that he joked about being cheated out of a present every year. Sperber and Lax noted that a birth announcement in the ''Ontario County Times'' of January 10, 1900 rules out the possibility of a January 23 birthdate; state and federal census records from 1900 also report a Christmas 1899 birthdate. Bogart's birth record confirms he was actually born on December 25, 1899. Belmont, Bogart's father, was a cardiopulmonary surgeon. Maud was a commercial illustrator who received her art training in New York and France, including study with James Abbott McNeill Whistler. She later became art director of the fashion magazine '' The Delineator'' and a militant
suffragette A suffragette was a member of an activist women's organisation in the early 20th century who, under the banner "Votes for Women", fought for the right to vote in public elections in the United Kingdom. The term refers in particular to member ...
. Maud used a drawing of baby Humphrey in an advertising campaign for Mellins Baby Food. She earned over $50,000 a year at the peak of her career – a very large sum of money at the time, and considerably more than her husband's $20,000. The Bogarts lived in an Upper West Side apartment, and had a cottage on a 55-acre estate on Canandaigua Lake in upstate New York. When he was young, Bogart's group of friends at the lake would put on plays. He had two younger sisters: Frances ("Pat") and Catherine Elizabeth ("Kay"). Bogart's parents were busy in their careers, and frequently fought. Very formal, they showed little emotion towards their children. Maud told her offspring to call her "Maud" instead of "Mother", and showed little, if any, physical affection for them. When she was pleased, she " apped you on the shoulder, almost the way a man does", Bogart recalled. "I was brought up very unsentimentally but very straightforwardly. A kiss, in our family, was an event. Our mother and father didn't glug over my two sisters and me." Bogart was teased as a boy for his curls, tidiness, the "cute" pictures his mother had him pose for, the Little Lord Fauntleroy clothes in which she dressed him, and for his first name. He inherited a tendency to needle, a fondness for fishing, a lifelong love of boating, and an attraction to strong-willed women from his father. Bogart attended the private Delancey School until the fifth grade, and then attended the prestigious Trinity School. He was an indifferent, sullen student who showed no interest in after-school activities. Bogart later attended Phillips Academy, a
boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of " room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exte ...
to which he was admitted based on family connections. Although his parents hoped that he would go on to
Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the w ...
, Bogart left Phillips in 1918 after one semester. He failed four out of six classes. Several reasons have been given; according to one, he was expelled for throwing the headmaster (or a groundskeeper) into Rabbit Pond on campus. Another cited smoking, drinking, poor academic performance, and (possibly) inappropriate comments made to the staff. In a third scenario, Bogart was withdrawn by his father for failing to improve his grades. His parents were deeply disappointed in their failed plans for his future.


Navy

With no viable career options, Bogart enlisted in the
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
in the spring of 1918 (during
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
), and served as a coxswain.Celebrities and Other Famous People: A list of people that once served in or was associated with the U.S. Coast Guard.
uscg.mil. Retrieved April 16, 2021.
He recalled later, "At eighteen, war was great stuff. Paris! Sexy French girls! Hot damn!" Bogart was recorded as a model sailor, who spent most of his sea time after the
armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the ...
ferrying troops back from Europe.Sperber and Lax 1997, p. 27. Bogart left the service on June 18, 1919Famous Veteran: Humphrey Bogart.
Military.com. Retrieved April 16, 2021.
at the rank of Boatswain's Mate Third Class.Bogart, Humphrey Deforest, PO3
navy.togetherweserved.com. Retrieved July 4, 2021.
During the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
, Bogart attempted to re-enlist in the Navy but was rejected due to his age. He then volunteered for the Coast Guard Temporary Reserve in 1944, patrolling the California coastline in his yacht, the ''Santana''. He may have received his trademark scar and developed his characteristic lisp during his naval stint. There are several conflicting stories. In one, his lip was cut by shrapnel when his ship (the ) was shelled. The ship was never shelled, however, and Bogart may not have been at sea before the armistice. Another story, held by longtime friend Nathaniel Benchley, was that Bogart was injured while taking a prisoner to
Portsmouth Naval Prison Portsmouth Naval Prison is a former U.S. Navy and Marine Corps prison on the grounds of the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (PNS) in Kittery, Maine. The building has the appearance of a castle. The reinforced concrete naval prison was occupied from ...
in
Kittery, Maine Kittery is a town in York County, Maine, United States. Home to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard on Seavey's Island, Kittery includes Badger's Island, the seaside district of Kittery Point, and part of the Isles of Shoals. The southernmost tow ...
. While changing trains in
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
, the handcuffed prisoner reportedly asked Bogart for a cigarette. When Bogart looked for a match, the prisoner smashed him across the mouth with the cuffs (cutting Bogart's lip) and fled before being recaptured and imprisoned. In an alternative version, Bogart was struck in the mouth by a handcuff loosened while freeing his charge; the other handcuff was still around the prisoner's wrist. By the time Bogart was treated by a doctor, a scar had formed. David Niven said that when he first asked Bogart about his scar, however, he said that it was caused by a childhood accident. "Goddamn doctor", Bogart later told Niven. "Instead of stitching it up, he screwed it up." According to Niven, the stories that Bogart got the scar during wartime were made up by the studios. His post-service physical did not mention the lip scar, although it noted many smaller scars. When actress Louise Brooks met Bogart in 1924, he had scar tissue on his upper lip which Brooks said Bogart may have had partially repaired before entering the film industry in 1930. Brooks said that his "lip wound gave him no speech impediment, either before or after it was mended."


Acting


First performances

Bogart returned home to find his father in poor health, his medical practice faltering, and much of the family's wealth lost in bad timber investments. His character and values developed separately from his family during his navy days, and he began to rebel. Bogart became a liberal who disliked pretension, phonies and snobs, sometimes defying conventional behavior and authority; he was also well-mannered, articulate, punctual, self-effacing and stand-offish. After his naval service, he worked as a shipper and a bond salesman, joining the
Coast Guard Reserve The United States Coast Guard Reserve is the reserve component of the United States Coast Guard. It is organized, trained, administered, and supplied under the direction of the Commandant of the Coast Guard through the Assistant Commandant for R ...
. Bogart resumed his friendship with Bill Brady Jr. (whose father had show-business connections), and obtained an office job with William A. Brady's new World Films company. Although he wanted to try his hand at screenwriting, directing, and production, he excelled at none. Bogart was
stage manager Stage management is a broad field that is generally defined as the practice of organization and coordination of an event or theatrical production. Stage management may encompass a variety of activities including the overseeing of the rehearsal p ...
for Brady's daughter
Alice Alice may refer to: * Alice (name), most often a feminine given name, but also used as a surname Literature * Alice (''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''), a character in books by Lewis Carroll * ''Alice'' series, children's and teen books by ...
's play ''A Ruined Lady''. He made his stage debut a few months later as a Japanese butler in Alice's 1921 play ''Drifting'' (nervously delivering one line of dialogue), and appeared in several of her subsequent plays. Although Bogart had been raised to believe that acting was a lowly profession, he liked the late hours actors kept and the attention they received: "I was born to be indolent and this was the softest of rackets." He spent much of his free time in speakeasies, drinking heavily. A bar-room brawl at this time was also a purported cause of Bogart's lip damage, dovetailing with Louise Brooks' account. Preferring to learn by doing, he never took acting lessons. Bogart was persistent and worked steadily at his craft, appearing in at least 17 Broadway productions between 1922 and 1935. He played juveniles or romantic supporting roles in drawing-room comedies and is reportedly the first actor to say, " Tennis, anyone?" on stage. According to
Alexander Woollcott Alexander Humphreys Woollcott (January 19, 1887 – January 23, 1943) was an American drama critic and commentator for ''The New Yorker'' magazine, a member of the Algonquin Round Table, an occasional actor and playwright, and a prominent radio p ...
, Bogart "is what is usually and mercifully described as inadequate." Other critics were kinder. Heywood Broun, reviewing ''Nerves'', wrote: "Humphrey Bogart gives the most effective performance ... both dry and fresh, if that be possible". He played a juvenile lead (reporter Gregory Brown) in
Lynn Starling Lynn Starling (September 13, 1888 – February 25, 1955) was an American screenwriter and playwright.Solomon p.329 Starling wrote the 1923 play '' Meet the Wife'', subsequently adapted into a 1931 film of the same title. Selected filmography * ...
's comedy '' Meet the Wife'', which had a successful 232-performance run at the Klaw Theatre from November 1923 through July 1924. Bogart disliked his trivial, effeminate early-career parts, calling them "White Pants Willie" roles. While playing a double role in ''Drifting'' at the Playhouse Theatre in 1922, he met actress
Helen Menken Helen Menken (née Meinken; December 12, 1901 – March 27, 1966) was an American stage actress. Early years Menken was born in New York City to a German-French father, Frederick Meinken, and an Irish-born mother, Mary Madden. Her parents were ...
; they were married on May 20, 1926, at the
Gramercy Park Hotel Gramercy Park Hotel was a luxury hotel located at 2 Lexington Avenue, in the Gramercy Park neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, adjacent to the park of the same name. It was known for its rich history. __FORCETOC__ History Gramercy Park Hote ...
in New York City. Divorced on November 18, 1927, they remained friends. Menken said in her divorce filing that Bogart valued his career more than marriage, citing neglect and abuse. He married actress Mary Philips on April 3, 1928, at her mother's apartment in
Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since t ...
; Bogart and Philips had worked together in the play ''Nerves'' during its brief run at the Comedy Theatre in 1924. Theatrical production dropped off sharply after the
Wall Street Crash of 1929 The Wall Street Crash of 1929, also known as the Great Crash, was a major American stock market crash that occurred in the autumn of 1929. It started in September and ended late in October, when share prices on the New York Stock Exchange coll ...
, and many of the more-photogenic actors headed for Hollywood. Bogart debuted on film with Helen Hayes in the 1928 two-reeler, ''The Dancing Town'', a complete copy of which has not been found. He also appeared with Joan Blondell and Ruth Etting in a Vitaphone short, ''
Broadway's Like That ''Broadway's Like That'' (1929) is a 10-minute Vitaphone short film starring Ruth Etting, with Joan Blondell, Humphrey Bogart and Mary Philips. Bogart and Philips were married at the time of this film. Plot summary A girl who works in a musi ...
'' (1930), which was rediscovered in 1963.


Broadway to Hollywood

Bogart signed a contract with the Fox Film Corporation for $750 a week. There he met
Spencer Tracy Spencer Bonaventure Tracy (April 5, 1900 – June 10, 1967) was an American actor. He was known for his natural performing style and versatility. One of the major stars of Hollywood's Golden Age, Tracy was the first actor to win two cons ...
, a Broadway actor whom Bogart liked and admired, and the two men became close friends and drinking companions. In 1930, Tracy first called him "Bogie". Tracy made his feature film debut in his only movie with Bogart,
John Ford John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), known professionally as John Ford, was an American film director and naval officer. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers of his generation. He ...
's early
sound film A sound film is a motion picture with synchronization, synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decad ...
'' Up the River'' (1930), in which their leading roles were as inmates. Tracy received top billing, but Bogart's picture appeared on the film's posters. He was billed fourth behind Tracy, Claire Luce and Warren Hymer but his role was almost as large as Tracy's and much larger than Luce's or Hymer's. A quarter of a century later, the two men planned to make '' The Desperate Hours'' together. Both insisted upon top billing, however; Tracy dropped out, and was replaced by Fredric March. Bogart then had a supporting role in '' Bad Sister'' (1931) with
Bette Davis Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (; April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989) was an American actress with a career spanning more than 50 years and 100 acting credits. She was noted for playing unsympathetic, sardonic characters, and was famous for her p ...
. Bogart shuttled back and forth between Hollywood and the New York stage from 1930 to 1935, out of work for long periods. His parents had separated; his father died in 1934 in debt, which Bogart eventually paid off. He inherited his father's gold ring, which he wore in many of his films. At his father's deathbed, Bogart finally told him how much he loved him. Bogart's second marriage was rocky; dissatisfied with his acting career, depressed and irritable, he drank heavily.Sperber and Lax 1997, p. 45.


In Hollywood permanently: ''The Petrified Forest''

In 1934, Bogart starred in the Broadway play ''Invitation to a Murder'' at the Theatre Masque (renamed the John Golden Theatre in 1937). Its producer, Arthur Hopkins, heard the play from offstage; he sent for Bogart and offered him the role of escaped murderer Duke Mantee in Robert E. Sherwood's forthcoming play, ''The Petrified Forest''. Hopkins later recalled: The play had 197 performances at the Broadhurst Theatre in New York in 1935. Although Leslie Howard was the star, ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' critic Brooks Atkinson said that the play was "a peach ... a roaring Western melodrama ... Humphrey Bogart does the best work of his career as an actor." Bogart said that the play "marked my deliverance from the ranks of the sleek, sybaritic, stiff-shirted, swallow-tailed 'smoothies' to which I seemed condemned to life." However, he still felt insecure. Warner Bros. bought the screen rights to ''The Petrified Forest'' in 1935. The play seemed ideal for the studio, which was known for its socially-realistic pictures for a public entranced by real-life criminals such as
John Dillinger John Herbert Dillinger (June 22, 1903 – July 22, 1934) was an American gangster during the Great Depression. He led the Dillinger Gang, which was accused of robbing 24 banks and four police stations. Dillinger was imprisoned several times an ...
and Dutch Schultz.
Bette Davis Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (; April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989) was an American actress with a career spanning more than 50 years and 100 acting credits. She was noted for playing unsympathetic, sardonic characters, and was famous for her p ...
and Leslie Howard were cast. Howard, who held the production rights, made it clear that he wanted Bogart to star with him. The studio tested several Hollywood veterans for the Duke Mantee role and chose
Edward G. Robinson Edward G. Robinson (born Emanuel Goldenberg; December 12, 1893January 26, 1973) was a Romanian-American actor of stage and screen, who was popular during the Hollywood's Golden Age. He appeared in 30 Broadway plays and more than 100 films duri ...
, who had star appeal and was due to make a film to fulfill his contract. Bogart cabled news of this development to Howard in Scotland, who replied: "Att: Jack Warner Insist Bogart Play Mantee No Bogart No Deal L.H.". When Warner Bros. saw that Howard would not budge, they gave in and cast Bogart. Jack Warner wanted Bogart to use a stage name, but Bogart declined having built a reputation with his name in Broadway theater. The film version of ''
The Petrified Forest ''The Petrified Forest'' is a 1936 American film directed by Archie Mayo and based on Robert E. Sherwood's 1935 Broadway drama of the same name. The motion picture stars Leslie Howard, Bette Davis and Humphrey Bogart. The screenplay was writ ...
'' was released in 1936. According to '' Variety'', "Bogart's menace leaves nothing wanting".
Frank S. Nugent Frank Stanley Nugent (May 27, 1908 – December 29, 1965) was an American screenwriter, journalist, and film reviewer, who wrote 21 film scripts, 11 for director John Ford. He wrote almost a thousand reviews for ''The New York Times'' before lea ...
wrote for ''The New York Times'' that the actor "can be a psychopathic gangster more like Dillinger than the outlaw himself." The film was successful at the box office, earning $500,000 in rentals, and made Bogart a star. He never forgot Howard's favor and named his only daughter, Leslie Howard Bogart, after him in 1952.


Supporting gangster and villain roles

Despite his success in ''The Petrified Forest'' (an "A movie"), Bogart signed a tepid 26-week contract at $550 per week and was typecast as a gangster in a series of
B movie A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double feature ...
crime dramas. Although he was proud of his success, the fact that it derived from gangster roles weighed on him: "I can't get in a mild discussion without turning it into an argument. There must be something in my tone of voice, or this arrogant face—something that antagonizes everybody. Nobody likes me on sight. I suppose that's why I'm cast as the heavy." In spite of his success, Warner Bros. had no interest in raising Bogart's profile. His roles were repetitive and physically demanding; studios were not yet air-conditioned, and his tightly scheduled job at Warners was anything but the indolent and "peachy" actor's life he hoped for. Although Bogart disliked the roles chosen for him, he worked steadily. "In the first 34 pictures" for Warner's, he told journalist George Frazier, "I was shot in 12, electrocuted or hanged in 8, and was a jailbird in 9". Shipman indicates the quote is from a 1965 book about Bogart by Richard Gehman citing Frazier. This outline also appears in Frazier'
June 2, 1944 profile
of Bogart in ''
Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energy ...
'' magazine, p. 59
He averaged a film every two months between 1936 and 1940, sometimes working on two films at the same time. Bogart used these years to begin developing his film persona: a wounded, stoical, cynical, charming, vulnerable, self-mocking loner with a code of honor. Amenities at Warners were few, compared to the prestigious
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...
. Bogart thought that the Warners wardrobe department was cheap, and often wore his own suits in his films. He chose his own dog named Zero, to play Pard (his character's dog) in '' High Sierra''. His disputes with Warner Bros. over roles and money were similar to those waged by the studio with more established and less malleable stars such as Bette Davis and
James Cagney James Francis Cagney Jr. (; July 17, 1899March 30, 1986) was an American actor, dancer and film director. On stage and in film, Cagney was known for his consistently energetic performances, distinctive vocal style, and deadpan comic timing. He ...
. Leading men at Warner Bros. included George Raft, James Cagney and
Edward G. Robinson Edward G. Robinson (born Emanuel Goldenberg; December 12, 1893January 26, 1973) was a Romanian-American actor of stage and screen, who was popular during the Hollywood's Golden Age. He appeared in 30 Broadway plays and more than 100 films duri ...
. Most of the studio's better scripts went to them or others, leaving Bogart with what was left: films like ''
San Quentin San Quentin State Prison (SQ) is a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation state prison for men, located north of San Francisco in the unincorporated place of San Quentin in Marin County. Opened in July 1852, San Quentin is th ...
'' (1937), '' Racket Busters'' (1938), and ''
You Can't Get Away with Murder ''You Can't Get Away with Murder'' is a 1939 crime drama directed by Lewis Seiler, starring Humphrey Bogart and Gale Page, and featuring " Dead End Kid" leader Billy Halop. The film is from Bogart's period of being cast in B pictures by Warner ...
'' (1939). His only leading role during this period was in '' Dead End'' (1937, on loan to Samuel Goldwyn), as a gangster modeled after
Baby Face Nelson Lester Joseph Gillis (December 6, 1908 – November 27, 1934), also known as George Nelson and Baby Face Nelson, was an American bank robber who became a criminal partner of John Dillinger, when he helped Dillinger escape from prison, in Crown P ...
. Bogart played violent roles so often that in Nevil Shute's 1939 novel, ''
What Happened to the Corbetts ''What Happened to the Corbetts'' (US title: ''Ordeal'') is a novel by Nevil Shute, a fictional depiction of the effect of aerial bombing on the British city of Southampton, a major maritime centre. It was written in 1938, and published in April ...
'', the protagonist replies "I've seen Humphrey Bogart with one often enough" when asked if he knows how to operate an automatic weapon. Although he played a variety of supporting roles in films such as '' Angels with Dirty Faces'' (1938), Bogart's roles were either rivals of characters played by Cagney and Robinson or a secondary member of their gang. In '' Black Legion'' (1937), a movie
Graham Greene Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading English novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquir ...
described as "intelligent and exciting, if rather earnest", he played a good man who was caught up with (and destroyed by) a racist organization. The studio cast Bogart as a wrestling promoter in ''
Swing Your Lady ''Swing Your Lady'' is a 1938 country musical comedy film directed by Ray Enright, starring Humphrey Bogart, Frank McHugh, and Louise Fazenda. Ronald Reagan is also in the cast in one of his early roles. Daniel Boone Savage, a professional wres ...
'' (1938), a " hillbilly musical" which he reportedly considered his worst film performance. He played a rejuvenated, formerly-dead scientist in '' The Return of Doctor X'' (1939), his only horror film: "If it'd been Jack Warner's blood ... I wouldn't have minded so much. The trouble was they were drinking mine and I was making this stinking movie." His wife, Mary, had a stage hit in ''A Touch of Brimstone'' and refused to abandon her Broadway career for Hollywood. After the play closed, Mary relented; she insisted on continuing her career, however, and they divorced in 1937. On August 21, 1938, Bogart entered a turbulent third marriage to actress Mayo Methot, a lively, friendly woman when sober but paranoid and aggressive when drunk. She became convinced that Bogart was unfaithful to her (which he eventually was, with Lauren Bacall, while filming ''To Have and Have Not'' in 1944). They drifted apart; Methot's drinking increased, and she threw plants, crockery and other objects at Bogart. She set their house afire, stabbed him with a knife, and slashed her wrists several times. Bogart needled her; apparently enjoying confrontation, he was sometimes violent as well. The press called them "the Battling Bogarts". According to their friend, Julius Epstein, "The Bogart-Methot marriage was the sequel to the
Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...
". Bogart bought a motor launch which he named ''Sluggy,'' his nickname for Methot: "I like a jealous wife .. We get on so well together (because) we don't have illusions about each other ... I wouldn't give you two cents for a dame without a temper." Louise Brooks said that "except for Leslie Howard, no one contributed as much to Humphrey's success as his third wife, Mayo Methot." Methot's influence was increasingly destructive, however, and Bogart also continued to drink. He had a lifelong disdain for pretension and phoniness, and was again irritated by his inferior films. Bogart rarely watched his own films and avoided premieres, issuing fake press releases about his private life to satisfy journalistic and public curiosity. When he thought an actor, director or studio had done something shoddy, he spoke up publicly about it. Bogart advised Robert Mitchum that the only way to stay alive in Hollywood was to be an "againster". He was not the most popular of actors, and some in the Hollywood community shunned him privately to avoid trouble with the studios. Bogart once said, The Hollywood press, unaccustomed to such candor, was delighted.


Early stardom


''High Sierra''

'' High Sierra'' (1941, directed by Raoul Walsh) featured a screenplay written by John Huston, Bogart's friend and drinking partner, adapted from a novel by W. R. Burnett, author of the novel on which '' Little Caesar'' was based. Paul Muni, George Raft, Cagney and Robinson turned down the lead role, giving Bogart the opportunity to play a character with some depth. Walsh initially opposed Bogart's casting, preferring Raft for the part. It was Bogart's last major film as a gangster; a supporting role followed in '' The Big Shot'', released in 1942. He worked well with Ida Lupino, sparking jealousy from Mayo Methot. The film cemented a strong personal and professional connection between Bogart and Huston. Bogart admired (and somewhat envied) Huston for his skill as a writer; a poor student, Bogart was a lifelong reader. He could quote
Plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...
,
Alexander Pope Alexander Pope (21 May 1688 O.S. – 30 May 1744) was an English poet, translator, and satirist of the Enlightenment era who is considered one of the most prominent English poets of the early 18th century. An exponent of Augustan literature, ...
,
Ralph Waldo Emerson Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803April 27, 1882), who went by his middle name Waldo, was an American essayist, lecturer, philosopher, abolitionist, and poet who led the transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century. He was seen as a cham ...
and over a thousand lines of
Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
, and subscribed to the ''
Harvard Law Review The ''Harvard Law Review'' is a law review published by an independent student group at Harvard Law School. According to the ''Journal Citation Reports'', the ''Harvard Law Review''s 2015 impact factor of 4.979 placed the journal first out of 143 ...
''. Bogart admired writers; some of his best friends were screenwriters, including Louis Bromfield, Nathaniel Benchley, and Nunnally Johnson. He enjoyed intense, provocative conversation (accompanied by stiff drinks), as did Huston. Both were rebellious and enjoyed playing childish pranks. Huston was reportedly easily bored during production and admired Bogart (also bored easily off-camera) for his acting talent and his intense concentration on-set.


''The Maltese Falcon''

Now regarded as a classic film noir, '' The Maltese Falcon'' (1941) was John Huston's directorial debut. Based on the
Dashiell Hammett Samuel Dashiell Hammett (; May 27, 1894 – January 10, 1961) was an American writer of hard-boiled detective novels and short stories. He was also a screenwriter and political activist. Among the enduring characters he created are Sam Spade ('' ...
novel, it was first serialized in the pulp magazine '' Black Mask'' in 1929 and was the basis of two earlier film versions; the second was '' Satan Met a Lady'' (1936), starring
Bette Davis Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (; April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989) was an American actress with a career spanning more than 50 years and 100 acting credits. She was noted for playing unsympathetic, sardonic characters, and was famous for her p ...
. Producer Hal B. Wallis initially offered to cast George Raft as the leading man, but Raft (then better known than Bogart) had a contract stipulating he was not required to appear in remakes. Fearing that it would be nothing more than a sanitized version of the pre-
Production Code The Motion Picture Production Code was a set of industry guidelines for the self-censorship of content that was applied to most motion pictures released by major studios in the United States from 1934 to 1968. It is also popularly known as the ...
'' The Maltese Falcon'' (1931), Raft turned down the role to make ''
Manpower Human resources (HR) is the set of people who make up the workforce of an organization, business sector, industry, or economy. A narrower concept is human capital, the knowledge and skills which the individuals command. Similar terms includ ...
'' with director Raoul Walsh, with whom he had worked on '' The Bowery'' in 1933. Huston then eagerly accepted Bogart as his
Sam Spade Sam Spade is a fictional character and the protagonist of Dashiell Hammett's 1930 novel '' The Maltese Falcon''. Spade also appeared in four lesser-known short stories by Hammett. ''The Maltese Falcon'', first published as a serial in the pulp ...
. Complementing Bogart were co-stars Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, Elisha Cook Jr., and Mary Astor as the treacherous female foil. Bogart's sharp timing and facial expressions were praised by the cast and director as vital to the film's quick action and rapid-fire dialogue.Sperber and Lax 1997, p. 127. It was a commercial hit, and a major triumph for Huston. Bogart was unusually happy with the film: "It is practically a masterpiece. I don't have many things I'm proud of ... but that's one".


''Casablanca''

Bogart played his first romantic lead in '' Casablanca'' (1942): Rick Blaine, an
expatriate An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. In common usage, the term often refers to educated professionals, skilled workers, or artists taking positions outside their home country, either ...
nightclub owner hiding from a suspicious past and negotiating a fine line among
Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in N ...
, the French underground, the
Vichy Vichy (, ; ; oc, Vichèi, link=no, ) is a city in the Allier department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of central France, in the historic province of Bourbonnais. It is a spa and resort town and in World War II was the capital of ...
prefect and unresolved feelings for his ex-girlfriend. Bosley Crowther wrote in his November 1942 ''New York Times'' review that Bogart's character was used "to inject a cold point of tough resistance to evil forces afoot in Europe today". The film, directed by Michael Curtiz and produced by Hal Wallis, featured Ingrid Bergman, Claude Rains, Sydney Greenstreet, Paul Henreid,
Conrad Veidt Hans Walter Conrad Veidt (; 22 January 1893 – 3 April 1943) was a German film actor who attracted early attention for his roles in the films ''Different from the Others'' (1919), ''The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari'' (1920), and ''The Man Who Laughs ...
, Peter Lorre and
Dooley Wilson Arthur "Dooley" Wilson (April 3, 1886 – May 30, 1953) was an American actor, singer and musician who is best remembered for his portrayal of Sam in the 1942 film ''Casablanca''. In that romantic drama, he performs its theme song " As Time Goes ...
. Bogart and Bergman's on-screen relationship was based on professionalism rather than actual rapport, although Mayo Methot assumed otherwise. Off the set, the co-stars hardly spoke. Bergman (who had a reputation for affairs with her leading men)Sperber and Lax 1997, p. 201. later said about Bogart, "I kissed him but I never knew him." Because she was taller, Bogart had blocks attached to his shoes in some scenes. Bogart is reported to have been responsible for the notion that Rick Blaine should be portrayed as a
chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to dist ...
player, a metaphor for the relationships he maintained with friends, enemies, and allies. He played tournament-level chess (one division below master) in real life, often enjoying games with crew members and cast but finding his better in Paul Henreid. ''Casablanca'' won the
Academy Award for Best Picture The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) since the awards debuted in 1929. This award goes to the producers of the film and is the only categ ...
at the 16th Academy Awards for 1943. Bogart was nominated for
Best Actor in a Leading Role Best or The Best may refer to: People * Best (surname), people with the surname Best * Best (footballer, born 1968), retired Portuguese footballer Companies and organizations * Best & Co., an 1879–1971 clothing chain * Best Lock Corporation ...
, but lost to Paul Lukas for his performance in '' Watch on the Rhine''. The film vaulted Bogart from fourth place to first in the studio's roster, however, finally overtaking
James Cagney James Francis Cagney Jr. (; July 17, 1899March 30, 1986) was an American actor, dancer and film director. On stage and in film, Cagney was known for his consistently energetic performances, distinctive vocal style, and deadpan comic timing. He ...
. He more than doubled his annual salary to over $460,000 by 1946, making him the world's highest-paid actor. Bogart went on United Service Organizations and War Bond tours with Methot in 1943 and 1944, making arduous trips to Italy and North Africa (including Casablanca). He was still required to perform in films with weak scripts, leading to conflicts with the front office. He starred in '' Conflict'' (1945, again with Greenstreet), but turned down '' God is My Co-Pilot'' that year.


Bogart and Bacall


''To Have and Have Not''

Howard Hawks Howard Winchester Hawks (May 30, 1896December 26, 1977) was an American film director, producer and screenwriter of the classic Hollywood era. Critic Leonard Maltin called him "the greatest American director who is not a household name." A ...
introduced Bogart and Lauren Bacall (1924–2014) while Bogart was filming '' Passage to Marseille'' (1944). The three subsequently collaborated on ''
To Have and Have Not ''To Have and Have Not'' is a novel by Ernest Hemingway published in 1937 by Charles Scribner's Sons. The book follows Harry Morgan, a fishing boat captain out of Key West, Florida. ''To Have and Have Not'' was Hemingway's second novel set in th ...
'' (1944), a loose adaptation of the
Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century f ...
novel, and Bacall's film debut. It has several similarities to ''Casablanca'': the same kind of hero and enemies, and a piano player (portrayed this time by Hoagy Carmichael) as a supporting character. When they met, Bacall was 19 and Bogart 44; he nicknamed her "Baby." A model since age 16, she had appeared in two failed plays. Bogart was attracted by Bacall's high cheekbones, green eyes, tawny blond hair, lean body, maturity, poise and earthy, outspoken honesty; he reportedly said, "I just saw your test. We'll have a lot of fun together". Their emotional bond was strong from the start, their difference in age and acting-experience encouraged a mentor-student dynamic. In contrast to the Hollywood norm, their affair was Bogart's first with a leading lady. His early meetings with Bacall were discreet and brief, their separations bridged by love letters. The relationship made it easier for Bacall to make her first film, and Bogart did his best to put her at ease with jokes and quiet coaching.Bacall, Lauren. ''By Myself and Then Some'', HarperCollins, New York, 2005. He encouraged her to steal scenes;
Howard Hawks Howard Winchester Hawks (May 30, 1896December 26, 1977) was an American film director, producer and screenwriter of the classic Hollywood era. Critic Leonard Maltin called him "the greatest American director who is not a household name." A ...
also did his best to highlight her role, and found Bogart easy to direct. However, Hawks began to disapprove of the relationship. He considered himself Bacall's protector and mentor, and Bogart was usurping that role. Not usually drawn to his starlets, the married director also fell for Bacall; he told her that she meant nothing to Bogart and threatened to send her to the poverty-row studio
Monogram Pictures Monogram Pictures Corporation was an American film studio that produced mostly low-budget films between 1931 and 1953, when the firm completed a transition to the name Allied Artists Pictures Corporation. Monogram was among the smaller studios i ...
. Bogart calmed her down, and then went after Hawks; Jack Warner settled the dispute, and filming resumed. Hawks said about Bacall, "Bogie fell in love with the character she played, so she had to keep playing it the rest of her life."


''The Big Sleep''

Months after wrapping ''To Have and Have Not'', Bogart and Bacall were reunited for an encore: the film noir '' The Big Sleep'' (1946), based on the novel by Raymond Chandler with script help from William Faulkner. Chandler admired the actor's performance: "Bogart can be tough without a gun. Also, he has a sense of humor that contains that grating undertone of contempt." Although the film was completed and scheduled for release in 1945, it was withdrawn and re-edited to add scenes exploiting Bogart and Bacall's box-office chemistry in ''To Have and Have Not'' and the publicity surrounding their offscreen relationship. At the insistence of director Howard Hawks, production partner
Charles K. Feldman Charles K. Feldman (April 26, 1905 – May 25, 1968) was a Hollywood attorney, film producer and talent agent who founded the Famous Artists talent agency. According to one obituary, Feldman disdained publicity. "Feldman was an enigma to Holly ...
agreed to a rewrite of Bacall's scenes to heighten the "insolent" quality which had intrigued critics such as James Agee and audiences of the earlier film, and a memo was sent to studio head Jack Warner. The dialogue, especially in the added scenes supplied by Hawks, was full of sexual
innuendo An innuendo is a hint, insinuation or intimation about a person or thing, especially of a denigrating or derogatory nature. It can also be a remark or question, typically disparaging (also called insinuation), that works obliquely by allusion ...
. The film was successful, although some critics found its plot confusing and overly complicated. According to Chandler, Hawks and Bogart argued about who killed the chauffeur; when Chandler received an inquiry by telegram, he could not provide an answer.


Marriage

Bogart filed for divorce from Methot in February 1945. He and Bacall married in a small ceremony at the country home of Bogart's close friend, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Louis Bromfield, at Malabar Farm (near Lucas, Ohio) on May 21, 1945. They moved into a $160,000 ($ in ) white brick mansion in an exclusive neighborhood of Los Angeles' Holmby Hills. At the time of the 1950 United States census, the couple were living at 2707 Benedict Canyon Drive in Beverly Hills with their son and nursemaid. Bacall is listed as Betty Bogart. The marriage was a happy one, with tensions due to their differences. Bogart's drinking was sometimes problematic. He was a homebody, and Bacall liked the nightlife; he loved the sea, which made her seasick. Bogart bought the ''Santana'', a sailing yacht, from actor
Dick Powell Richard Ewing Powell (November 14, 1904 – January 2, 1963) was an American actor, musician, producer, director, and studio head. Though he came to stardom as a musical comedy performer, he showed versatility, and successfully transformed into ...
in 1945. He found the sea a sanctuary and spent about thirty weekends a year on the water, with a particular fondness for sailing around Catalina Island: "An actor needs something to stabilize his personality, something to nail down what he really is, not what he is currently pretending to be." Bogart joined the Coast Guard Temporary Reserve (a forerunner of the modern Coast Guard Auxiliary), offering the Coast Guard use of the ''Santana''. He reportedly attempted to enlist, but was turned down due to his age.


''Dark Passage'' and ''Key Largo''

The suspenseful '' Dark Passage'' (1947) was Bogart and Bacall's next collaboration. Vincent Parry (Bogart) is intent on finding the real murderer for a crime of which he was convicted and sentenced to prison. According to Bogart's biographer, Stefan Kanfer, it was "a production line film noir with no particular distinction". Bogart and Bacall's last pairing in a film was in '' Key Largo'' (1948). Directed by John Huston,
Edward G. Robinson Edward G. Robinson (born Emanuel Goldenberg; December 12, 1893January 26, 1973) was a Romanian-American actor of stage and screen, who was popular during the Hollywood's Golden Age. He appeared in 30 Broadway plays and more than 100 films duri ...
was billed second (behind Bogart) as gangster Johnny Rocco: a seething, older synthesis of many of his early bad-guy roles. The billing question was hard-fought and at the end of at least one of the trailers, Robinson is listed above Bogart in a list of the actors' names in the last frame; and in the film itself, Robinson's name, appearing between Bogart's and Bacall's, is pictured slightly higher onscreen than the other two. Robinson had top billing over Bogart in their four previous films together: '' Bullets or Ballots'' (1936), '' Kid Galahad'' (1937), '' The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse'' (1938) and ''
Brother Orchid ''Brother Orchid'' is a 1940 American crime/ comedy film directed by Lloyd Bacon and starring Edward G. Robinson, Ann Sothern and Humphrey Bogart, with featured performances by Donald Crisp, Ralph Bellamy and Allen Jenkins. The screenplay was wr ...
'' (1940). In some posters for ''Key Largo'', Robinson's picture is substantially larger than Bogart's, and in the foreground manhandling Bacall while Bogart is in the background. The characters are trapped during a hurricane in a hotel owned by Bacall's father-in-law, portrayed by Lionel Barrymore.
Claire Trevor Claire Trevor ( Wemlinger; March 8, 1910April 8, 2000) was an American actress. She appeared in 65 feature films from 1933 to 1982, winning the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in ''Key Largo'' (1948), and received nomina ...
won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance as Rocco's physically abused, alcoholic girlfriend.


Later career


''The Treasure of the Sierra Madre''

Riding high in 1947 with a new contract which provided limited script refusal and the right to form his own production company, Bogart rejoined with John Huston for '' The Treasure of the Sierra Madre'': a stark tale of greed among three gold prospectors in Mexico. Lacking a love interest or a happy ending, it was considered a risky project. Bogart later said about co-star (and John Huston's father) Walter Huston, "He's probably the only performer in Hollywood to whom I'd gladly lose a scene." The film was shot in the heat of summer for greater realism and atmosphere and was grueling to make. James Agee wrote, "Bogart does a wonderful job with this character ... miles ahead of the very good work he has done before." Although John Huston won the
Academy Award for Best Director The Academy Award for Best Director (officially known as the Academy Award of Merit for Directing) is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given in honor of a film director who has exhibi ...
and screenplay and his father won the Best Supporting Actor award, the film had mediocre box-office results. Bogart complained, "An intelligent script, beautifully directed—something different—and the public turned a cold shoulder on it."


House Un-American Activities Committee

Bogart, a liberal Democrat, organized the
Committee for the First Amendment The Committee for the First Amendment was an action group formed in September 1947 by actors in support of the Hollywood Ten during the hearings of the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC). It was founded by screenwriter Philip Dunne, ...
(a delegation to Washington, D.C.) opposing what he saw as the House Un-American Activities Committee's harassment of Hollywood screenwriters and actors. He later wrote an article, "I'm No Communist", for the March 1948 issue of '' Photoplay'' magazine distancing himself from the Hollywood Ten to counter negative publicity resulting from his appearance. Bogart wrote, "The ten men cited for contempt by the House Un-American Activities Committee were not defended by us."


Santana Productions

Bogart created his film company, Santana Productions (named after his yacht and the cabin cruiser in ''Key Largo''), in 1948. The right to create his own company had left Jack Warner furious, fearful that other stars would do the same and further erode the major studios' power. In addition to pressure from freelancing actors such as Bogart,
James Stewart James Maitland Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997) was an American actor and military pilot. Known for his distinctive drawl and everyman screen persona, Stewart's film career spanned 80 films from 1935 to 1991. With the strong morality ...
, and Henry Fonda, they were beginning to buckle from the impact of television and the enforcement of antitrust laws which broke up theater chains. Bogart appeared in his final films for Warners, '' Chain Lightning'' (1950) and '' The Enforcer'' (1951). Except for '' Beat the Devil'' (1953), originally distributed in the United States by
United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the stu ...
, the company released its films through
Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...
; Columbia re-released ''Beat the Devil'' a decade later. In quick succession, Bogart starred in '' Knock on Any Door'' (1949), '' Tokyo Joe'' (1949), ''
In a Lonely Place ''In a Lonely Place'' is a 1950 American film noir directed by Nicholas Ray and starring Humphrey Bogart and Gloria Grahame, produced for Bogart's Santana Productions. The script was written by Andrew P. Solt from Edmund H. North's adaptation of ...
'' (1950), and '' Sirocco'' (1951). Santana also made two films without him: '' And Baby Makes Three'' (1949) and '' The Family Secret'' (1951). Although most lost money at the box office (ultimately forcing Santana's sale), at least two retain a reputation; ''In a Lonely Place'' is considered a film-noir high point. Bogart plays Dixon Steele, an embittered writer with a violent reputation who is the primary suspect in the murder of a young woman and falls in love with failed actress Laurel Gray ( Gloria Grahame). Several Bogart biographers, and actress-writer Louise Brooks, have felt that this role is closest to the real Bogart. According to Brooks, the film "gave him a role that he could play with complexity, because the film character's pride in his art, his selfishness, drunkenness, lack of energy stabbed with lightning strokes of violence were shared by the real Bogart". The character mimics some of Bogart's personal habits, twice ordering the actor's favorite meal (ham and eggs). A parody of sorts of ''The Maltese Falcon'', ''Beat the Devil'' was the final film for Bogart and John Huston. Co-written by Truman Capote, the eccentrically filmed story follows an amoral group of rogues, one of whom was portrayed by Peter Lorre, chasing an unattainable treasure. Bogart sold his interest in Santana to Columbia for over $1 million in 1955.


''The African Queen''

Outside Santana Productions, Bogart starred with
Katharine Hepburn Katharine Houghton Hepburn (May 12, 1907 – June 29, 2003) was an American actress in film, stage, and television. Her career as a Hollywood leading lady spanned over 60 years. She was known for her headstrong independence, spirited perso ...
in the John Huston-directed '' The African Queen'' in 1951. The C. S. Forester novel on which it was based was overlooked and left undeveloped for 15 years until producer
Sam Spiegel Samuel P. Spiegel (November 11, 1901December 31, 1985) was an American independent film producer born in the Galician area of Austria-Hungary. Financially responsible for some of the most critically acclaimed motion pictures of the 20th centur ...
and Huston bought the rights. Spiegel sent Katharine Hepburn the book; she suggested Bogart for the male lead, believing that "he was the only man who could have played that part". Huston's love of adventure, his deep, longstanding friendship (and success) with Bogart, and the chance to work with Hepburn convinced the actor to leave Hollywood for a difficult shoot on location in the
Belgian Congo The Belgian Congo (french: Congo belge, ; nl, Belgisch-Congo) was a Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960. The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in 1964. Colo ...
. Bogart was to get 30 percent of the profits and Hepburn 10 percent, plus a relatively small salary for both. The stars met in London and announced that they would work together. Bacall came for the over-four-month duration, leaving their young son in Los Angeles. The Bogarts began the trip with a junket through Europe, including a visit with Pope Pius XII. Bacall later made herself useful as a cook, nurse and clothes washer; her husband said: "I don't know what we'd have done without her. She Luxed my undies in darkest Africa." Nearly everyone in the cast developed
dysentery Dysentery (UK pronunciation: , US: ), historically known as the bloody flux, is a type of gastroenteritis that results in bloody diarrhea. Other symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain, and a feeling of incomplete defecation. Complications ...
except Bogart and Huston, who subsisted on canned food and alcohol; Bogart said, "All I ate was baked beans, canned asparagus and
Scotch whisky Scotch whisky (; sco, Scots whisky/whiskie, whusk(e)y; often simply called whisky or Scotch) is malt whisky or grain whisky (or a blend of the two), made in Scotland. All Scotch whisky was originally made from malted barley. Commercial disti ...
. Whenever a fly bit Huston or me, it dropped dead." Hepburn (a teetotaler) fared worse in the difficult conditions, losing weight and at one point becoming very ill. Bogart resisted Huston's insistence on using real leeches in a key scene where Charlie has to drag his steam launch through an infested marsh, and reasonable fakes were employed. The crew overcame illness, army-ant infestations, leaky boats, poor food, attacking hippos, poor water filters, extreme heat, isolation, and a boat fire to complete the film. Despite the discomfort of jumping from the boat into swamps, rivers and marshes, ''The African Queen'' apparently rekindled Bogart's early love of boats; when he returned to California, he bought a classic mahogany Hacker-Craft runabout which he kept until his death. His performance as cantankerous skipper Charlie Allnutt earned Bogart an Academy Award for Best Actor in 1951 (his only award of three nominations), and he considered it the best of his film career. Promising friends that if he won his speech would break the convention of thanking everyone in sight, Bogart advised
Claire Trevor Claire Trevor ( Wemlinger; March 8, 1910April 8, 2000) was an American actress. She appeared in 65 feature films from 1933 to 1982, winning the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in ''Key Largo'' (1948), and received nomina ...
when she was nominated for '' Key Largo'' to "just say you did it all yourself and don't thank anyone". When Bogart won, however, he said: "It's a long way from the Belgian Congo to the stage of this theatre. It's nicer to be here. Thank you very much ... No one does it alone. As in tennis, you need a good opponent or partner to bring out the best in you. John and Katie helped me to be where I am now." Despite the award and its accompanying recognition, Bogart later said: "The way to survive an Oscar is never to try to win another one ... too many stars ... win it and then figure they have to top themselves ... they become afraid to take chances. The result: A lot of dull performances in dull pictures." ''The African Queen'' was Bogart's first starring Technicolor role.


''The Caine Mutiny''

Bogart dropped his asking price to obtain the role of Captain Queeg in Edward Dmytryk's drama, '' The Caine Mutiny'' (1954). Though he retained some of his old bitterness about having to do so, he delivered a strong performance in the lead; he received his final Oscar nomination and was the subject of a June 7, 1954 ''
Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and event (philosophy), events that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various me ...
'' magazine cover story. Despite his success, Bogart was still melancholy; he grumbled to (and feuded with) the studio, while his health began to deteriorate. Like his portrayal of Fred C. Dobbs in ''The Treasure of the Sierra Madre'', Bogart's Queeg is a paranoid, self-pitying character whose small-mindedness eventually destroys him. Henry Fonda played a different role in the Broadway version of ''The Caine Mutiny'', generating publicity for the film.


Final roles

For '' Sabrina'' (1954),
Billy Wilder Billy Wilder (; ; born Samuel Wilder; June 22, 1906 – March 27, 2002) was an Austrian-American filmmaker. His career in Hollywood spanned five decades, and he is regarded as one of the most brilliant and versatile filmmakers of Classic Holly ...
wanted
Cary Grant Cary Grant (born Archibald Alec Leach; January 18, 1904November 29, 1986) was an English-American actor. He was known for his Mid-Atlantic accent, debonair demeanor, light-hearted approach to acting, and sense of comic timing. He was one of ...
for the older male lead and chose Bogart to play the conservative brother who competes with his younger, playboy sibling ( William Holden) for the affection of the Cinderella-like Sabrina (
Audrey Hepburn Audrey Hepburn (born Audrey Kathleen Ruston; 4 May 1929 – 20 January 1993) was a British actress and humanitarian. Recognised as both a film and fashion icon, she was ranked by the American Film Institute as the third-greatest female screen ...
). Although Bogart was lukewarm about the part, he agreed to it on a handshake with Wilder without a finished script but with the director's assurance that he would take good care of Bogart during filming. The actor, however, got along poorly with his director and co-stars; he complained about the script's last-minute drafting and delivery, and accused Wilder of favoring Hepburn and Holden on and off the set. Wilder was the opposite of Bogart's ideal director (John Huston) in style and personality; Bogart complained to the press that Wilder was "overbearing" and "is kind of
Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...
n German with a riding crop. He is the type of director I don't like to work with ... the picture is a crock of crap. I got sick and tired of who gets Sabrina." Wilder later said, "We parted as enemies but finally made up." Despite the acrimony, the film was successful; according to a review in ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', Bogart was "incredibly adroit ... the skill with which this old rock-ribbed actor blends the gags and such duplicities with a manly manner of melting is one of the incalculable joys of the show". Joseph L. Mankiewicz's '' The Barefoot Contessa'' (1954) was filmed in
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
. In this Hollywood backstory, Bogart is a broken-down man, a cynical director-narrator who saves his career by making a star of a
flamenco Flamenco (), in its strictest sense, is an art form based on the various folkloric music traditions of southern Spain, developed within the gitano subculture of the region of Andalusia, and also having historical presence in Extremadura a ...
dancer modeled on Rita Hayworth. He was uneasy with Ava Gardner in the female lead; she had just broken up with his Rat Pack buddy Frank Sinatra, and Bogart was annoyed by her inexperienced performance. The actor was generally praised as the film's strongest part. During filming and while Bacall was home, Bogart resumed his discreet affair with Verita Bouvaire-Thompson (his long-time studio assistant, whom he drank with and took sailing). When Bacall found them together, she extracted an expensive shopping spree from her husband; the three traveled together after the shooting. Bogart could be generous with actors, particularly those who were blacklisted, down on their luck or having personal problems. During the filming of the Edward Dmytryk-directed '' The Left Hand of God'' (1955), he noticed his co-star Gene Tierney having a hard time remembering her lines and behaving oddly; he coached her, feeding Tierney her lines. Familiar with mental illness because of his sister's bouts of depression, Bogart encouraged Tierney to seek treatment. He also stood behind
Joan Bennett Joan Geraldine Bennett (February 27, 1910 – December 7, 1990) was an American stage, film, and television actress. She came from a show-business family, one of three acting sisters. Beginning her career on the stage, Bennett appeared in more t ...
and insisted on her as his co-star in Michael Curtiz's '' We're No Angels'' (1955) when a scandal made her '' persona non grata'' with studio head Jack Warner. Bogart had already been diagnosed with terminal cancer when shooting '' The Harder They Fall'', a boxing drama with Rod Steiger in a supporting role. Steiger later mentioned Bogart's courage and geniality during his final performance:
"Bogey and I got on very well. Unlike some other stars, when they had closeups, you might have been relegated to a two-shot, or cut out altogether. Bogey didn't play those games. He was a professional and had tremendous authority. He'd come in exactly at 9am and leave at precisely 6pm. I remember once walking to lunch in between takes and seeing Bogey on the lot. I shouldn't have because his work was finished for the day. I asked him why he was still on the lot, and he said, 'They want to shoot some retakes of my closeups because my eyes are too watery'. A little while later, after the film, somebody came up to me with word of Bogey's death. Then it struck me. His eyes were watery because he was in pain with the cancer. I thought: 'How dumb can you be, Rodney'!"


Television and radio

Bogart rarely performed on television, but he and Bacall appeared on Edward R. Murrow's '' Person to Person'' and disagreed on the answer to every question. He also appeared on '' The Jack Benny Show'', where a surviving
kinescope Kinescope , shortened to kine , also known as telerecording in Britain, is a recording of a television program on motion picture film, directly through a lens focused on the screen of a video monitor. The process was pioneered during the 194 ...
of the live telecast captures him in his only TV sketch-comedy performance (October 25, 1953). Bogart and Bacall worked on an early color telecast in 1955, an NBC adaptation of "
The Petrified Forest ''The Petrified Forest'' is a 1936 American film directed by Archie Mayo and based on Robert E. Sherwood's 1935 Broadway drama of the same name. The motion picture stars Leslie Howard, Bette Davis and Humphrey Bogart. The screenplay was writ ...
" for '' Producers' Showcase''. Bogart received top billing, Henry Fonda played Leslie Howard's role and Bacall played
Bette Davis Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (; April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989) was an American actress with a career spanning more than 50 years and 100 acting credits. She was noted for playing unsympathetic, sardonic characters, and was famous for her p ...
's part.
Jack Klugman Jack Klugman (April 27, 1922 – December 24, 2012) was an American actor of stage, film, and television. He began his career in 1950 and started television and film work with roles in ''12 Angry Men'' (1957) and ''Cry Terror!'' (1958). Du ...
, Richard Jaeckel, and Jack Warden played supporting roles. In the late 1990s, Bacall donated the only known
kinescope Kinescope , shortened to kine , also known as telerecording in Britain, is a recording of a television program on motion picture film, directly through a lens focused on the screen of a video monitor. The process was pioneered during the 194 ...
of the 1955 performance (in black and white) to the Museum Of Television & Radio (now the
Paley Center for Media The Paley Center for Media, formerly the Museum of Television & Radio (MT&R) and the Museum of Broadcasting, founded in 1975 by William S. Paley, is an American cultural institution in New York with a branch office in Los Angeles, dedicated to ...
), where it remains archived for viewing in New York City and Los Angeles. It is now in the public domain. Bogart also performed radio adaptations of some of his best-known films, such as ''Casablanca'' and ''The Maltese Falcon'', and recorded a radio series entitled ''
Bold Venture ''Bold Venture'' was a syndicated radio series starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall that aired from 1951 to 1952. Morton Fine and David Friedkin scripted the taped series for Bogart's Santana Productions. Synopsis Salty seadog Slate Sha ...
'' with Bacall.


Personal life


Children

Bogart became a father at age 49, when Bacall gave birth to Stephen Humphrey Bogart on January 6, 1949, during the filming of ''Tokyo Joe''. The name was taken from Steve, Bogart's character's nickname in ''To Have and Have Not''. Stephen became an author and biographer and hosted a television special about his father on
Turner Classic Movies Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie-oriented pay-TV network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasting campus in the Midtown business district of ...
. The couple's daughter, Leslie Howard Bogart, was born on August 23, 1952. Her first and middle names honor Leslie Howard, Bogart's friend and co-star in ''The Petrified Forest''.


Rat Pack

Bogart was a founding member and the original leader of the Hollywood Rat Pack. In the spring of 1955, after a long party in
Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Veg ...
attended by Frank Sinatra,
Judy Garland Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. While critically acclaimed for many different roles throughout her career, she is widely known for playing the part of Dorothy Gale in '' The ...
, her husband
Sidney Luft Michael Sidney Luft (November 2, 1915 – September 15, 2005) was an American show business figure, the second husband of actress Lynn Bari, and later the third husband of actress and singer Judy Garland. Early life Luft was born in New Yor ...
, Michael Romanoff and his wife Gloria, David Niven,
Angie Dickinson Angeline Dickinson (née Brown; born September 30, 1931) is an American actress. She began her career on television, appearing in many anthology series during the 1950s, before gaining her breakthrough role in ''Gun the Man Down'' (1956) wit ...
and others, Bacall surveyed the wreckage and said: "You look like a goddamn rat pack."Sperber and Lax 1997, p. 504. The name stuck and was made official at Romanoff's in
Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. ...
. Sinatra was dubbed pack president; Bacall den mother; Bogart director of public relations, and Sid Luft acting cage manager.Sperber and Lax 1997, p. 430. Asked by columnist Earl Wilson what the group's purpose was, Bacall replied: "To drink a lot of bourbon and stay up late."


Illness and death

After signing a long-term deal with Warner Bros., Bogart predicted with glee that his teeth and hair would fall out before the contract ended. In 1955, however, his health was failing. In the wake of Santana, Bogart had formed a new company and had plans for a film ('' Melville Goodwin, U.S.A.'') in which he would play a general and Bacall a press magnate. His persistent cough and difficulty eating became too serious to ignore, though, and he dropped the project. A heavy smoker and drinker, Bogart had developed esophageal cancer. He did not talk about his health and visited a doctor in January 1956 after considerable persuasion from Bacall. The disease worsened and several weeks later, on March 1, Bogart had surgery to remove his
esophagus The esophagus (American English) or oesophagus (British English; both ), non-technically known also as the food pipe or gullet, is an organ in vertebrates through which food passes, aided by peristaltic contractions, from the pharynx to t ...
, two lymph nodes and a rib. The surgery was unsuccessful, and
chemotherapy Chemotherapy (often abbreviated to chemo and sometimes CTX or CTx) is a type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) as part of a standardized chemotherapy regimen. Chemother ...
followed. He had additional surgery in November 1956, when the cancer had metastasized. Although he became too weak to walk up and down stairs, he joked despite the pain: "Put me in the dumbwaiter and I'll ride down to the first floor in style." It was then altered to accommodate his wheelchair. Frank Sinatra,
Katharine Hepburn Katharine Houghton Hepburn (May 12, 1907 – June 29, 2003) was an American actress in film, stage, and television. Her career as a Hollywood leading lady spanned over 60 years. She was known for her headstrong independence, spirited perso ...
, and
Spencer Tracy Spencer Bonaventure Tracy (April 5, 1900 – June 10, 1967) was an American actor. He was known for his natural performing style and versatility. One of the major stars of Hollywood's Golden Age, Tracy was the first actor to win two cons ...
visited him on January 13, 1957. In an interview, Hepburn said: Bogart lapsed into a coma and died the following day, 20 days after his 57th birthday; at the time of his death he weighed only . A simple funeral was held at All Saints Episcopal Church, with music by Bogart's favorite composers:
Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wo ...
and Claude Debussy. In attendance were some of Hollywood's biggest stars, including Hepburn, Tracy, Judy Garland, David Niven, Ronald Reagan, James Mason,
Audrey Hepburn Audrey Hepburn (born Audrey Kathleen Ruston; 4 May 1929 – 20 January 1993) was a British actress and humanitarian. Recognised as both a film and fashion icon, she was ranked by the American Film Institute as the third-greatest female screen ...
,
Bette Davis Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (; April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989) was an American actress with a career spanning more than 50 years and 100 acting credits. She was noted for playing unsympathetic, sardonic characters, and was famous for her p ...
, Danny Kaye, Joan Fontaine,
Marlene Dietrich Marie Magdalene "Marlene" DietrichBorn as Maria Magdalena, not Marie Magdalene, according to Dietrich's biography by her daughter, Maria Riva ; however Dietrich's biography by Charlotte Chandler cites "Marie Magdalene" as her birth name . (, ; ...
, Gene Tierney,
Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier (; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director who, along with his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud, was one of a trio of male actors who dominated the British stage ...
, Barbara Stanwyck, Lana Turner,
Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in more than 70 short and feature films, with ...
, Barton MacLane, Lex Barker,
Olivia de Havilland Dame Olivia Mary de Havilland (; July 1, 1916July 26, 2020) was a British-American actress. The major works of her cinematic career spanned from 1935 to 1988. She appeared in 49 feature films and was one of the leading actresses of her time. ...
, Michael Curtiz,
James Cagney James Francis Cagney Jr. (; July 17, 1899March 30, 1986) was an American actor, dancer and film director. On stage and in film, Cagney was known for his consistently energetic performances, distinctive vocal style, and deadpan comic timing. He ...
,
David O. Selznick David O. Selznick (May 10, 1902June 22, 1965) was an American film producer, screenwriter and film studio executive who produced '' Gone with the Wind'' (1939) and ''Rebecca'' (1940), both of which earned him an Academy Award for Best Picture. ...
,
William Wyler William Wyler (; born Willi Wyler (); July 1, 1902 – July 27, 1981) was a Swiss-German-American film director and producer who won the Academy Award for Best Director three times, those being for '' Mrs. Miniver'' (1942), '' The Best Years o ...
,
Richard Brooks Richard Brooks (May 18, 1912 – March 11, 1992) was an American screenwriter, film director, novelist and film producer. Nominated for eight Oscars in his career, he was best known for ''Blackboard Jungle'' (1955), ''Cat on a Hot Tin Roof'' ...
, Harry Cohn, Jane Wyman, Jean Arthur, Claude Rains, Raymond Massey, George Raft, Myrna Loy, Lee J. Cobb, Gene Kelly, Henry Fonda,
John Wayne Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne and nicknamed The Duke or Duke Wayne, was an American actor who became a popular icon through his starring roles in films made during Hollywood's Go ...
, Jimmy Stewart,
Jack Benny Jack Benny (born Benjamin Kubelsky, February 14, 1894 – December 26, 1974) was an American entertainer who evolved from a modest success playing violin on the vaudeville circuit to one of the leading entertainers of the twentieth century wit ...
, Robert Taylor, Eleanor Parker, Greer Garson,
Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...
,
Ronald Colman Ronald Charles Colman (9 February 1891 – 19 May 1958) was an English-born actor, starting his career in theatre and silent film in his native country, then immigrating to the United States and having a successful Cinema of the United States, ...
, Lena Horne,
Joan Crawford Joan Crawford (born Lucille Fay LeSueur; March 23, ncertain year from 1904 to 1908was an American actress. She started her career as a dancer in traveling theatrical companies before debuting on Broadway. Crawford was signed to a motion pict ...
,
Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...
, Ingrid Bergman,
Glenda Farrell Glenda Farrell (June 30, 1904 – May 1, 1971) was an American actress. Farrell personified the smart and sassy, wisecracking blonde of the Classical Hollywood films. Farrell's career spanned more than 50 years, appearing in numerous Broadwa ...
,
Don Ameche Don Ameche (; born Dominic Felix Amici; May 31, 1908 – December 6, 1993) was an American actor, comedian and vaudevillian. After playing in college shows, stock, and vaudeville, he became a major radio star in the early 1930s, which ...
,
Ann Sheridan Clara Lou "Ann" Sheridan (February 21, 1915 – January 21, 1967) was an American actress and singer. She is best known for her roles in the films ''San Quentin'' (1937) with Humphrey Bogart, ''Angels with Dirty Faces'' (1938) with James Cagney ...
, Ida Lupino, Joan Blondell,
Alexander Knox Alexander Knox (16 January 1907 – 25 April 1995) was a Canadian actor on stage, screen, and occasionally television. He was nominated for an Oscar and won a Golden Globe for his performance as Woodrow Wilson in the film '' Wilson'' (1944). ...
, Veronica Lake, Randolph Scott, Miriam Hopkins, José Ferrer, Charles Laughton, Mary Astor, Bruce Bennett, Margaret Lindsay, Sylvia Sidney,
Alexis Smith Margaret Alexis Fitzsimmons-Smith (June 8, 1921 – June 9, 1993) was a Canadian-born American actress and singer. She appeared in several major Hollywood films in the 1940s and had a notable career on Broadway in the 1970s, winning a Tony Awar ...
, Priscilla Lane,
Mary Pickford Gladys Marie Smith (April 8, 1892 – May 29, 1979), known professionally as Mary Pickford, was a Canadian-American stage and screen actress and producer with a career that spanned five decades. A pioneer in the US film industry, she co-founde ...
, Ralph Bellamy,
Cyd Charisse Cyd Charisse (born Tula Ellice Finklea; March 8, 1922 – June 17, 2008) was an American actress and dancer. After recovering from polio as a child and studying ballet, Charisse entered films in the 1940s. Her roles usually featured her abilit ...
, Cesar Romero, Ann Sothern, Zero Mostel, Walter Brennan,
Jennifer Jones Jennifer Jones (born Phylis Lee Isley; March 2, 1919 – December 17, 2009), also known as Jennifer Jones Simon, was an American actress and mental health advocate. Over the course of her career that spanned over five decades, she was nominated ...
, Louella Parsons, Joel McCrea,
Norma Shearer Edith Norma Shearer (August 11, 1902June 12, 1983) was a Canadian-American actress who was active on film from 1919 through 1942. Shearer often played spunky, sexually liberated ingénues. She appeared in adaptations of Noël Coward, Eugene O' ...
, John Huston, Walter Huston, Agnes Moorehead, Rosalind Russell, Adolphe Menjou, Fredric March,
Errol Flynn Errol Leslie Thomson Flynn (20 June 1909 – 14 October 1959) was an Australian-American actor who achieved worldwide fame during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood. He was known for his romantic swashbuckler roles, freque ...
,
Edward G. Robinson Edward G. Robinson (born Emanuel Goldenberg; December 12, 1893January 26, 1973) was a Romanian-American actor of stage and screen, who was popular during the Hollywood's Golden Age. He appeared in 30 Broadway plays and more than 100 films duri ...
, Gregory Peck,
Gary Cooper Gary Cooper (born Frank James Cooper; May 7, 1901May 13, 1961) was an American actor known for his strong, quiet screen persona and understated acting style. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice and had a further three nominations, a ...
,
Billy Wilder Billy Wilder (; ; born Samuel Wilder; June 22, 1906 – March 27, 2002) was an Austrian-American filmmaker. His career in Hollywood spanned five decades, and he is regarded as one of the most brilliant and versatile filmmakers of Classic Holly ...
, and studio head Jack L. Warner. Bacall asked Tracy to give the eulogy; he was too upset, however, and John Huston spoke instead: Bogart was cremated, and his ashes were interred in Forest Lawn Memorial Park's Columbarium of Eternal Light in its Garden of Memory in Glendale, California. He was buried with a small, gold whistle that had been part of a charm bracelet he had given to Bacall before they married. On it was inscribed, "If you want anything, just whistle." This alluded to a scene in ''To Have and Have Not'' when Bacall's character says to Bogart shortly after their first meeting, "You know how to whistle, don't you, Steve? You just put your lips together and blow." Bogart's estate had a gross value of $910,146 and a net value of $737,668 ($ million and $ million, respectively, in ).


Awards and honors

On August 21, 1946, he recorded his hand- and footprints in cement in a ceremony at Grauman's Chinese Theatre. On February 8, 1960, Bogart was posthumously inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame with a motion-picture star at 6322 Hollywood Boulevard.


Legacy and tributes

After his death, a "Bogie cult" formed at the Brattle Theatre in
Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, ...
, in
Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...
, and in France; this contributed to his increased popularity during the late 1950s and 1960s. In 1997, ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular ...
'' magazine ranked Bogart the number-one movie legend of all time; two years later, the
American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees. Lead ...
rated him the greatest male screen legend. Jean-Luc Godard's '' Breathless'' (1960) was the first film to pay tribute to Bogart. Over a decade later, in
Woody Allen Heywood "Woody" Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American film director, writer, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades and multiple Academy Award-winning films. He began his career writing ...
's comic paean '' Play It Again, Sam'' (1972), Bogart's ghost aids Allen's character: a film critic having difficulties with women who says that his "sex life has turned into the 'Petrified Forest. The
United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the ...
honored Bogart with a stamp in its "Legends of Hollywood" series in 1997, the third figure recognized. At a ceremony attended by Lauren Bacall and the Bogart children, Stephen and Leslie, USPS governing-board chair
Tirso del Junco Tirso Del Junco (born April 20, 1925) is an American politician who served as chair of the Republican Party of California, and the head of the University of California board of regents. He is also a former Olympic rower and a medical doctor. E ...
delivered a tribute:
"Today, we mark another chapter in the Bogart legacy. With an image that is small and yet as powerful as the ones he left in celluloid, we will begin today to bring his artistry, his power, his unique star quality, to the messages that travel the world."
On June 24, 2006, 103rd Street between Broadway and West End Avenue in New York City was renamed Humphrey Bogart Place. Lauren Bacall and her son, Stephen Bogart, attended the ceremony. "Bogie would never have believed it", she said to the assembled city officials and onlookers.


In popular culture

Bogart has inspired multiple artists. Two
Bugs Bunny Bugs Bunny is an animated cartoon character created in the late 1930s by Leon Schlesinger Productions (later Warner Bros. Cartoons) and voiced originally by Mel Blanc. Bugs is best known for his starring roles in the ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merr ...
cartoons featured the actor: ''
Slick Hare ''Slick Hare'' is a 1947 ''Merrie Melodies'' cartoon, directed by Friz Freleng. The film was released on November 1, 1947, and features Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd. It parodies the Mocambo nightclub in Los Angeles—in the cartoon referred to ...
'' (1947) and '' 8 Ball Bunny'' (1950, based on ''The Treasure of the Sierra Madre''). ''
The Man with Bogart's Face ''The Man with Bogart's Face'' (also called ''Sam Marlowe, Private Eye'') is a 1980 American comedy film, released by 20th Century Fox and based on a novel of the same name. Andrew J. Fenady, author of the novel, produced the film and wrote the ...
'' (1981, starring Bogart lookalike
Robert Sacchi Robert Patsy Sacchi (March 27, 1932 – June 23, 2021) was an Italian-American character actor who, since the 1970s, was known for his close resemblance to Humphrey Bogart. He appeared in many films and TV shows playing either Bogart or a charac ...
) was an
homage Homage (Old English) or Hommage (French) may refer to: History *Homage (feudal) /ˈhɒmɪdʒ/, the medieval oath of allegiance *Commendation ceremony, medieval homage ceremony Arts *Homage (arts) /oʊˈmɑʒ/, an allusion or imitation by one arti ...
to the actor.Null, Christopher
"The Man With Bogart's Face."
''filmcritic.com'', May 17, 2000. Retrieved: January 25, 2011.
The lyrics of
Bertie Higgins Elbert Joseph "Bertie" Higgins (born December 8, 1944) is an American singer-songwriter. In 1982, Higgins had a top 40 album with ''Just Another Day in Paradise''. It spawned the hit song "Key Largo", which referenced the Humphrey Bogart and La ...
' 1981 song, " Key Largo", refer to two of Bogart's films, ''Key Largo'' and ''Casablanca''.


Filmography


Notable radio appearances


See also

* Bogart–Bacall syndrome * List of actors with Academy Award nominations *
List of amateur chess players Several amateur chess players have been noted in other endeavors, while their lives and work have been influenced by the game of chess. ; Woody Allen : The film comedian and occasional player taught his adopted son Moses Farrow the game; authore ...
* List of members of the American Legion


References


Bibliography

* Bacall, Lauren. ''By Myself''. New York: Alfred Knopf, 1979. . * Bogart, Stephen Humphrey. ''Bogart: In Search of My Father''. New York: Dutton, 1995. . * Citro, Joseph A., Mark Sceurman and Mark Moran.''Weird New England''. New York: Sterling, 2005. . * Fantle, David; Johnson, Tom (2009). Twenty Five Years of Celebrity Interviews from Vaudeville to Movies to TV, Reel to Real. Badger Books Inc. * Halliwell, Leslie. ''Halliwell's Film, Video and DVD Guide''. New York: Harper Collins Entertainment, 2004. . * Hepburn, Katharine. ''The Making of the African Queen''. New York: Alfred Knopf, 1987. . * Hill, Jonathan and Jonah Ruddy. ''Bogart: The Man and the Legend''. London: Mayflower-Dell, 1966. * ''History of the U.S.S. Leviathan, Cruiser and Transport Forces, United States Atlantic Fleet'', pp. 207–208. * ''Humphrey Bogart.'' ''
Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and event (philosophy), events that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various me ...
'', June 7, 1954. * Hyams, Joe. ''Bogart and Bacall: A Love Story''. New York: David McKay Co., Inc., 1975. . * Hyams, Joe. ''Bogie: The Biography of Humphrey Bogart''. New York: New American Library, 1966 (later editions renamed as: ''Bogie: The Definitive Biography of Humphrey Bogart''). . * Kanfer, Stefan. ''Tough Without A Gun: The Life and Extraordinary Afterlife of Humphrey Bogart.'' New York: Knopf, 2011. . * * Michael, Paul. ''Humphrey Bogart: The Man and his Films''. New York: Bonanza Books, 1965. No ISBN. * Porter, Darwin. ''The Secret Life of Humphrey Bogart: The Early Years (1899–1931)''. New York: Georgia Literary Association, 2003. . * Pym, John, ed. ''"Time Out" Film Guide''. London: Time Out Group Ltd., 2004. . * Santas, Constantine, ''The Essential Humphrey Bogart.'' Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield, 2016. . * Shickel, Richard. ''Bogie: A Celebration of the Life and Films of Humphrey Bogart.'' New York: Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin's Press, 2006. . * Sperber, A. M. and Eric Lax. ''Bogart''. New York: William Morrow & Co., 1997. . * Tierney, Gene with Mickey Herskowitz. ''Self-Portrait''. New York: Peter Wyden, 1979. . * Wallechinsky, David and Amy Wallace. '' The New Book of Lists''. Edinburgh, Scotland: Canongate, 2005. . * Wise, James. ''Stars in Blue: Movie Actors in America's Sea Services''. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1997. . * Youngkin, Stephen D. ''The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre''. Lexington, Kentucky: University Press of Kentucky, 2005, .


External links

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