One of a Kind Classic Leading Man Humphrey Bogart
Perhaps no other leading man is as unforgettable as Humphrey Bogart. After all, what other man has his own line of furniture named after him? He was a true Hollywood legend, whose presence is still palpable onscreen.
Bogart's Background
A New York City native, Humphrey Bogart was born Humphrey DeForest Bogart. His background was English, Dutch, and Spanish. Although it was once believed that he was born on Christmas Day, 1899, it is now believed that his actual birth date is January 23, 1899. The Warner Brother's publicity department apparently changed his birth date in order to romanticize their rising star.
While he was born in a very well to do family, Bogart recalled that he was not close to his parents as a child. His father was a surgeon, and his mother was a very successful commercial illustrator. The Bogart family lived the high society life in New York city, keeping a fashionable upper-west side apartment, while keeping a summer cottage in upstate New York. Bogart recalled that an Irish nanny mostly raised him, and that his parents fought constantly. He was the oldest of three children. He was schooled at the prestigious Trinity School, and then at the Phillips Academy prep school located in Andover, Massachusetts. Although his parents had high expectations of him and hoped he would attend Yale, this became unlikely when he was expelled from Phillips for reasons that are still under dispute.
Bogart's First Turn on the Stage
Unlike other actors, Humphrey Bogart never dreamt of becoming a movie star. He came upon acting incidentally. After leaving school, he drifted between odd jobs, joined the Naval Reserve, and eventually became interested in acting. He liked the attention that actors received, and the odd hours. He quickly became immersed in New York's fertile theatre scene. In 1921, he took his first role on the Brooklyn stage, playing the bit part of a Japanese butler. Although he had absolutely no professional training, he resisted the bad reviews and persevered. In 1926, he met his first wife Helen Menken. They divorced soon after, but remained friends. Then in 1928 he married a second time, this time to Mary Philips.
Bogart Goes Gangster
Before his first gangster role, Bogart could not imagine playing that type of role. Late in his career he recalled how he got his first real gangster role, in Robert E. Sherwood's play The Petrified Forest. He was first considered for the role of a football player, but was eventually handed the role of the gangster. At first, Bogart could not imagine playing the role successfully, but it ended up being a turning point in his career as an actor.
The Petrified Forest eventually became a Warner Bros. film starring Leslie Howard and Humphrey Bogart, who had both appeared in the original stage production. The stress of moving to Hollywood to pursue a film career weighed heavily on his marriage to Mary Philips, and the marriage soon dissolved. In 1938, Bogart married once more. This time, his bride was Mayo Methot. The marriage proved disastrous, and they separated soon after. During his early film career, Bogart starred in a number of eclectic films, playing everything from mad scientists to a wrestling promoter.
Building a Legend
It has been said that the legend of Bogart began when he starred in Raoul Walsh's High Sierra, which was written by Bogart's friend and soon to be legend in his own right John Huston. Next up came the role that would define Bogart's legend: The Maltese Falcon, John Huston's directorial debut. Bogart plays Sam Spade, a character that perfectly encapsulates the classic Bogart protagonist. Sam Spade is intelligent, cunning, a survivor, and somewhat of a loner.
Bogart's first romantic lead came in the classic Casablanca, in which he plays Rick Blaine, the tormented nightclub owner. Casablanca earned Bogart a Best Actor nominee in 1943, and the film won the Oscar for Best Picture that year. Bogart would go on to star in several movie classics, including the film noir classic To Have and Have Not (where he met the love of his life, Lauren Bacall), The African Queen (co-starring Katherine Hepburn), and The Caine Mutiny. He won the Best Actor Oscar for The African Queen in 1951.
