COP11 Posted May 3, 2010 Posted May 3, 2010 Bogie was born on Dec. 25, 1899 in New York City. He was an actor and is a cultural icon today. During his naval stint is where he may have gotten his trademark scar and developed his lisp. Although the actual circumstances are unclear. In one account, during the shelling of his ship, his lip was cut by shrapnel. Another story is he was injured on an assignment taking a prisoner to Maine. While changing trains, the prisoner asked Bogart for a cigarette and while he was looking for a match the prisoner struck him in the face with his handcuffs. Another story is from Louise Brooks who was close to Bogie in his early acting days. She claims Bogart was a heavy drinker and he was in a barroom brawl and that was how he received the scar. He began acting in 1921 and was a regular on Broadway in the 1920's and 30's. After the stock market crash in 1929 he went into films. His first great success was in "The Petrified Forest" in 1936. This led to his typecasting as a gangster. Bogart got his nickname "Bogey" from his good friend Spencer Tracy in 1930. He changed the spelling to Bogie later. His breakthrough as a leading man came in 1941 in the movies "High Sierra" and "The Maltese Falcon". In 1942 he starred in his most famous film, "Casablanca". The only Academy Award he won was for his role in "The African Queen" in 1951. The American Film Institue ranked him as the Greatest Male Star of All Time. The last film he made was in 1956 in "The Harder They Fall". He was involved in one of the most famous onscreen/offscreen relationships with Lauren Bacall. Bogart met Bacall while filming "To Have and To Have Not" in 1944. She was 19 and he was 45. At this time Bogart was married to Mayo Methot. he had his first affair with Bacall. After divorcing Mayo, Bogart and Bacall were married on May 2, 1945. He started his own production company in 1948, Santana Productions. He also a founding member of The Rat Pack. By the mid 50's his health was failing. He had contracted cancer in his esophagus and refused to see a doctor until January of 1956. He has his esophagus, 2 lymph nodes and a rib removed. Even with chemotherapy and surgeries, the cancer still spread. On January 14, 1957 Bogie passed away after falling into a coma. Quote
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