On and off screen, Humphrey Bogart was a casanova for the ages. But whose heart had to break
before his last great love affair? And which unforgettable role inspired a gift worthy
of the afterlife? Keep watching to learn all about the turbulent love life of one of the
20th century's greatest actors.
Humphrey Bogart's work could give future historians a crash course in 20th-century masculinity.
Over the course of more than 50 movies filmed throughout a career that stretched across
three decades, Bogart gave life to dozens of roles. From the 1920s to the mid-1950s,
he would portray hard-boiled detectives, military officers, wayward drifters, and many other
iconic characters.
What sets Bogart apart from John Wayne and many of his other contemporaries, who are
typically revered as all-action tough guys, is that much of Bogart's filmography shows
him portraying damaged men grappling with conflicts of the heart. The most notable example
of this trend is the 1942 classic Casablanca. The celebrated romance film contains some
of the most memorable scenes in all of cinema, as well as some of its best-known lines, including:
"Here's looking at you, kid."
and
"Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world."
Casablanca's success has ensured that on-screen romance will forever be influenced by Bogart's
grizzled tones.
In his own life Bogart was no stranger to romance. He was married a total of four times,
most notably to Lauren Bacall, his co-star in a number of movies, whom he wed in 1945.
According to numerous sources, it was thanks to Bacall that a touching memento of their
love was left at Bogart's final resting place.
According to Biography, Bogart and Bacall fell in love on the set of To Have and Have
Not, Bacall's big-screen debut. Originally expecting to make her mark on Hollywood starring
across Cary Grant, Bacall was not immediately taken with Bogart. Bogart was a seasoned veteran
at the time, and there was a 25-year age gap between him and Bacall. However, the pair
soon struck up a rapport, and it did not take long for their blossoming romance to take
root. Biography claims that the two first kissed in Bacall's dressing room, and that
Bacall first gave Bogart her phone number by writing it on the back of a matchbook.
In an interview with Vanity Fair, film critic Leonard Maltin observed that,
"[To Have and Have Not is] one of these instances where it's quite possible that we are eyewitnesses
to an actor or actress falling in love, and while good actors make us believe that all
the time, there has to be some extra kick when it's real."
According to Biography, the chemistry between the stars was so visceral that the film's
director, Howard Hawks, had the ending of the movie rewritten. Originally, Bogart's
character was meant to pursue another love interest. In the rewrite, he eventually finds
love with Bacall's.
In the final scene, Bacall utters the movie's most famous line:
"You know how to whistle, don't you, Steve? You just put your lips together and blow."
In their Humphrey Bogart biography, A. M. Sperber and Eric Lax report that, when the
pair finally got together, the veteran actor presented Bacall with a gift: a bracelet with
a golden whistle, in reference to the iconic scene.
According to Biography, the whirlwind romance that had blossomed on the set of To Have and
Have Not was hard-won. Bogart was still married to his third wife, Mayo Methot, while he was
falling in love with Bacall. The hard-drinking married couple was nicknamed the "Battling
Bogarts" for their constant arguments and physical fights. The year before Bogart met
Bacall, Methot had even stabbed him in a fit of rage.
After To Have and Have Not wrapped, Bogart and Bacall began meeting in secret. Little
happened between the pair until they shared the screen once again in The Big Sleep, another
Howard Hawks film. Biography claims that Bogart was initially hesitant to leave Methot, which
in turn hurt Bacall. In 1945, Bogart finally filed for divorce. Just 11 days after the
separation was made official, he married Bacall.
Bogart and Bacall stayed happily married for the remaining twelve years of his life. They
had two children: a son named Stephen and a daughter named Leslie. Bacall wore the golden
whistle bracelet throughout her marriage to Bogart, and was photographed often with the
item adorning her wrist. According to Bogart's biography, after the actor's death, Bacall
placed the love token in the box that holds his ashes in the Garden of Memory in Forest
Lawn, California, where it still remains.
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