Name: Lauren Bacall
Date of Birth: 16 September 1924 Chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history (#6). [1995] Ranked #20 in the AFI's top 25 Actress Legends. Ranked #11 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list. [October 1997] Mother of actor Sam Robards. Chosen by "People" magazine as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the World. [1997] Bacall was staying in the same New York apartment building (The Dakota) as Beatle John Lennon when he was shot and later died on 8th December 1980. When interviewed on the subject in a recent UK TV program hosted by former model Twiggy, Bacall said she had heard the gunshot but assumed that it was a car tire bursting or a vehicle backfiring. ... Was crowned "Miss Greenwich Village" in 1942. Used her mother's maiden name of Bacal, but added an extra "L" when she entered the cinema. Shortly after Humphrey Bogart's death, she announced her engagement to Frank Sinatra to the press. Sinatra promptly backed out. Her screen personna was totally based and modeled after Howard Hawks's wife, Slim. She even uses her name in To Have and Have Not (1944). She and former Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres (as of 2007, the President of Israel) are cousins. Both have the same original last name -- Perske. Those close to her call her by her real first name, "Betty". Still undiscovered, Bacall volunteered as a hostess at the New York chapter of the Stage Door Canteen, working Monday nights when theaters were closed. Having lost her job as a showroom model and quit acting school for lack of funds, the teenage Bacall found work as a Broadway theater usher. George Jean Nathan voted her the prettiest usher of the 1942 season in the pages of "Esquire". An only child. One of the initial "Rat Pack" with Humphrey Bogart, Frank Sinatra, Irving Paul Lazar (aka "Swifty" Lazar) and their close friends. Won a Tony for her role as Margo Channing in the Broadway production of "Applause", a musical based on the movie, All About Eve (1950). It was presented by Walter Matthau. With late husband Humphrey Bogart, has a kind of vocal disorder named after her. "Bogart-Bacall syndrome"' (or BBS) is a form of muscle tension dysphonia most common in professional voice users (actors, singers, TV/radio presenters, etc) who habitually use a very low speaking pitch. BBS is more common among women than men and has been blamed on "social pressure on professional women to compete with men in the business arena". Starred, with her husband Humphrey Bogart, on the syndicated radio program "Bold Venture" (1951-1952). Her character's name was Sailor Duval. Measurements: 34-26-34 (her 1940 modeling card) (Source: Celebrity Sleuth magazine) Her autobiography, "By Myself", won a National Book Award in 1980 Actress Kathleen Turner has often been compared to Bacall. When Turner and Bacall met, Turner reportedly introduced herself to Bacall by saying "Hi, I'm the young you." Her marriage to Humphrey Bogart occurred at the Pleasant Valley area of Richland County, Ohio home of Pulitzer Prize-winning author, Louis Bromfield, Malabar Farm (4 miles southeast of Lucas within Monroe Township). The home is now an Ohio State Park. Katharine Hepburn, her long-time friend, is the godmother of her son, Sam Robards. Has won two Tony Awards as Best Actress (Musical): in 1970, for her role as Margo Channing in "Applause", a musical based on the movie, All About Eve (1950); and in 1981, for "Woman of the Year," also based on a movie of the same name, Woman of the Year (1942). Her Tony for "Applause" was presented by Walter Matthau. As of 2009 she is the only surviving legend mentioned in a popular phrase from Madonna's 1990 #1 hit song "Vogue". Other legends mentioned: Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, Grace Kelly, Jean Harlow, Fred Astaire, Rita Hayworth and Bette Davis, who all died before the release of the song. Greta Garbo, Marlene Dietrich, Joe DiMaggio, Marlon Brando, Gene Kelly, Ginger Rogers, Katharine Hepburn and Lana Turner all died in following years. Is mentioned along with late husband Humphrey Bogart in the 1980s song "Key Largo" ("We had it all, just like Bogie and Bacall"). Is portrayed by Kathryn Harrold in Bogie (1980) (TV) Her appearance on a cover of Harper's Bazaar magazine at 18 years of age led to her first film role; she was spotted by the wife of director Howard Hawks, who gave her a screen test and cast her in To Have and Have Not (1944). Originally wanted to be a dancer. A well respected actress for the past sixty years, she has only been nominated once for an Academy Award. She was 73 when nominated for The Mirror Has Two Faces (1996). Is half Romanian Son Stephen Bogart born January 6, 1949. He was named after Humphrey Bogart's character from "To Have and Have Not" (1944). Daughter Leslie Bogart was born August 23, 1952. She was named after actor Leslie Howard, who helped Humphrey Bogart get his breakthrough role in the play, The Petrified Forest (1936). Son Sam Robards was born December 16, 1961 with second husband Jason Robards. Bacall's long-time friend Katharine Hepburn, was his godmother. Daughter Leslie Bogart is childhood friends with Lorna Luft. She made two movies with John Wayne, Blood Alley (1955) and The Shootist (1976). In the earlier film, during production, Bacall's husband at the time, Humphrey Bogart, was dying of throat cancer. When she made the latter film with Wayne, he had lost a lung to cancer twelve years earlier, which mirrored the fate of his character in the story. In Italy, she was dubbed by Clelia Bernacchi at the beginning of her career, then in most cases by Lidia Simoneschi. Franca Dominici, Renata Marini and Anna Miserocchi also lent their voice to Bacall at some point. She was 17 when she met and became a close friend of Gregory Peck. She was an usherette at the time. They remained close until his death. She was dismissed by Howard Hawks because she had a high nasal voice, but she spent two weeks developing her voice and, when she came back to visit Hawks two weeks later, she had a deep husky voice. According to her autobiography, "By Myself and Then Some," she was always very self-conscious about the size of her feet, which she describes as big even for a woman of her exceptional height. When Howard Hawks discovered her, he gave her the choice to work with either Cary Grant or Humphrey Bogart. Bacall was very tempted to work with Grant, but Hawks ended up casting her with Bogart in To Have and Have Not (1944), and one of Hollywood's greatest romances was started. She was a close friend of Dirk Bogarde. Bacall had visited him at his home in London the day before he died in May 1999. At the funeral for her husband, Humphrey Bogart, she put a whistle in his coffin. It was a reference to the famous line she says to him in their first film together To Have and Have Not (1944): "You know how to whistle, don't you? You just put your lips together and blow.". Campaigned for Harry S. Truman in the 1948 presidential election. Quit smoking cigarettes in the mid-1980s. Her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is at 1724 Vine Street. Humphrey Bogart campaigned for her to star alongside him as Laurel Gray in In a Lonely Place (1950), but the part was instead given to 'Gloria Grahame (I)'. Read more Lauren Bacall movies (actor)User Comments |
