Trivia

Named his daughter, Leslie Bogart, to show his gratitude to Leslie Howard, who got him his big break in The Petrified Forest (1936).

His coffin contains a small, gold whistle, put there by his wife, Lauren Bacall.

He was involved in a serious automobile accident late in the production of Beat the Devil (1953). Several of his teeth were knocked out in the accident, hindering his ability to speak clearly. Director John Huston hired a young British actor noted for his mimicry skills to re-record some of Bogart's dialog during post-production looping. And although the talent of the young impersonator is such that the difference is undetectable while viewing the film today, it is a young Peter Sellers who provides Bogart's voice during some of the scenes.

After undergoing a nine-and-a-half hour operation for esophageal cancer on 1 March 1956, Bogart began smoking filtered cigarettes for the first time in his life.

Frank Sinatra's friends, known as The Clan, were originally a group of Bogart friends who enjoyed drinking heavily. They referred to themselves as 'The Holmby Hills Rat Pack', since Bogart lived in the Holmby Hills section of Hollywood. The Rat Pack name had originated one morning, after a night of heavy boozing, when Bogart's wife Lauren Bacall came upon the sodden group and flatly stated, 'You look like a God-damned rat pack.' Bogart enjoyed the term, and a legend was born. But Sinatra stopped using the "Rat Pack" name after Bogie died in 1957, and he and his friends hated it when others continued to label them that way (Source: Robert Osborne, Turner Classic Movies).

Became a father for the 1st time at age 49 when his 4th wife Lauren Bacall gave birth to their son Stephen H. Bogart on January 6, 1949.

Lauren Bacall once recalled that while John Wayne and Fred Astaire hardly knew her husband Humphrey Bogart at all, they were the first to send flowers and good wishes after Bogart was diagnosed with esophageal cancer in January 1956.

While he was married to fiery actress Mayo Methot he discovered that she suspected him of cheating on her - he wasn't - and had hired a private detective to follow him. Bogart found out the name of the agency the PI worked for, and called them up. When he reached the man's boss he said, "You got a man on my tail. Would you check with him and find out where I am?".

Became a father for the 2nd time at age 52 when his 4th wife Lauren Bacall gave birth to their daughter Leslie Bogart on August 23, 1952.

Off the set, he and Ingrid Bergman hardly spoke during the filming of Casablanca (1942). She said later, "I kissed him, but I never knew him." Years later, after Ingrid Bergman had become involved with Italian director Roberto Rossellini, and borne him a child, he bawled her out for it. "You used to be a great star," he said. "What are you now?" "A happy woman," she replied. Bogart's coolness towards Bergman was later revealed to have been caused by the violent jealousy of his wife at the time, Mayo Methot, whose fears were realized when Bogart entered an affair with future wife Lauren Bacall.

He declined the role of Johnny Farrell in Gilda (1946). He reasoned that, with gorgeous Rita Hayworth playing Gilda, audiences wouldn't look at anyone else.

He was a close friend of Richard Burton, and once confessed to the Welsh actor that his ambition had always been to act in a Shakespearean play on stage. He regretted that the public probably would not be able to take him seriously in such a role, due to his screen image as the tough guy.

Though a poor student, he was a lifelong reader, and could quote Plato, Pope, Ralph Waldo Emerson and over a thousand lines of Shakespeare. He admired writers, and some of his best friends were screenwriters, including Richard Brooks, who directed him in 'Deadline - USA' (1952).

He had many famous visitors as he grew ill from cancer during the year before he died, including but not limited to Katharine Hepburn, Spencer Tracy, Marilyn Monroe, George Cukor, Judy Garland, Clark Gable, Bette Davis, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Ustinov, Billy Wilder, Dean Martin, and Kirk Douglas.

Salary for 1942: $114,125.

Played chess by mail with GIs during WWII.

He had just turned 57 and weighed only 80 pounds when he died on January 14, 1957.

Interred at Forest Lawn, Glendale, CA, in the Garden of Memory, Columbarium of Eternal Light (not accessible to the general public).

Almost all of the roles that made him a star (after a decade of toiling in minor films) were roles he got because George Raft had turned them down, from High Sierra (1940), in which Bogie was first noticed as a viable box office draw, to Casablanca (1942), which made him a true international star. Ironically, after having been overshadowed by Raft the whole first half of his career, Bogart remains a legend while Raft is all-but-forgotten.

Was an outstanding chess player. At a time when many stores had a professional chess player who could be challenged by anyone, Bogie would challenge and win almost every game. The challenger would pay 50 cents. If he won, he got $1.00. Many stores wanted Bogie to turn pro, but he declined because he was making more money as a non-pro. Eventually he did turn pro and would beat 40 or more people a day. (Source: Paul Harvey, Jr.'s, "The Rest of the Story.").

Distantly related to the late Princess Diana, Princess of Wales, through her American relations.

According to "The Fifty Year Decline and Fall of Hollywood" by Ezra Goodman, Bogart would often strategically disappear from his table at the Hollywood landmark restaurant Romanoff's--a favorite Bogart hangout--when the check was brought to the table, especially after he had invited a magazine writer to dinner and drinks. Often the writer would wind up having to put on his expense account the bill that Bogart had run up for himself and his friends.

Ranked #1 on the American Film Institute's list of the greatest screen actors.

Although usually considered a quiet and accommodating actor by most of his collaborators, he became disliked by William Holden and Billy Wilder during the filming of Sabrina (1954). A good friend before they made the film, Wilder later said that Bogart, near the end of his life, apologized for his behavior on the set and said it was due to his personal problems. Even so, Audrey Hepburn got along with him despite his criticism of her.

At 5'8", he was almost exactly the same height as his beloved wife Lauren Bacall.

New York Times reported on 12/25/2000 that "Humphrey Bogart was born on 23 January 1899, but Warner Brothers publicity decided that a Christmas birthday would be far more advantageous because 'a guy born on Christmas can't be all bad.'" However, copies of two 1900 census forms prove this to be incorrect.

His marriage to Lauren Bacall occurred at the Pleasant Valley area of Richland County, Ohio, known as Malabar Farm, the home of Pulitzer Prize-winning author Louis Bromfield (4 miles southeast of Lucas within Monroe Township). The home is now an Ohio State Park.

The older of two children with Lauren Bacall, Stephen H. Bogart, discussed his relationship with Bogie in 1996 book, "Bogart: In Search of My Father".

So as to not look short next to co-stars like Ingrid Bergman and Paul Henreid, through most of the shooting of Casablanca (1942) (and in a few of his other films) Bogart wore platforms under his shoes that added nearly 5 inches of height to his frame.

Named his production company 'Santana' after his yacht.

The "Bogart Lisp" has been the subject of much speculation. However, it is now believed that it was natural and not the result of a combat injury (other stories attribute it to a drunken bar fight or an attack by a prisoner he was transporting while serving as a Shore Patrolman) during his US Navy service in WW I. His son, Steve Bogart, has the same speech impediment as his father.

His performance as Rick Blaine in Casablanca (1942) was ranked #19 on Premiere Magazine's 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time. However, according to Orson Welles, during 'Casablanca' 's filming, Bogart complained it was the worst movie he'd been in.

There is some dispute as to how Bogey's lip injury occurred. One story is that when Bogart was in the Navy, a prisoner he was escorting attempted to escape and hit Bogart in the face with his shackles. Bogart, fearing that he would lose his position and be severely punished for letting a prisoner escape, chased down the man and brought him successfully to the Portsmouth Naval Prison. However, because the surgeon who stitched up his face did not do a very good job, Bogart was left with his trademark lisp. Another version has it that he caught a large wood splinter in his lip at the age of 12, but the combat story is more exciting - a legend, indeed.

Usually smoked 40 cigarettes a day.

Like his friends John Huston and Spencer Tracy, Bogart was a heavy smoker and a heavy drinker, allegedly sustaining two packs of Chesterfields a day.

Was best friends with John Huston.

Maud Bogart's drawing of her baby Humphrey appeared in a national advertising campaign for Mellin's Baby Food, not as often erroneously reported, for Gerber.

Served in the US Navy 1918 -1919.

Bogart often played sailors in films such as The African Queen (1951), The Caine Mutiny (1954) and Action in the North Atlantic (1943). In real life Bogart joined the US Navy during the the First World War and served on the passenger liner converted to troop transport USS Leviathan in the Atlantic.

Decades after his death, Bogie made a guest appearance on the TV horror series Tales from the Crypt (1989). Footage from several movies were computer enhanced and combined with a voice and body double to allow Bogart to receive top billing for the episode "You, Murderer." Guest starring with "Bogie" were John Lithgow and Isabella Rossellini, performing an eerie (and hilarious) parody of her mother, Ingrid Bergman.

The first actor to form his own production company.

In Key Largo (1948), Bogie takes the helm of a boat called the Santana. In real life, Santana was the name of Bogie's yacht, which he purchased from June Allyson and Dick Powell.

Although he and wife Lauren Bacall initially protested the House Un-American Activities Committee, they both eventually succumbed to pressure and distanced themselves from the Hollywood Ten in a March 1948 Photoplay Magazine article penned by Bogart titled "I'm No Communist".

Starred with his wife Lauren Bacall in the syndicated radio program "Bold Venture" (1951-1952). His character's name was Slate Shannon.

He was voted the Greatest Movie Star of all time by Entertainment Weekly.

Co-starred not only in Casablanca (1942), the film rated No. 1 on American Film Institute's list of Top 100 U.S. love stories (2002), but in four other films on AFI romance list: The African Queen (1951), ranked at #xx; Dark Victory (1939), ranked at #32; Sabrina (1954),ranked at #54; and To Have and Have Not (1944), ranked at #60.

Pictured on a 32¢ US commemorative postage stamp in the Legends of Hollywood series, issued 31 July 1997.

All four of his wives were actresses.

Clifton Webb once said about Bogart, "Humphrey was not a tough guy, He was not at all. He was about as tough as Little Lord Fauntleroy".

In 1952, he campaigned for Democratic Presidential candidate Adlai Stevenson after initially supporting Republican candidate Dwight D. Eisenhower.