Lauren Bacall in Key Largo
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Lauren Bacall studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York. She worked as a model and appeared off-Broadway. She was barely 20 when she starred in her first film, To Have and Have Not (1944) with Humphrey Bogart, whom she married soon after. Bacall reportedly practiced for months to get her voice at that low, dusky pitch for the role. It became her trademark, and eventually became her day-in day-out voice. Her other films with Bogart include The Big Sleep, Dark Passage, and Key Largo. Memorable titles among her many, many other movies include How to Marry a Millionaire with Marilyn Monroe, Harper with Paul Newman, The Shootist with John Wayne, and Murder on the Orient Express with Sean Connery.
Betty Joan Perske (born September 16, 1924), better known as Lauren Bacall, is a Golden Globe– and Tony Award–winning, as well as Academy Award–nominated, American film and stage actress and model. Known for her husky voice and sultry looks, she became a fashion icon in the 1940s and has continued acting to the present day.
She is perhaps best known for being a film noir leading lady in films such as The Big Sleep (1946) and Dark Passage (1947), as well as a comedienne, as seen in 1953's How to Marry a Millionaire. Bacall also enjoyed success starring in the Broadway musicals Applause in 1970 and Woman of the Year in 1981.
Bacall studied acting for thirteen years, taking lessons at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. During this time, she became a theater usher and worked as a fashion model. As Betty Bacall, she made her acting debut on Broadway in 1942, in Johnny 2 X 4. According to her autobiography, Bacall met her idol Bette Davis at Davis's hotel. Years later, Davis visited Bacall backstage to congratulate her on her performance in Applause, a musical based on Davis's turn in All About Eve.
Bacall became a part-time fashion model. Howard Hawks's wife Slim spotted her on the cover of Harper's Bazaar and showed the photo to her husband, who invited Bacall to Hollywood for a screen test.
Hawks gave her the first name Lauren. After several screen tests, he cast her in To Have and Have Not (1944). She was nervous, so to minimize her quivering, she pressed her chin against her chest and tilted her eyes upward to face the camera. This effect became known as 'The Look', Bacall's trademark. To Have and Have Not made Bacall a star. Her turn in the film has later been acknowledged as one of the most powerful on-screen debuts in film history.
On the set, Bacall met Humphrey Bogart. Bogart, who was married to Mayo Methot, initiated a relationship with Bacall some weeks into shooting and they began to see each other off set.
The 20-year-old Bacall made worldwide headlines on a visit to the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. on 10 February 1945. Her press agent Charlie Enfield, chief of publicity at Warner Bros., asked her to sit on the piano which was being played by then Vice-President of the United States Harry S. Truman. The photos of the incident caused controversy.[6]
After To Have and Have Not, Bacall was seen opposite Charles Boyer in the critically panned[7] Confidential Agent (1945). She then appeared with Bogart in three more pictures; the film noir The Big Sleep (1946), the thriller Dark Passage (1947), and John Huston's melodramatic suspense film Key Largo (1948). She was also cast with Gary Cooper in the adventure tale Bright Leaf (1950).
On May 21, 1945, Bacall married Humphrey Bogart. Their wedding and honeymoon took place at Malabar Farm, Lucas, Ohio. It was the country home of Pulitzer Prize-winning author Louis Bromfield, a close friend of Bogart. The wedding was held in the Big House. Bacall was 20 and Bogart was 45. They remained married until Bogart's death from cancer in 1957. Bogart usually called Bacall "Baby", even when referring to her in conversations with other people. During the filming of The African Queen in 1951, Bacall and Bogart became friends of Bogart's co-star Katharine Hepburn and her partner Spencer Tracy. Bacall also began to mix in non-acting circles, becoming friends with the historian Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. and the journalist Alistair Cooke.
Bacall was married to actor Jason Robards from 1961 to 1969. According to Bacall's autobiography, she divorced Robards mainly because of his alcoholism. Bacall had two children with Bogart and one child with Robards. Her children with Bogart are Stephen Bogart, a news producer, documentary film maker and author, and daughter Leslie Bogart, a leading yoga instructor. Sam Robards, her son with Robards, is an actor.
Bacall has written two autobiographies, Lauren Bacall By Myself (1978) and Now (1994). In 2005, she updated and renamed them by the title By Myself and Then Some.
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