Humphrey Bogart

Humphrey DeForest Bogart December 25 1899 January 14 1957 nicknamed Bogie was an American film and stage actor His performances in Classical Hollywood cinema films made him an American cultural icon In 1999 the American Film Institute selected Bogart as the greatest male star of classic American cinema Bogart began acting in Broadway shows beginning his career in motion pictures with Up the River 1930 for Fox and appeared in supporting roles for the next decade regularly portraying gangsters He was praised for his work as Duke Mantee in The Petrified Forest 1936 but remained cast secondary to other actors at Warner Bros who received leading roles Bogart also received positive reviews for his performance as gangster Hugh Baby Face Martin in Dead End 1937 directed by William Wyler His breakthrough from supporting roles to stardom was set in motion with High Sierra 1941 and catapulted in The Maltese Falcon 1941 considered one of the first great noir films Bogarts private detectives Sam Spade in The Maltese Falcon and Philip Marlowe in 1946s The Big Sleep became the models for detectives in other noir films His most significant romantic lead role was with Ingrid Bergman in Casablanca 1942 which earned him his first nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor 44yearold Bogart and 19yearold Lauren Bacall fell in love during filming of To Have and Have Not 1944 In 1945 a few months after principal photography for The Big Sleep their second film together he divorced his third wife and married Bacall After their marriage they played each others love interest in the mystery thrillers Dark Passage 1947 and Key Largo 1948 Bogarts performances in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre 1948 and In a Lonely Place 1950 are now considered among his best although they were not recognized as such when the films were released He reprised those unsettled unstable characters as a World War II navalvessel commander in The Caine Mutiny 1954 which was a critical and commercial hit and earned him another Best Actor nomination He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of a cantankerous river steam launch skipper opposite Katharine Hepburns missionary in the World War I African adventure The African Queen 1951 Other significant roles in his later years included The Barefoot Contessa 1954 with Ava Gardner and his onscreen competition with William Holden for Audrey Hepburn in Sabrina 1954 A heavy smoker and drinker Bogart died from esophageal cancer in January 1957