“I think your whole life shows in your face and you should be proud of that”
Betty Joan Perske, Lauren Bacall’s real name. She was born into a middle-class family on September 16th, 1924, in New York. She lived in the Bronx. Her parents divorced when she was 6 years old. At the age of 8, her father stopped visiting her and contributing to her support. His absence marked her personal and emotional relationships.
As the only daughter of a divorced working woman, the actress spent her childhood away from home, first with her relatives, and then in a boarding school for young ladies. She was a good student and liked sports, but she dreamed of being a dancer and actress. Later she devoted all her energy to acting, and began taking on jobs as a model.
Her beauty did not go unnoticed, and at the age of 18, she got a job as a photographic model for the magazine, Harper’s Bazaar. Her picture featured on the front cover in 1943 changed her life. It was this magazine that launched her into the world of cinema, as she was discovered thanks to the undisputed talent of Hawks’ wife, the elegant and intelligent Slim Keith, who recommended Bacall to her husband for his new film, after seeing her on the cover.
Hawks and his wife were so compatible, and such was his trust in her criteria that he followed her advice, and Bacall, at the age of 19, landed the role of leading lady (Marie “Slim” Browning) in “To Have and Have Not” (Ernest Hemingway’s novel). Her co-star was Humphrey Bogart, 25 years her senior.
A year later, after the immediate attraction that existed between them, a chemistry that went beyond the screen, they married in May 1945. Two children were born from their marriage: Stephen Humphrey and Leslie.
‘Slim’, as they called her, had an elegant appearance, a deep voice and a penetrating look that came from trying to hide her nerves, which enhanced her photogenic magnetism and made her appear an ambiguous, interesting woman, characteristics which would bring her great success in her film career.
“The Big Sleep” (1946), “Dark Passage” and “Key Largo” are other titles in which she co-starred with Bogart. Lauren Bacall chose her films carefully, so her history in the cinema is relatively short. She did various genres: comedy, melodrama, black cinema… “Young Man with a Horn” was her most vindictive role.
But she was not only good in dramatic roles and black cinema, she also adapted very well to comedy in “How to Marry a Millionaire” (1953), in which she delivered a very good performance, co-starring with Marilyn Monroe and Betty Grable. It is a movie I recommend, as well as “To Have and Have Not”. Another comedy she starred in was “Designing Woman” (1957), with Gregory Peck.
The fifties were very productive for her, appearing in several films: “Woman’s World” (1954), “The Cobweb”, “Written on the Wind” and “Blood Alley”… The success and happiness in her professional and personal life were cut short with the death of the “Casablanca” star. His death shattered the actress, keeping her away from the big screen for several years.
Her return to the cinema took place in an amusing film “Sex and the Single Girl” (1964). Then came the highly successful titles of the sixties: “Harper” (1964) with Paul Newman, and “Shock Treatment” (1964).
She got married again, to the actor Jason Robards, and they had a son called Sam. Their marriage lasted 8 years.
In the seventies, she settled in her home city, New York, The Big Apple, and had John Lennon as a neighbour. During this time, new titles such as “Murder on the Orient Express” (1974), “The Shootist” (1976), “The Fan”, “Misery” and “Prêt-â-Porter”, by Robert Altman, are noteworthy. At the age of 75 , she starred in the film “Dogville” (2003), by Lars Von Trier, with the Australian actress, Nicole Kidman. Her last film, “The Forger”, was in 2012.
“Find me a man who’s interesting enough
to have dinner with, and I’ll be happy”
She was nominated for an Oscar only once, in the category for Best Supporting Actress for her work in the film with Barbara Streisand, “The Mirror Has Two Faces.” However, the Oscar went to Juliette Binoche for “The English Patient.” In 2009 she was awarded an honorary Oscar. She said, “Oh my heavens, I can’t believe it! A man at last!”
Lauren Bacall was a temperamental woman, as referenced in her memoirs by Tom Maschler, the British publisher. She died of a stroke in her home on August 12th, 2014. With her death, one of the last legends of classical Hollywood cinema disappeared.
INTERESTING FACTS
BABY & BOGIE: “He called her Baby, she called him Bogie”
Lauren Bacall was one of the great legends of classical Hollywood cinema. Behind the image of a woman with a “strong, overwhelming personality” conveyed by her characters, hid a sensitive, insecure woman.
Shortly after being widowed, Frank Sinatra proposed to her. She accepted, but when the engagement was leaked by the agent, Irving Lezer, Sinatra disappeared. She felt humiliated, and even left her home in California, returning to New York.
On the big screen, she was known as “The Look”, or “Slim”. A woman of feline, defiant beauty and self-confidence.
In reality, she was an easily enamoured, vulnerable, insecure woman, who was undervalued in her profession.
“I think your whole life shows in your face and you should be proud of that”
“You can’t start worrying about what’s going to happen. You get spastic enough worrying about what’s happening now ”
“I am essentially a loner”
“Imagination is the highest kite one can fly”
“A woman isn’t complete without a man. But where do you find a man – a real man – these days?”
“You don’t always win your battles, but it’s good to know you fought”
By: Ana Pavon
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antonella2022-08-01 18:11:282022-08-01 18:24:58CAROLE LOMBARD
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antonella2022-03-23 17:08:032022-10-18 15:12:54SOPHIA LOREN
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antonella2021-05-13 14:58:012021-05-13 15:01:19YVES SAINT-LAURENT
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antonella2020-03-23 14:46:112020-04-15 18:11:56Aristotle Onassis
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antonella2020-03-12 19:11:142020-04-15 18:13:29Frank Sinatra
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antonella2020-03-12 18:53:232020-04-15 18:10:08Audrey Hepburn
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