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o Named his daughter, Leslie Bogart, to show his gratitude to Leslie Howard, who got him his big break in The Petrified Forest (1936).
o 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.
o 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).
o His coffin contains a small, gold whistle, put there by his wife, Lauren Bacall.
o 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.
o 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.
o Became a father for the secoo nd time at age 52 when his 4th wife Lauren Bacall gave birth to their daughter Leslie Bogart on August 23, 1952. 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.
o 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.
o 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?”
o 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.
o 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).
o 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.
o 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 (1941), 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.”).
o 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.
o He had just turned 57 and weighed only 80 pounds when he died on January 14, 1957.