Today’s inspiration: Humphrey Bogart.
Bogart is a study in ‘however’s. An embodiment of cool, this actor was all man, yet still effortlessly charming and vulnerable. He was a bad student and got expelled from Phillips Academy in Massachusetts, but nonetheless ended up an extremely well read man who could quote Plato and Shakespeare and ran in the circle of philosophers and writers. He worked for years on Broadway and in the film industry to little success or recognition, not getting his first big break till he was 37 (The Petrified Forest), yet after that he had one of the most successful careers in the history of film. He weathered three tumultuous marriages which took a heavy toll on him, however found lasting happiness in his fourth marriage to his costar from To Have And Have Not, Lauren Bacall. He was famous for his role as Rick Blaine who let the girl go at the end of Casablanca, but in real life he never would have let the woman he loved go. (Bacall said he once phoned her from right here in Newport Beach telling her he wanted to see her and that he’d walk all the way from Newport to LA if he had to. She got in her car and started heading south on PCH only to find him walking on the side of the highway with a flower in his lapel. It's over a 50 mile trek from Newport to LA. If that isn’t romantic, what is?)
Why that nasally growling voice or those droopy hound dog eyes are so endearing, I can’t explain. It’s all a part of the glory, the mystique, and the unexplainable allure that was Humphrey Bogart.
- Amy
Listening to: "As Time Goes By"
Why do I feel like driving to Key Largo this weekend?
ReplyDeleteAmes, this is awesome. I've been wanting to do a post on humphrey too. He's the ultimate. I love your take on it, focusing on his "howevers".
ReplyDeleteKey Largoooo... now I've got the Kermit The Frog version of Kokomo in my head.
ReplyDeleteIsn't Humphrey just a dream, Jen? It's really inexplicable.