Humphrey Bogart: Difference between revisions

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Years of heavy smoking and drinking eventually took a serious toll on his health. In 1956, Bogart was diagnosed with esophageal cancer. Despite undergoing several surgeries and treatments, his health quickly declined. He died on January 14, 1957, in Los Angeles, California. True to his well-known humor, a note left with him read, "I should never have switched from Scotch to Martinis."

== ~~Navy~~ ==

== References ==

Bogart joined the [[United States Navy]] in the spring of 1918, at the age of eighteen, during the last months of [[World War I]]. Bogart, who had abandoned his education and did not have a professional path in mind, has said that he joined the Navy as an escape and an adventure. In interviews conducted decades later, Bogart remembered the appeal that the war had for young men of his generation, as a chance to see the world and prove their independence from their families.

He received training at the Naval Training Station at Pelham Bay Park in New York before being posted for duty on naval transport ships. After the [[Armistice of 11 November 1918|armistice]], Bogart was on ships that were transporting American soldiers back from Europe on the troop transport {{USS|Leviathan|ID-1326|6}}. Though he saw no combat action, his military records indicate that he was a well-disciplined and dependable sailor. He rose to the rank of [[Petty Officer 2nd Class]] before being honorably discharged on June 18, 1919.

Bogart later spoke of his time in the Navy as one of the few periods of organized structure in his youth. It has been observed that the Navy was the first institution in which he was exposed to a strict system of hierarchy, repression of emotions, and a code of masculine stoicism that would later prove so resonant with the screen character he created in Hollywood. His disciplined physicality, clipped dialogue, and repression of emotional expression have often been attributed to this period.

One of the most enduring myths about Bogart’s naval career is the origin of the scar above his upper lip and his well-known lisp. There are a number of conflicting stories. One wartime publicity story had the injury being caused by enemy shelling of the “Leviathan,” though the ship was never shelled and Bogart may not have been at sea before the armistice. A more credible story, as told by Bogart himself and by long-time friend [[Nathaniel Benchley]], took place when Bogart was escorting a handcuffed prisoner to the [[Portsmouth Naval Prison]] in [[Kittery, Maine]] when the prisoner swung his handcuffs and struck Bogart in the mouth during a brief distraction, slashing his lip before making his escape.

Other contemporaries had alternative theories. Actor David Niven would later say that Bogart told him that the scar was from a childhood accident, and the rest were just stories of wartime injuries to flesh out his tough image. There was no mention of a serious lip injury in the medical tests after Bogart left the military, although there were several minor scars. Actress Louise Brooks, who knew Bogart in the early 1920s, said that he already had noticeable scar tissue on his upper lip and that it may have been partially repaired before he made sound films. Brooks also said that the injury did not cause a speech impediment, which meant that Bogart’s lisp was probably affectation.

Whatever its actual source, the scar itself became a characteristic physical trait and a fundamental aspect of Bogart’s movie image. Rather than trying to hide the scar, the studios later capitalized on the flaw, linking it to the persona of the tough, world-weary characters Bogart played. The ambivalence of the scar, its mixture of truth and fiction, reflected the struggle between truth and myth that was a hallmark of Bogart’s public image. Bogart's affinity with life at sea persisted even after his release from service. He became an avid sailor and owned several sailing vessels in his later years, including the yacht ''Santana''. During World War II, he tried to re-enlist in the Navy but was denied due to his age. He then chose to volunteer for the United States Coast Guard Temporary Reserve in 1944, using the ''Santana'' to patrol the coast of California. Although this act was more symbolic than substantive, Bogart spoke of it with great pride, as if it were an extension of the persona he had created for himself during his youth. In retrospect, Bogart’s time in the navy is a small but important part of military history, and an even more important part of the legend that was created around him. It is the source of the lived experience that later combined with the legend to create the archetype that Bogart embodied in his films: disciplined but rebellious, emotionally reserved, questioning of authority, and living in a world that was larger and more brutal than himself.

@@ Line 81: / Line 81: @@
 Years of heavy smoking and drinking eventually took a serious toll on his health. In 1956, Bogart was diagnosed with esophageal cancer. Despite undergoing several surgeries and treatments, his health quickly declined. He died on January 14, 1957, in Los Angeles, California. True to his well-known humor, a note left with him read, "I should never have switched from Scotch to Martinis."
-== Navy ==
+== References ==
-Bogart joined the [[United States Navy]] in the spring of 1918, at the age of eighteen, during the last months of [[World War I]]. Bogart, who had abandoned his education and did not have a professional path in mind, has said that he joined the Navy as an escape and an adventure. In interviews conducted decades later, Bogart remembered the appeal that the war had for young men of his generation, as a chance to see the world and prove their independence from their families.
-He received training at the Naval Training Station at Pelham Bay Park in New York before being posted for duty on naval transport ships. After the [[Armistice of 11 November 1918|armistice]], Bogart was on ships that were transporting American soldiers back from Europe on the troop transport {{USS|Leviathan|ID-1326|6}}. Though he saw no combat action, his military records indicate that he was a well-disciplined and dependable sailor. He rose to the rank of [[Petty Officer 2nd Class]] before being honorably discharged on June 18, 1919.
-Bogart later spoke of his time in the Navy as one of the few periods of organized structure in his youth. It has been observed that the Navy was the first institution in which he was exposed to a strict system of hierarchy, repression of emotions, and a code of masculine stoicism that would later prove so resonant with the screen character he created in Hollywood. His disciplined physicality, clipped dialogue, and repression of emotional expression have often been attributed to this period.
-One of the most enduring myths about Bogart’s naval career is the origin of the scar above his upper lip and his well-known lisp. There are a number of conflicting stories. One wartime publicity story had the injury being caused by enemy shelling of the “Leviathan,” though the ship was never shelled and Bogart may not have been at sea before the armistice. A more credible story, as told by Bogart himself and by long-time friend [[Nathaniel Benchley]], took place when Bogart was escorting a handcuffed prisoner to the [[Portsmouth Naval Prison]] in [[Kittery, Maine]] when the prisoner swung his handcuffs and struck Bogart in the mouth during a brief distraction, slashing his lip before making his escape.
-Other contemporaries had alternative theories. Actor David Niven would later say that Bogart told him that the scar was from a childhood accident, and the rest were just stories of wartime injuries to flesh out his tough image. There was no mention of a serious lip injury in the medical tests after Bogart left the military, although there were several minor scars. Actress Louise Brooks, who knew Bogart in the early 1920s, said that he already had noticeable scar tissue on his upper lip and that it may have been partially repaired before he made sound films. Brooks also said that the injury did not cause a speech impediment, which meant that Bogart’s lisp was probably affectation.
-Whatever its actual source, the scar itself became a characteristic physical trait and a fundamental aspect of Bogart’s movie image. Rather than trying to hide the scar, the studios later capitalized on the flaw, linking it to the persona of the tough, world-weary characters Bogart played. The ambivalence of the scar, its mixture of truth and fiction, reflected the struggle between truth and myth that was a hallmark of Bogart’s public image. Bogart's affinity with life at sea persisted even after his release from service. He became an avid sailor and owned several sailing vessels in his later years, including the yacht ''Santana''. During World War II, he tried to re-enlist in the Navy but was denied due to his age. He then chose to volunteer for the United States Coast Guard Temporary Reserve in 1944, using the ''Santana'' to patrol the coast of California. Although this act was more symbolic than substantive, Bogart spoke of it with great pride, as if it were an extension of the persona he had created for himself during his youth. In retrospect, Bogart’s time in the navy is a small but important part of military history, and an even more important part of the legend that was created around him. It is the source of the lived experience that later combined with the legend to create the archetype that Bogart embodied in his films: disciplined but rebellious, emotionally reserved, questioning of authority, and living in a world that was larger and more brutal than himself.
 <references />