Betty Joan (Perske) Bacall (1924 - 2014)

Born 16 Sep 1924 in New York, United States

Ancestors

Wife of Humphrey DeForest Bogart — married 21 May 1945 in Malabar Farm, Lucas, Richland County, Ohio, United States

Wife of Jason Nelson Robards Jr. — married 4 Jul 1961 (to 1969) in Ensenada, Mexico

Died 12 Aug 2014 at age 89 in New York City, New York, United States

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Biography

Lauren (Perske) Bacall is Notable.

“Here is a test to find out whether your mission in life is complete. If you’re alive, it isn’t.” Lauren Bacall.

Lauren Bacall was born Betty Joan Perske on September 16, 1924, in New York City. She is the daughter of Natalie Weinstein-Bacal, a Romanian Jewish immigrant, and William Perske, who was born in New Jersey, to Polish Jewish parents. Her family was middle-class, with her father working as a salesman and her mother as a secretary. They divorced when she was five. When she was a school girl, Lauren originally wanted to be a dancer, but later, she became enthralled with acting, so she switched gears to head into that field. She had studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York after high school, which enabled her to get her feet wet in some off-Broadway productions.

Once out of school, Lauren entered modeling and, because of her beauty, appeared on the cover of Harper's Bazaar, one of the most popular magazines in the US. The wife of famed director Howard Hawks spotted the picture in the publication and arranged with her husband to have Lauren take a screen test. As a result, which was entirely positive, she was given the part of Marie Browning in To Have and Have Not (1944), a thriller opposite the great Humphrey Bogart, when she was just 19 years old. This not only set the tone for a fabulous career but also one of Hollywood's greatest love stories (she married Bogart in 1945). It was also the first of several Bogie-Bacall films.

After Confidential Agent (1945), Lauren received second billing in The Big Sleep (1946) with Bogart. The mystery, with Lauren appearing in the role of Vivian Sternwood Rutledge, was a resounding success. Although she was making one film a year, each production would be eagerly awaited by the public. In 1947, again with her husband, Lauren starred in the thriller Dark Passage (1947). The film kept movie patrons on the edge of their seats. The following year, she starred with Bogart, Edward G. Robinson, and Lionel Barrymore in Key Largo (1948). The crime drama was even more of a nail biter than her previous film. In 1950, Lauren starred in Bright Leaf (1950), a drama set in tobacco country in 1894. It was a film of note because she appeared without her husband - her co-star was Gary Cooper. In 1953, Lauren appeared in her first comedy as Schatze Page in How to Marry a Millionaire (1953). The film, with co-stars Marilyn Monroe and Betty Grable, was a smash hit all across the theaters of America.

After Lauren completed the filming of Designing Women (1957), Humphrey Bogart died on January 14 from throat cancer. Devastated at being a widow, Lauren returned to the silver screen with The Gift of Love (1958) opposite Robert Stack. The production turned out to be a big disappointment. Undaunted, Lauren moved back to New York City and appeared in several Broadway plays to huge critical acclaim. She was enjoying acting before live audiences and the audiences in turn enjoyed her fine performances.

Lauren was away from the big screen for five years, but she returned to appear in Shock Treatment (1964) and Sex and the Single Girl (1964). The latter film was a comedy starring Henry Fonda and Tony Curtis. In 1966, Lauren starred in Harper (1966) with Paul Newman and Julie Harris, which was one of former's signature films. Alternating her time between films and the stage, Lauren returned in Murder on the Orient Express (1974). The film, based on Agatha Christie's best selling book was a huge hit. It also garnered Ingrid Bergman her third Oscar. Actually, the huge star-studded cast helped to ensure its success. Two years later, in 1976, Lauren co-starred with John Wayne in The Shootist (1976). The film was Wayne's last - he died from cancer in 1979.

In 1981, Lauren played an actress being stalked by a crazed admirer in The Fan (1981). The thriller was absolutely fascinating with Lauren in the lead role. After that production, Lauren was away from films again, this time for seven years. In the interim, she again appeared on the stages of Broadway. When she returned, it was for the filming of Mr. North (1988). After Misery (1990), and several made for television films, Lauren appeared in My Fellow Americans (1996). It was a wonderful comedy romp with Jack Lemmon and James Garner as two ex-presidents and their escapades.

Despite her advanced age and deteriorating health, she made a small-scale comeback in the English-language dub of Hayao Miyazaki's Howl's Moving Castle (2004). It was based on the young-adult novel by Diana Wynne Jones. Lauren played the role of the Witch of the Waste, but future endeavors for the beloved actress became increasingly rare. Lauren Bacall died on 12 August 2014, five weeks short of her 90th birthday.

- IMDb Mini Biography By: Denny Jackson

Howard Hawks and Lauren Bacall (1943)

During her screen test, Lauren was very nervous and so to minimize her quivering she pressed her chin to her chest and then gazed upward to the camera. This became known as "The Look" and would be her trademark.

On set, Humphrey Bogart took a liking to Lauren and even though he was married to someone else at the time, he and Lauren began seeing each other. They later married and remained so until Bogart's death

Lauren and Humphrey (1945)

Lauren died August 12, 2014 from a massive stroke in New York City. She was 89.

Interesting familial note: Shimon Peres, ninth President of Israel, is a first cousin to Lauren.

Sources

• Wikipedia:Lauren Bacall
• Lauren Bacall Original name: Betty Joan Perske on Find A Grave: Memorial #134259715 retrieved Sälgö-1 04:55, 9 February 2017 (EST)
• This WikiTree profile is referenced from Wikidata: Item Q104000, en:Wikipedia
• United States Census, 1930 (accessed 20 March 2017)|"United States Census, 1930" Betty Persky in household of William Persky, Brooklyn (Districts 1251-1500), Kings, New York, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 1273, sheet 25A, line 27, family 425, NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), roll 1495; FHL microfilm 2,341,230.
• IMDb Filmography (accessed 20 March 2017)|"IMDb Filmography"
• IMDb Awards (accessed 10 March 2017)|"IMDb Awards, Lauren Bacall"
• Youtube: Movie Legends (accessed 10 March 2017)|Youtube: Movie Legends, Lauren Bacall

Acknowledgements

• Sourced by: Doc White