Lauren Bacall (Bronx, New York City, New York, USA, September 16, 1941 - New York City, New York, USA, August 12, 2014)


Lauren Bacall was an American film and theatre actress, one of the biggest stars of the golden age of Hollywood who managed to be equally successful on the big screen as in the theatre. Even though she was referred to as a legend while alive, she never agreed with that title. She was born in a family of Jewish immigrants as Betty Joan Perske (after the divorce from her father, her mother returned her maiden last name Bacal). She enrolled to the American Academy of Drama Arts, but soon dropped out because she did not have enough money for the tuition. She earned her living working as a model and a porter in movie theatres, and her acting idol was Bette Davis. She appeared on the cover of Harper's Bazaar at the age of eighteen. That is when the wife of the great Hollywood director Howard Hawks noticed her and took her under his wing. He gave her a new name - Lauren, and she added another ‘l’ to her last name Bacal for easier pronunciation. Hawks advised her work on her voice and lower its tone, which gave her a characteristic depth color. She made her feature film debut in To Have and Have Not (1944), which brought her international success and fame. Her partner was Humphrey Bogart and even though he was twenty-five years older, they started a love affair that became one of the most famous ones in Hollywood. At first they had to meet secretly but after his divorce, they got married in 1945 and remained together until his death in 1957. Without the director’s support and not much acting experience, she did not do so well in her next film Confidential Agent (1945) and the reviews were bad. One year later, she worked with Hawks and Bogart on another successful film The Big Sleep (1946). She starred with Bogart in other excellent noire films: Dark Passage (1947) by Delmer Daves and Key Largo (1948) by John Huston. During the 1950’s she starred with Kirk Douglas in the jazz drama Young Man with a Horn (1950) by Michael Curtiz, with Marilyn Monroe and Betty Grable in the romantic comedy How to Marry a Millionaire (1953) by Jean Negulesco, with John Wayne in the adventure film Blood Alley (1955) by William A. Wellman, with Rock Hudson in the romantic drama Written on the Wind (1956) by Douglas Sirk, with Gregory Peck in the romantic drama Designing Woman (1957) by Vincente Minneli and with Kenneth More in the adventure film North West Frontier (1959) by J. Leeja Thomps. During the 1960’s she returned to New York and devoted her career to theatre. She also starred in smaller roles on television and several feature films: romantic comedy Sex and the Single Girl (1964) by Richard Quine and with Paul Newman in the crime drama Harper (1966) by Jack Smight. On Broadway she starred in the comedies "Goodbye Charlie" in 1959 and in "Cactus Flower" in 1965. She won the Tony award as Best Actress in the musicals "Applause" (1970, adaptation of the film All about Eve in which she portrayed Margo Channing who was played by Bette Davis in the film, Bacall’s idol) and Woman of the Year (1981), based on the movie with the same title. Her most important roles in the 1980’s include those in Murder on the Orient Express (1974) by Sidney Lumet and The Shootist (1976) by Don Siegel starring John Wayne in his last film role. She published her autobiography “Lauren Bacall: By Myself” in 1978 and its sequel "Now" in 1994. After the failure of the thriller The Fan (1981) by Ed Bianchi, she returned to theatre. Afterwards, she acted on the big screen again in the comedy Mr. North (1988) and had a smaller role in the very popular thriller Misery (1990) by Rob Rainer. After the TV drama The Portrait (1993) starring Gregory Peck, she had a smaller role in another popular film Pręt-ŕ-Porter (1994) by Robert Altman. She starred with Jack Lemmon, James Garner and Dan Aykroyd in the popular comedy My Fellow Americans (1996) by Peter Segal. In that same year she starred in Barbra Streisand’s film The Mirror Has Two Faces (1996), and was nominated for an Oscar as Best Supporting Actress and won the Golden Globe and the SAG award (Screen Actors Guild Awards) in the same category. Then she starred in Diamonds (1999) with Kirk Douglas, with Nicole Kidman in Birth (2004) by Jonathan Glazer, as well as in Lars Von Trier’s dramas Dogville (2003) and Manderlay (2005). She had an impressive role starring opposite Woody Harrelson in the modern noire The Walker (2007) by Paul Schrader. Two year later she received an honorary Oscar. Her last role in a feature film was in the drama The Forger (2012).







Filmography:

Family Guy (2014) (TV series, 1 episode)

The Forger (2012)

Ernest et Célestine (2012) (voice)

Wide Blue Yonder (2010)

Scooby-Doo and the Goblin King (2008) (video, voice)

Eve (2008) (short)

The Walker (2007)

Manderlay (2005)

These Foolish Things (2005)

The Limit (2004) (video)

Birth (2004)

Hauru no ugoku shiro (2004) (voice)

Amália Traďda (2004)

Dogville (2003)

Presence of Mind (1999)

The Venice Project (1999)

Diamonds (1999)

Madeline: Lost in Paris (1999) (voice)

Too Rich: The Secret Life of Doris Duke (1999) (TV)

Chicago Hope (1998) (TV series, 1 episode)

Le jour et la nuit (1997)

My Fellow Americans (1996)

The Mirror Has Two Faces (1996)

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler (1995) (TV)

Pręt-ŕ-Porter (1994)

Great Performances (1993) (TV series, 1 episode, narrator)

Screen One (1993) (TV series, 1 episode)

The General Motors Playwrights Theater (1993) (TV series, 1 episode)

The Portrait (1993) (TV)

All I Want for Christmas (1991)

A Star for Two (1991)

Misery (1990)

The Real Story of the Three Little Kittens (1990) (video, voice)

A Little Piece of Sunshine (1990) (TV)

Dinner at Eight (1989) (TV)

Tree of Hands (1989)

Mr. North (1988)

Appointment with Death (1988)

The Fan (1981)

HealtH (1980)

The Rockford Files (1979) (TV series, 2 episodes)

Perfect Gentlemen (1978) (TV)

The Shootist (1976)

Murder on the Orient Express (1974)

Applause (1973) (TV)

Harper (1966)

Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre (1965)(TV series, 1 episode)

Sex and the Single Girl (1964)

Mr. Broadway (1964) (TV series, 2 episodes)

Shock Treatment (1964)

Dr. Kildare (1963) (TV series, 1 episode)

The DuPont Show of the Week (1963) (TV series, 1 episode)

North West Frontier (1959)

The Gift of Love (1958)

Designing Woman (1957)

Written on the Wind (1956)

Patterns (1956) (uncredited)

Blithe Spirit (1956) (TV)

Ford Star Jubilee (1956) (TV series, 1 episode)

Blood Alley (1955)

The Cobweb (1955)

Producers' Showcase (1955) (TV series, 1 episode)

Woman's World (1954)

How to Marry a Millionaire (1953)

Bright Leaf (1950)

Young Man with a Horn (1950)

Key Largo (1948)

Dark Passage (1947)

The Big Sleep (1946)

Confidential Agent (1945)

To Have and Have Not (1944)