August 13, 2014
Born Betty Joan Perske, Bacall was a screen legend, appearing in the films “How to Marry a Millionaire” in 1953 with Marilyn Monroe and “Designing Woman” in 1957 with Gregory Peck. Bacall also starred in Broadway musicals, gaining Tony Awards for “Applause” in 1970 and “Woman of the Year” in 1981. She received her only Oscar nomination for her supporting role as Barbra Streisand’s mother in “The Mirror Has Two Faces” (1996). She also received an honorary Academy Award in 2010 “in recognition of her central place in the Golden Age of motion pictures.”
Although her acting work spoke for itself, Lauren Bacall was perhaps best known for her powerful romance with Humphrey Bogart, who was 25 years her senior. Bogart and Bacall were one of the most popular Hollywood couples, both onscreen and off, and their 11-year marriage was the stuff romantic was made of. In 1981, their love provided the lyrics for Bertie Higgins’ 1981 pop hit “Key Largo” — “We had it all, just like Bogie and Bacall.”
Lauren Bacall suffered a stroke Tuesday morning in her longtime home at The Dakota, the famous Upper West Side building that overlooks Central Park in Manhattan. She was 89.
I knew of Ms. Bacall. But I'm not even remotely familiar with her work because I've never actually watched more than a few minutes of any movie that she (or even Humphrey Bogart) ever starred in.
However, my parents and grandparents certainly appreciated the talents of Lauren Bacall, "Bogie," Clark Gable, Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton and others of "iconic" golden-age movie-star stature.
May she R.I.P.