Humphrey Bogart Collection

Humphrey Bogart
(1899 – 1957)

"Humphrey DeForest Bogart"

Bogie is an actor who continues to rank near the top on everybody's list. What is not generally known is that he made many appearances on radio after he moved his act from Broadway to Hollywood. In 1930 he got a contract with Fox and his feature film debut was in a 1930 short "Broadway's Like That", co-starring Ruth Etting and Joan Blondell. Fox released him after two years. After another five years of stage and minor film roles, he broke through with "The Petrified Forest" in 1936. Leslie Howard was starring in the movie, and threatened to quit unless Bogie, his fellow actor from the Broadway production, played Duke Mantee in the film version with him. Bogie named one of his sons Leslie in gratitude for this big break.In fact, many of Bogart's radio appearances were versions of the great films he did, but often he did guest spots or played characters that weren't from films. These performances are not known to the millions of younger fans that weren't lucky enough to hear radio as it happened. This collection give everybody the chance to hear that great Bogart voice again, and enjoy just how special his acting was. Incidentally, while serving in the U.S. Navy after getting kicked out of Andover Academy, he was wounded in the shelling of the USS. Leviathan. The resulting partial facial paralysis caused by his wounds gave him that signature vocal and facial style he is known for Lux Radio Theater was the premier Hollywood old time radio show, and featured the major stars in their film roles. We have several of Bogie's greatest roles here, including a rehearsal for Bullets or Ballots. (That's the 1936 crime film classic with Edward G. Robinson and Joan Blondell). Screen Guild Players did much the same, and again, Bogie gives us more of what we know Bogie for.

Command Performance was a WWII radio show where the stars let their hair down for "the boys and girls in uniform", and Bogie gets to break it up with Lauren and Frank Sinatra. We get a few guest spots on well-known shows, including a Jack Benny appearance. The guest spots are fun, and let Bogie play off of the tough-guy roles the world grew to expect him to do. Bogie ("It's been misspelled a lot. He decided on it. It's not Bog-ey. He signed with an -ie. And that's good enough for me," said Lauren Bacall) had a production company that did his films after WWII, and as the fifties got started, Bogie created Bold Venture along with Mrs. Bogart, who has had quite a career of her own. On Bold Venture the two stars play at high adventure in steamy Cuba prior to Castro, while bringing along a great cast of Hollywood regulars to tough it up and act out. It's easy going fun, and very enjoyable to hear again after all these years.

In the film, he did say, "Here's looking at you, kid…" but let's just listen to that great actor again, doing the radio versions of some of the best loved films in Hollywood history. It's all good stuff, "the stuff that dreams are made of…" and like that bird, there's only one of the original.