There are Hollywood stars and there are Hollywood stars. Sure, some become filthy rich and famous, but others become legends of sorts. There has been plenty of them over the course of history, but none can deny that one of the all-time greatest is Humphrey Bogart.

The American stage and screen actor is considered one of the most durable stars of all time, a performer who turned pretty much anything he touched into gold.

At the same time as he was filling his cabinet with awards and prizes, he also raised a family. Amongst his brood was son Stephen Humphrey Bogart, who these days keeps his father’s legacy alive. The fact of the matter is, however, that he didn’t know how big of a star his father was until after the man was laid to rest.

There are many legendary actors in Hollywood whose names will forever be remembered. There’s been one for each generation and decade, be they Audrey Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe, John Wayne or Paul Newman.

Humphrey Bogart – film icon

All these iconic movie stars did something that shaped the future for the next generation of actors and actresses. But few managed to shape the entire entertainment and film industry like Humphrey Bogart.

The American actor was seen in any number of the most iconic films of his time, and starred in more than 80 films in his career.

Among the classics he portrayed are characters such as Linus Larrabee in Sabrina (alongside Audrey Hepburn), Dixon Steele in In A Lonely Place, and of course, as night club owner Rick Blaine in the wonderful Casablanca, starring alongside the stunning Ingrid Bergman as Ilsa Lund.

Humphrey Bogart was always destined to become an actor.

Humphrey Bogart – childhood

Born into a wealthy New York family in New York City on December 25, 1899, Humphrey Bogart had the tools necessary to form his creative style.

His father was a prominent heart surgeon, while his mother was a successful painter, as well as artistic director of a women’s fashion magazine called The Delineator.

When he was only a baby, his mother painted Humphrey Bogart for a baby food company, and his likeness was used in a national advertising campaign.

While still wearing diapers, he was a huge star.

“There was a period in American history when you couldn’t pick up a goddamned magazine without seeing my kisser in it,” he recalled, as quoted by Biography.

His mother was a hard working woman, but as per Humphrey himself, she didn’t much like her son.

“If, when I was grown up, I had sent my mother one of those Mother’s Day telegrams or said it with flowers, she would have returned the wire and flowers to me, collect,” he said.

Start of film career

Following several failed attempts of studying at different private schools, as well as a short stint in the US Navy during World War I, Bogart landed his first job in show business thanks to a stage actress named Alice Brady. He was the company manager in the touring production of The Ruined Lady, and a year later made his debut on stage in the production Drifting.

At this point, Humphrey Bogart wanted to do acting more than anything. He was still in New York, but as with anyone interested in film, he knew he needed to move to Los Angeles. The next decade proved to be tough for him, as he struggled getting big roles. Then, in 1934, everything changed when he starred as escaped killer Duke Mantee in The Petrified Forest.

Bogart was now on his way to greatness, and he’d never leave.

Humphrey became what could be described as an actor everyone wanted in their films. He starred in several gangster movies, including The Great O’Malley (1937), Dead End (1937) and King of the Underworld (1939), among others.

These roles all had a common theme, though, and playing the same kind of character wasn’t a challenge for Bogart, who wanted something more. In 1941, he starred in the iconic The Maltese Falcon, and was finally on his way to becoming a legend.

Humphrey Bogart – Casablanca

The following year, Bogart starred alongside Ingrid Bergman in Casablanca, which, as we know today, became as one of the greatest films of all time. Who could ever forget Bogart’s now legendary last line in the film: “I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”

Casablanca won three Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Screenplay and Best Director. By that point, Bogart was a major Hollywood player.

The celebrated actor continued his work in Hollywood for over two decades, earning himself his first Academy Award in 1952, following his performance in The African Queen.

Around the same time, Bogart also met the love of his life. In 1945, he married actress Lauren Bacall. They first worked together in the 1944 film To Have and Have Not, and went on to star in a total of four films together. Together, they welcomed children Stephen Humphrey Bogart (born in 1949) and Leslie Howard Bogart (born in 1952).