14 DAY TRIAL // One of the legends of the silver screen, actress Lauren Bacall died on Tuesday, August 12, at the age of 89. The actress was famous for a number of films that have since become classics of American cinematography, such as “The Big Sleep” and “How to Marry a Millionaire.”
The news of her death was reported by celebrity gossip site TMZ, which claims to have gotten the information from a family member. Later, the news appeared on the official Twitter account of the Bogart family which wrote, “With deep sorrow, yet with great gratitude for her amazing life, we confirm the passing of Lauren Bacall.”
The cause of death is being given as a massive stroke the actress suffered while in her home. Her son, Stephen Bogart told the press that “her life speaks for itself. She lived a wonderful, a magical life.”
Bacall was a famous Hollywood icon, part of the Golden Age of cinema, known for her sultry good looks and for her husky voice. She was born in 1924 in New York City to immigrant parents. She was discovered relatively young, at age 19, by film director Howard Hawks' wife, after she appeared on the cover of Harper's Bazaar in 1943.
Hawks then cast her in the movie “To Have and Have Not” a year later, a movie in which she played alongside Humphrey Bogart, the man who was going to become her husband later in life. The film was also memorable because in it Bacall uttered her famous line, “You know how to whistle, don’t you, Steve? You just put your lips together and blow.”
Just one year later, Bacall would go on to marry Bogart, a man who was 25 years older than her, but who loved her until his death in 1957, when he succumbed to esophageal cancer. In order to marry Bacall, Bogart had to divorce his third wife, actress Mayo Methot. He and Bacall would star together in several Hollywood classics such as “The Big Sleep,” “Dark Passage” and “Key Largo,” all masterpieces of the film noir genre.
The actress would go on to tell of about her husband, “He was an extraordinary, extraordinary man. I mean, I've been extremely lucky. God, I have no complaints at all,” during a 2005 interview with Larry King.
After Bogart's death, Bacall continued her acting career as she appeared in over 30 movies, including titles like “Murder on the Orient Express” and “The Shootest.” Her beautiful features became famous in Hollywood, and one face she made in particular (face turned down and eyes looking up) became known as “The Look.”
She later revealed that she did it to conceal her insecurity, “I mean, that was what started the look -- was nerves -- just trying to keep my head steady,” she confessed at one point.
The actress is survived by her three children.