Humphrey Bogart
Bogie was a Christmas present. He was born on Christmas Day in 1899. His father was a wealthy doctor and his mother was quite a famous illustrator. As a baby, he was often used as a model for her magazine and ad illustrations. He grew to be an intelligent young man and joined the Navy. He fought in World War I in 1917. While in battle, shrapnel hit him and that his how he got his scar and famous lisp. In 1926, he married actress Helen Menken, but the marriage ended in 1929. He began acting in Broadway plays. His big break came when he played the role of Duke Mantee in “Petrified Forest”. He went to Hollywood and successfully recreated the character for the film version. He signed a contract with Warner Brothers. He married and remarried again. His third marriage came in 1938 when he wed Mayo Methot, which may have been the biggest mistake of his life. She had an extremely violent temper and was a heavy drinker. They fought so often they became known as the Battling Bogarts. That is when he really began to drink heavily and chain-smoked.
He starred in “Casablanca” in 1943. In 1944, he starred in “To Have and Have Not”. This is where he met Lauren Bacall, who became the true love of his life. Bogie divorced Mayo in 1945. He married Bacall eleven days later. They had two children. He went on to make many popular films, of which he starred in “The African Queen” with Katherine Hepburn and won his only Oscar award. His final film was in 1956. He went through a nine hour surgery to remove a malignant growth from his throat. Cancer eventually won. With Bacall at his side at his home in Hollywood, he died on January 14, 1957. His last word's were “I should have never switched from Scotch to martinis.”
John Barrymore
John Barrymore was born on February 15, 1882. He was an American actor often called the greatest of his generation. He received fame as a stage actor, especially in Shakespeare plays. He was the brother of Lionel and Ethel Barrymore and the grandfather of Drew Barrymore. He attended Georgetown college, but was expelled after getting caught in a Bordello. He would go on many a drinking spree, but always showed up for his plays and silent movie roles. His greatest success came with his portrayal of Hamlet in 1922, which lasted for 101 consecutive performances. He got more into silent films and became most famous for “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1920), “Sherlock Holmes” (1922) and “Don Juan” (1926).
Barrymore collapsed while appearing on the Rudy Vallee radio show and died a few days later in a hospital room. His last words were “Die? I should say not, dear fellow. No Barrymore would allow such a conventional thing to happen to him”.
Sir Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill was born on November 30, 1874. What can you say about the greatest Prime Minister and leader of Britain the world has ever known. He saw combat in India and the Sudan, was famous for becoming a war correspondent and wrote about his exploits. He held many cabinet positions and following the resignation of Neville Chamberlain, he became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. His speeches are legendary and so inspirational to the British troops. After the outbreak of WW II on September 3, 1939, Britain declared war on Germany. He realized the growing threat of Hitler long before the war began, but very few listened. Finally, he was recognized as the great leader he was to become. His most famous quote from one of his speeches was “Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves, that if the British empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, this was their finest hour”.
Churchill went on to become great friends with Franklin D. Roosevelt and between the two, secured vital shipping routes for food, oil and munitions. He became known as the “British Bulldog”, but his health was fragile. He had a mild heart attack in 1941. He contracted pneumonia in 1943. Amazingly, he continued in many political affairs and after a series of strokes, he died on January 15, 1965 at the age of 90. His final words were “I'm bored with it all”.
Eugene O'Neill
Eugene O'Neill was born on October 16, 1886. He was born in a hotel room in Times Square. He was sent to a Catholic boarding school and found refuge in reading books. He spent several years at sea, where he began suffering from depression and alcoholism. He developed tuberculosis in and sought respite at a sanatorium, where he decided to devote his life to writing plays. His first published play “Beyond The Horizon” was very well received when it opened on Broadway in 1920 and was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. His most famous works are “Anna Christie” (Pulitzer Prize 1922), Desire Under The Elms” in 1924, “Strange Interlude” (Pulitzer Prize 1928, “Mourning Becomes Electra in 1931 and his only comedy, “Ah, Wilderness!”. After a ten year pause he wrote perhaps his most famous work “The Iceman Cometh” in 1946.
