From the biography “Bogart” by A.M. Sperber and Eric Lax (RPCV Micronesia), one gets a clearer picture of Laura Bacall



From the biography “Bogart” by A.M. Sperber and Eric Lax (RPCV Micronesia), one gets a clearer picture of Laura Bacall

Bacall, now 80, updates 1979 autobiography

Reviewed by Meryle Secrest

[Excerpt]

Only a teenager could delude herself into thinking that she will heal an older man’s wounds and bring happiness into his life simply by being there. The miracle is that their marriage in 1945 did more for Bogart, by common agreement, than anyone had a right to hope, including her. It’s difficult to get a feeling for how their relationship worked from Bacall’s account here. From the biography “Bogart” by A.M. Sperber and Eric Lax, one gets a clearer picture: “A friend described them as having ‘a kind of Thin Man relationship. Very tart. Give and take. But done with a lot of warmth and humor. You got the feeling he adored her and she worshipped him.’”

As successful as their marriage was – Bogart died of what one assumes to have been a cigarette-induced cancer in 1957 – aspects of that relationship could not have been easy. Although “Bogie” moderated his drinking after he met “Betty” (her real name), he never gave it up, and there were still occasional wild and irrationally violent scenes. Like her father, he was sometimes emotionally out of reach. Both Bacall and Sperber and Lax refer to the period before their marriage when she would go to him and gleefully count off the remaining days and hours on her fingers. But only Bogart’s biographers record his reservations, to Earl Wilson, the columnist: “That tigress, I have the feeling of a mouse that’s going to be torn up by a rabbit.”

Bacall, however, has begun to suspect that her single-minded drive might have had something to do with the disintegration of her decade-long second marriage, to Jason Robards Jr. – by no coincidence another brilliant actor with a drinking problem who was even less dependable and more elusive than Bogart. She somehow realizes, as she tells the story, that she had been too anxious to dispel Bogart’s ghost, too ready to find a new life, too eager to overlook the problems that were clear enough to her friends – and besides, she was pregnant. (She had two children with Bogart: a son, Stephen, and a daughter, Leslie.) She hardly bothers to mention the fact that abortions were illegal in those days. And she cannot help, despite herself, being a child of her times, echoing the need “to belong” to someone, to subsume herself in the personalities and careers of her husbands even as she chafes against the nature of the role.

Bacall’s autobiography should be read in conjunction with Sperber and Lax’s book, published in 1977, because each sheds light on and illumines the other. From Bogart’s biography, one has a better understanding of the mettle of a man who survived a hideous childhood and went on to become both a brilliant actor and a sensitive, aware and basically kind person. Bacall reveals herself as someone with the same kind of inner resilience and resourcefulness, even if the later pages of her book are shadowed by the loss of many people she has loved. And those who see her as a model of evolved womanhood, a questioning, self-realizing person who also understands the role she plays in the lives of her family and children, will find much to admire. She herself wrote, “The climb has been mostly upward, and I’m still climbing.” What a treasure.

“By Myself: And Then Some” by Lauren Bacall (HarperEntertainment) 506 pages, $26.95. Meryle Secrest is the author of “Duveen: A Life in Art,” as well as eight other biographies of figures in the arts and music, including Stephen Sondheim, Leonard Bernstein, Frank Lloyd Wright and Salvador Dali. She wrote this for Washington Post Book World.

When this story was posted in March 2005, this was on the front page of PCOL:


Peace Corps Online The Independent News Forum serving Returned Peace Corps Volunteers

The Peace Corps Library Peace Corps Online is proud to announce that the Peace Corps Library is now available online. With over 30,000 index entries in over 500 categories, this is the largest collection of Peace Corps related reference material in the world. From Acting to Zucchini, you can use the Main Index to find hundreds of stories about RPCVs who have your same interests, who served in your Country of Service, or who serve in your state.

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Crisis Corps arrives in Thailand After the Tsunami in Southeast Asia last December, Peace Corps issued an appeal for Crisis Corps Volunteers and over 200 RPCVs responded. The first team of 8 Crisis Corps volunteers departed for Thailand on March 18 to join RPCVs who are already supporting relief efforts in Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, and India with other agencies and NGO's. 19 Mar 2005

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March's Feature Stories - only on PCOL Dream Come True - Revisiting India after 34 years The Coyne Column: Read Winning Vanity Fair PCV Essay Tomas Belsky's paintings inspired by service in Brazil RPCV reunites with friend after 40 years RPCV reviews "Los Heraldos Negros" by Cesar Vallejo Photo Essay: Taking it to the Streets

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March 19, 2005: RPCV Groups in the News New Jersey RPCVs host exhibit in Maplewood on April 2 20 Mar Maryland RPCVs eat crab cakes in Annapolis 17 Mar Illinois RPCVs present "Life on the Big Red Island" 13 Mar San Diego RPCVs host reception with Gaddi Vasquez on March 6 4 Mar Western North Carolina's RPCVs sponsor Africa Night on March 6 3 Mar Connecticut RPCVs held fundraiser on March 5 3 Mar RPCVs: Post your stories or press releases here for inclusion next week.

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March 19, 2005: This Week's Top Stories RPCV points out catalytic effect of Iraq 19 Mar PCVs set up Basketball pool in Ukraine 19 Mar Sam Farr introduces bill to monitor ocean fisheries 18 Mar Bridgeland does not rule out run for Congress 18 Mar Jim Doyle promotes Institute for Discovery 18 Mar Newspaper says Bangladesh is safe for PCVs 18 Mar Joan Ruddiman revisits Peter Hessler's "River World" 17 Mar Mark Schneider says Save Haiti from more violence 17 Mar Troy Johnson joins delegation to Indonesia 17 Mar Chris Shays says baseball not exempt from the law 17 Mar "Hurlyburly" benefits gypsy women in Romania 15 Mar Chris Matthews interviews Schwarzenegger 14 Mar Fred Burke dies in NJ, trained early PCVs 13 Mar Mike Honda introduces Student Privacy Protection Act 13 Mar FT details Cheney-McPherson relationship 13 Mar Tucker McCravy reports on Tsunami Reconstruction 10 Mar Dennis Braddock retires with record of accomplishment 9 Mar

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RPCVs in Congress ask colleagues to support PC RPCVs Sam Farr, Chris Shays, Thomas Petri, James Walsh, and Mike Honda have asked their colleagues in Congress to add their names to a letter they have written to the House Foreign Operations Subcommittee, asking for full funding of $345 M for the Peace Corps in 2006. As a follow-on to Peace Corps week, please read the letter and call your Representative in Congress and ask him or her to add their name to the letter.

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Add your info now to the RPCV Directory Call Harris Publishing at 800-414-4608 right away to add your name or make changes to your listing in the newest edition of the NPCA's Directory of Peace Corps Volunteers and Former Staff. Then read our story on how you can get access to the book after it is published. The deadline for inclusion is May 16 so call now.

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March 1: National Day of Action Tuesday, March 1, is the NPCA's National Day of Action. Please call your Senators and ask them to support the President's proposed $27 Million budget increase for the Peace Corps for FY2006 and ask them to oppose the elimination of Perkins loans that benefit Peace Corps volunteers from low-income backgrounds. Follow this link for step-by-step information on how to make your calls. Then take our poll and leave feedback on how the calls went.

Make a call for the Peace Corps PCOL is a strong supporter of the NPCA's National Day of Action and encourages every RPCV to spend ten minutes on Tuesday, March 1 making a call to your Representatives and ask them to support President Bush's budget proposal of $345 Million to expand the Peace Corps. Take our Poll: Click here to take our poll. We'll send out a reminder and have more details early next week.

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