Betty Joan Perske Analysis

Chronological/Timeline: Lauren Bacall/ Betty Joan Perske
“I think your whole life shows in your face and you should be proud of that.” That’s what I, Lauren Bacall, thought. So, this is my life. I was born on September 16, 1924 in New York City as Betty Joan Perske. My parents, Natalie Weinstein-Bacal and William Perske, were both Jewish. They got divorced when I was five. My father, William, was an alcoholic who left our family when I was only six, and soon after I became fascinated with theater. I never had a huge connection with my father; I was always closer to my mother, so his departure never really affected me. I became more independent when my mother and I changed our last name to Bacal, my grandmother's maiden name, and added the
‘l’. I started out working as a model. In Harper's Bazaar in 1943, I caught the attention of a big hollywood director's wife, Nancy Hawks, and Nancy encouraged Howard Hawks to give me a screen test. Soon after, I was taken to Hollywood to learn how to speak in a deeper voice and Howard encouraged me to change my name to Lauren to minimize the importance of my Jewish heritage, which I was never really comfortable with. My first appearance on TV was when I was only 19, in 1944's To Have and Have Not, which starred Humphrey Bogart.
During this film I developed my trademark facial expression look, which oddly enough started out as a way to control nerves by pressing my chin against my chest. So, when the camera turned on, I began the scene with a smoldering stare. Although Bogart and I had a 25 year age difference, we fell in love. Bogart was married at the time to Mayo Methot, but eventually got a divorce and we married on May 21, 1945 in Ohio. This put a hold on my acting career because I was occupied with my marriage. Twelve years later, my husband, Bogart, died of cancer. Soon after, I returned to the silver screen with The Gift of Love in 1958. The production sadly turned out to be a big disappointment. But, I moved back to New York City and appeared in several Broadway plays. Not much later, I had a short and disastrous fling and engagement with Frank Sinatra. Sinatra backed out of the engagement when it was announced to the press. After our breakup I put more focus back onto my own life and went into theater and acting. I earned a Tony for Best Actress and I won my second Tony in 1981 for a role in the play Woman of the Year. With my insider view of the Hollywood actress life, I wrote my
first memoir, By Myself, in 1978, which won a National Book Award. Then, I wrote the second part, Now, and it was published in 1994. Both volumes talked about the alcoholism of my husbands. I died on August 12, 2014. It was said that I was one of the last remaining icons of Hollywood’s golden age. People believed that I died of a stroke in my apartment building, which overlooked Central Park. The Humphrey Bogart Estate announced my death on its Facebook page, saying, “With deep sorrow for the magnitude of our loss, yet with great gratitude for her amazing life, we confirm the passing of Lauren Bacall.”