Humphrey Bogart.

Bogart played chess by mail with GIs during World War II.

His salary for 1942 was $114,125.

During his final year of illness, Bogart received visits from many famous friends, including Katharine Hepburn, Spencer Tracy, Marilyn Monroe, George Cukor, Judy Garland, Clark Gable, Bette Davis, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Ustinov, Billy Wilder, Dean Martin, and Kirk Douglas.

Nearly all the roles that made Bogart a star after a decade of minor films were roles George Raft had turned down, from High Sierra 1941 to Casablanca 1942. While Raft is largely forgotten, Bogart remains a legend.

Bogart was an outstanding chess player. He would challenge professional players for 50 cents a game; if he won, he earned a dollar. Many stores wanted him to turn pro, but he declined until he began beating 40 or more people a day as a pro.

At the time of his death on January 14, 1957, Bogart weighed only 80 pounds.

Bogart was a close friend of Richard Burton and once confessed he had always wanted to perform Shakespeare on stage, but feared the public could not take him seriously because of his tough-guy screen image.

According to a book by Ezra Goodman, Bogart often disappeared from his table at Romanoff’s restaurant when the check arrived, especially when he had invited a magazine writer, leaving the writer to cover the bill.

The American Film Institute ranked Bogart the greatest screen actor of all time.

At 5’8, Bogart was almost exactly the same height as his beloved wife Lauren Bacall.

Although usually quiet and accommodating, Bogart became disliked by William Holden and Billy Wilder during filming of Sabrina 1954. Wilder later said Bogart apologized for his behavior, blaming personal problems. Audrey Hepburn, however, got along with him despite his criticism.

The New York Times reported on December 25, 2000, that Warner Bros. publicity had changed Bogart’s birth date from January 23, 1899, to Christmas Day, claiming a Christmas birthday is advantageous. However, two 1900 census forms prove the original date.

Bogart named his production company Santana after his yacht.

Bogart was distantly related to Princess Diana through her American relations.

His performance as Rick Blaine in Casablanca 1942 was ranked #19 on Premiere Magazine’s 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time. However, Orson Welles claimed that during filming, Bogart complained it was the worst movie he’d been in.

Stephen H. Bogart, his son with Lauren Bacall, discussed his relationship with his father in the 1996 book Bogart: In Search of My Father.

The Bogart Lisp is believed to be natural, not from a combat injury. His son Steve has the same speech impediment.

To avoid appearing short next to co-stars like Ingrid Bergman and Paul Henreid during Casablanca 1942, Bogart wore platforms under his shoes that added nearly 5 inches to his height.

Bogart served in the U.S. Navy from 1918 to 1919.

Maud Bogart’s drawing of her baby Humphrey appeared in a national advertising campaign for Mellin’s Baby Food, not Gerber as often reported.

Bogart was best friends with director John Huston.

Decades after his death, Bogart appeared posthumously on the TV series Tales from the Crypt 1989 via computer-enhanced footage and a voice/body double. He received top billing for the episode You, Murderer, which also featured John Lithgow and Isabella Rossellini.

Bogart was the first actor to form his own production company.

The origin of Bogart’s lip injury is disputed: one story involves a prisoner escaping while Bogart served in the Navy, resulting in a poorly stitched lip and his trademark lisp. Another version says he caught a large wood splinter at age 12.

Bogart’s marriage to Lauren Bacall took place at Malabar Farm in Richland County, Ohio, the home of Pulitzer Prize-winning author Louis Bromfield. The home is now an Ohio State Park.

In Key Largo 1948, Bogart’s character takes the helm of a boat called Santana, the same name as his real-life yacht, which he purchased from June Allyson and Dick Powell.

Bogart and his wife Lauren Bacall starred in the syndicated radio program Bold Venture 1951-1952, with Bogart playing the character Slate Shannon.

Bogart often played sailors in films such as The African Queen 1951, The Caine Mutiny 1954, and Action in the North Atlantic 1943. In real life, he served in the U.S. Navy during World War I, onboard the troop transport USS Leviathan.

Although Bogart and Bacall initially protested the House Un-American Activities Committee, they distanced themselves from the Hollywood Ten in a March 1948 Photoplay Magazine article by Bogart titled ‘I’m No Communist’.

Like his friends John Huston and Spencer Tracy, Bogart was a heavy smoker and drinker, allegedly sustaining two packs of Chesterfields a day.

Bogart co-starred in five films on the American Film Institute’s list of Top 100 U.S. love stories, including Casablanca 1942 ranked #1, The African Queen 1951, Dark Victory 1939, Sabrina 1954, and To Have and Have Not 1944.

Entertainment Weekly voted Bogart the Greatest Movie Star of all time.

Bogart was pictured on a 32-cent U.S. commemorative postage stamp in the Legends of Hollywood series, issued July 31, 1997.

Bogart usually smoked 40 cigarettes a day.

In 1952, Bogart campaigned for Democratic presidential candidate Adlai Stevenson after initially supporting Republican candidate Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Jack L. Warner originally turned Bogart down because of his lisp.

Clifton Webb once said, Humphrey was not a tough guy. He was about as tough as Little Lord Fauntleroy.

In reality, Bogart was surprisingly emotional and cried easily. His second wife Mary Philips observed, Humphrey cries at card tricks.