THE COUPLE: Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall
THE STORY: The legendary director Howard Hawks gave Lauren Bacall her first big-screen role after his wife brought him a magazine that had a photo of the young model on its cover. It’s pretty easy to see how the 44-year-old (and married) Bogart fell in love with the 19-year-old beauty with a smoky voice and sultry stare. Their natural chemistry didn’t go unnoticed by the film’s (also married) director—studio head Jack Warner had to step in and resolve growing tensions between Hawks and his leading man.
WHAT BECAME OF THEIR RELATIONSHIP: Bogart and Bacall wed in 1945 and remained married until his death, from esophageal cancer, in 1957.
HOWARD HAWKS: (perhaps a bit petulantly) “Bogie fell in love with the character she played, so she had to keep playing it the rest of her life.”
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MheNUWyROv8]