Coast Guard History

Humphrey DeForest Bogart

Born: 1899

Forever etched in the minds of movie aficionados as a silver screen "tough guy," Humphrey Bogart enlisted in the Navy in 1918.  He saw service as a coxswain aboard the troop transport USS Leviathian during World War I.  He was honorably discharged from the Navy in 1919.  He began his acting career in 1922, appearing on stage in the play "Drifting." 

He again served his country in World War II.  In 1943 he volunteered to travel with the USO to North Africa.  In 1944 Bogart volunteered his beloved yacht Santana (as well as himself) for service with the Coast Guard Temporary Reserve.  He reported for duty once a week at Balboa, using this time to meet with model turned actress, Betty "Lauren" Bacall.  Some films that he starred in were "The Maltese Falcon" (1941), "Casablanca" (1942), "To Have and Have Not" (1944, the film in which he met Lauren Bacall), "The African Queen" (1951 for which he won the Best Actor Oscar), and the "Caine Mutiny" (1954).  After his marriage to his third wife Mayo Mehot ended, he married Lauren Bacall in 1945.