This next stop will to be almost three years later, Wednesday, July 3, 1946 to listen to an episode of Academy Award Theater. In this episode, you hear Bogart in the role that finally cast him as the leading man. Prior to that, thanks to The Petrified Forest, Bogart had been typecast as a gangster. He had been sent to the electric chair 12 times and been sentenced to over 800 years of hard labor.
Director John Huston and Bogart were friends. When George Raft turned down the part in Huston’s directorial debut, Bogart grabbed the part. After this film, Bogart was now considered a leading man. As I reset the time portal’s radio dial to Wednesday, July 3, 1946, sit back and enjoy Humphrey Bogart as Sam Spade in the Academy Award Theater version of “The Maltese Falcon.”
Bogie first romantic lead role came with the film Casablanca. That film brought him his first Oscar nomination for Best Actor. He lost to Paul Lukas that year. He was nominated two more times, 1952 for The African Queen and 1955 for The Caine Mutiny. He won for his role in The African Queen.
Bogart was married four times. He married actress Helen Menken in 1926 but they were only married for one year. In 1928, he married Broadway actress Mary Phillips. When he went to Hollywood, she didn’t go with him. She would not give up her Broadway career. The divorced in 1938. That same year he married Mary Methot. She was a lively, friendly woman when sober but a paranoid when drunk. She believe Bogie was cheating on her. They became known as the Battling Bogarts.
He finally met the love of his life while filming the movie “To Have and Have Not.” Now, you probably know the question I’m going to ask. Who was Bogie fourth wife? The answer next week before we begin the journey.
Our journey back to The Golden Age of Radio is over for this week, but I make a trip back every week at this same time on this same station. Is there a particular program from the Golden Age of Radio that you would like to hear? Let me know. Send your requests to radiotheater@wbnj.org; . At the same time, tell me your answer to the question asked at the end of the journey. Even if you have no special request at this time, maybe you have some comments about the show. At the very least, email me the answer to the question.
This is Mike Alexander for The Unforgettable Radio Theater asking you to join me next week for another trip back to the Golden Age of Radio. I’ll be right here waiting to set your radio dial and guide you through the time portal.
