Born: January 23, 1899
Died: January 14, 1957
Service Summary
| Branch | United States Navy |
| Years of Service | 1918-1919 |
| Age at Induction | 18 |
| Conflict | World War I |
| Assignment | USS Leviathan |
Humphrey Bogart built one of Hollywood's most recognizable tough-guy personas, but there was a little real-world experience behind it. Before he became Rick Blaine, Sam Spade or Captain Queeg, Bogart was a teenage sailor in the U.S. Navy.
In the spring of 1918, at just 18 years old, Bogart enlisted in the Navy as World War I was nearing its end. His service records show that he trained at the Naval Training Camp at Pelham Bay Park in New York and entered the service as a Seaman 2nd Class. He later served as a signalman aboard the USS Leviathan, a former German ocean liner that had been converted into a troop transport. After the Armistice, the Leviathan was used to bring American troops home from Europe. Bogart separated from the Navy on June 18, 1919, having attained the rank of Petty Officer 2nd Class.
WWI Service Card, June 1919
There is also the famous story about how Bogart got the scar on his upper lip and the slight lisp that became part of his screen persona. According to Bogart's own account, he was assigned to escort a Navy prisoner to Portsmouth Naval Prison. When they changed trains in Boston, the prisoner asked Bogart for a cigarette. While Bogart was reaching for matches, the prisoner struck him in the mouth with his handcuffs and ran. The story has been repeated for decades, although the exact circumstances of Bogart's injury have never been firmly established.
Bogart's connection to the military continued during World War II. He tried to enlist in the Navy again, but was turned down because of his age. Instead, he put his Hollywood celebrity to work for the war effort. He participated in USO activities and traveled overseas to entertain and visit troops. A November 1943 Hollywood Victory Talent Committee document lists Bogart among the performers being scheduled for wartime appearances, noting that he was “leaving November 15.” His USO tour took him to North Africa and Italy, including a stop in Casablanca.
WWII Draft Registration, February 1942
Hollywood Victory Talent Pool Meeting Notes, November 1943
In 1944, Bogart volunteered for the U.S. Coast Guard Temporary Reserve and participated in coastal patrols off California aboard a yacht. The patrols included watching for suspicious enemy activity such as submarines. The yacht in question would soon become an important part of Bogart's life. In 1945, he bought the 55-foot Santana from fellow actor Dick Powell for $50,000. Bogart had first cruised aboard Santana with Powell and apparently liked what he saw. According to the National Archives, he owned the yacht for 12 years, longer than any of her previous owners, until his death in 1957.
Bogart wasn't merely a Hollywood celebrity who happened to own a boat. He was a lifelong sailor. He sailed and raced Santana regularly, and the sea remained one of his great passions throughout his later life. His son Stephen later recalled that sailing was one of his father's “great loves” and that the sea was his sanctuary.
Sailing on the Santana, 1945 (Life Magazine)
His love of the sea also found its way into his movies. In The African Queen, Bogart played a riverboat captain caught up in World War I. In The Caine Mutiny, he played Navy Lieutenant Commander Philip Queeg, the troubled captain of a World War II minesweeper. Even Key Largo, in which Bogart played a World War II Army veteran, included a little nod to his real life. The boat featured in the film's final sequence was named Santana, the same name as Bogart's own yacht.
Bogart never became a decorated combat veteran, and his military service was relatively brief. But it was genuine. He served as a young Navy sailor at the end of World War I, supported American troops during World War II through the USO, volunteered for the Coast Guard, and spent much of his adult life on the water.
For an actor who made a career out of playing tough men, perhaps one of Bogart's most authentic roles was simply sailor.
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