By Ray Bennett
‘You know how to whistle, don’t ya? Just put your lips together and blow.’ Whenever I watch the movie ‘To Have and Have Not’, that provocative line Lauren Bacall (photo below) says to Humphrey Bogart always gives me a frisson. I have a good reason.
Lauren Bacall, who was born 100 years ago today, was wrapping up the pre-Broadway run of ‘Applause’, the stage musical based on the feature film ‘All About Eve’, at Detroit’s Fisher Theatre in February 1970.
After the final curtain in a nearby club rented for the night, my Windsor Star colleague Ron Base and I sat in a booth enjoying the free food and booze waiting for our promised interview with Bacall.
Cast and crew, including Len Cariou and Bonnie Franklin, were having a lot of fun because they knew they were in a hit. The show was great and we were treated generously but time was running out.
Just then, the glamorous star came dancing toward us in a very gay mood. She didn’t spot Ron’s long legs stretching out from the booth. I was standing up to greet her when she tripped over. I stepped into her path and caught her like Errol Flynn in a perfect movie catch.
Back on her feet, Bacall threw her arms around me and gave me a kiss on the mouth. Talk about frisson!
We explained who we were and she said, ‘Oh, you’re the Canadian boys!’ She had a bad reputation with the press but Ron mentioned that he knew Len Cariou (later a regular on TV’s ‘Blue Bloods’) and she relaxed. She sat with us and chatted breezily in response to our questions about the show, her career and even Humphrey Bogart.
‘Applause’, with music by Charles Strauss, lyrics by Lee Adams and book by Bette Comden and Adolph Green, ran on Broadway for 896 performances earning 10 Tony Award nominations with four wins including best musical and best actress in a musical for Bacall. She died aged 89 in 2014.
That time when Lauren Bacall gave me a smacker
By Ray Bennett
‘You know how to whistle, don’t ya? Just put your lips together and blow.’ Whenever I watch the movie ‘To Have and Have Not’, that provocative line Lauren Bacall (photo below) says to Humphrey Bogart always gives me a frisson. I have a good reason.
Lauren Bacall, who was born 100 years ago today, was wrapping up the pre-Broadway run of ‘Applause’, the stage musical based on the feature film ‘All About Eve’, at Detroit’s Fisher Theatre in February 1970.
After the final curtain in a nearby club rented for the night, my Windsor Star colleague Ron Base and I sat in a booth enjoying the free food and booze waiting for our promised interview with Bacall.
Just then, the glamorous star came dancing toward us in a very gay mood. She didn’t spot Ron’s long legs stretching out from the booth. I was standing up to greet her when she tripped over. I stepped into her path and caught her like Errol Flynn in a perfect movie catch.
Back on her feet, Bacall threw her arms around me and gave me a kiss on the mouth. Talk about frisson!
We explained who we were and she said, ‘Oh, you’re the Canadian boys!’ She had a bad reputation with the press but Ron mentioned that he knew Len Cariou (later a regular on TV’s ‘Blue Bloods’) and she relaxed. She sat with us and chatted breezily in response to our questions about the show, her career and even Humphrey Bogart.
‘Applause’, with music by Charles Strauss, lyrics by Lee Adams and book by Bette Comden and Adolph Green, ran on Broadway for 896 performances earning 10 Tony Award nominations with four wins including best musical and best actress in a musical for Bacall. She died aged 89 in 2014.