Mayo Methot
Encyclopedia
Mayo Methot also known as Mayo Methot Bogart, was an American film
and theater actress.
. A petite brunette, she became a popular actress on Broadway
during the 1920s where she was admired for both her acting and singing ability. While on Broadway she originated a role in the Vincent Youmans
/ Billy Rose
musical Great Day (1929), introducing the standard "More Than You Know
" and several others. She moved to Hollywood in the early 1930s and began an association with Warner Brothers Studios. She found herself most usually cast as unsympathetic second leads, and tough talking "dames" of Warner's contemporary crime melodramas such as Jimmy the Gent
and Marked Woman
, where she met Humphrey Bogart
. They married in 1938. It was her third marriage, first having wed at age 19 to Cosmopolitan Productions cameraman Jack La Mond, whom she divorced in 1927. After the death of her father, Captain Jack Methot, on December 20, 1929, she came to Hollywood in 1930 and soon married Percy T. Morgan (the co-owner, with his brother, of the well-known Cock n' Bull restaurant on Hollywood's Sunset Boulevard). They divorced shortly after she re-acquainted with Bogart in 1936.
Methot and Bogart became a couple of high-profile Hollywood celebrities, but it was not a smooth marriage. Both drank heavily, and Methot gained a reputation for her violent excesses when under the influence. They became known as "The Battling Bogarts," with Methot's nickname widely known, for her combativeness, as "Sluggy." Bogart later named his motor yacht Sluggy, in her honor. During World War II
, the Bogarts traveled Europe, entertaining the troops. But the troops weren't the only ones who were entertained. Most of the time during their travels, they stayed in officers quarters. They had no trouble borrowing guns, and many times, were caught "shooting up the place" in the middle of the night. Afterwards, the army banned married couples from entertaining the troops for the remainder of the war.
At one point, in their travels during the war, they linked up with director John Huston
in Italy. During a night of heavy drinking, Methot insisted that everyone listen to her perform a song. Though they told her no, she sang anyway. The performance was so bad and embarrassing, Huston and Bogart remembered it years later and based a scene in Key Largo
on the incident. It was the scene in which the alcoholic girlfriend (Claire Trevor
) of the mobster (played by Edward G. Robinson
) sang a number off key and while intoxicated. The performance won Trevor an Oscar.
Numerous battles took place at the Hollywood residence of the famous couple including one in which Methot actually stabbed Bogart in the shoulder. The incident was kept out of the press by the publicity department of Warner Bros. Actress Gloria Stuart
recalled in her later years a dinner party at which Methot produced a pistol and threatened to shoot Bogart. At one point, when Methot was depressed, she slashed her wrists (again, played down by the press thanks to their studio). Methot's career went into a rapid decline as a result of her drinking, and her marriage to Bogart ended in 1945, when he left her to marry Lauren Bacall
.
and depression
. Following her divorce from Bogart in May 1945 (Bogart married actress Lauren Bacall
two weeks later), she moved back to Oregon where her mother helped take care of her. By the early 1950s, struggling to support herself and ill from years of alcoholism, she died in a motel room in Multnomah, Oregon, an outlying suburb of Portland, on June 9, 1951. Her body lay undiscovered for several days. When Bogart heard the news (while shooting The African Queen) his comment was "Such a waste". Mayo Methot's mother, Evelyn W. Methot, survived her daughter by five and a half years and died November 27, 1956. The Methot family members are all interred together at the Portland Memorial Mausoleum in Portland, Oregon.
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
and theater actress.
Biography
Methot was born in Portland, OregonPortland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
. A petite brunette, she became a popular actress on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
during the 1920s where she was admired for both her acting and singing ability. While on Broadway she originated a role in the Vincent Youmans
Vincent Youmans
Vincent Youmans was an American popular composer and Broadway producer.- Life :Vincent Millie Youmans was born in New York City on September 27, 1898 and grew-up on Central Park West on the site where the Mayflower Hotel once stood. His father, a prosperous hat manufacturer, moved the family to...
/ Billy Rose
Billy Rose
William "Billy" Rose was an American impresario, theatrical showman and lyricist. He is credited with many famous songs, notably "Me and My Shadow" , "It Happened in Monterey" and "It's Only a Paper Moon"...
musical Great Day (1929), introducing the standard "More Than You Know
More Than You Know (1929 song)
"More Than You Know" is a popular song, with music written by Vincent Youmans and lyrics by Billy Rose and Edward Eliscu. The song was published in 1929....
" and several others. She moved to Hollywood in the early 1930s and began an association with Warner Brothers Studios. She found herself most usually cast as unsympathetic second leads, and tough talking "dames" of Warner's contemporary crime melodramas such as Jimmy the Gent
Jimmy the Gent (film)
Jimmy the Gent is a 1934 American comedy-drama film directed by Michael Curtiz and starring James Cagney and Bette Davis. The screenplay by Bertram Millhauser was based on The Heir Chaser by Ray Nazarro and Laird Doyle....
and Marked Woman
Marked Woman
Marked Woman is a crime melodrama film released by Warner Bros. in 1937. It was directed by Lloyd Bacon, and stars Bette Davis and Humphrey Bogart, with featured performances by Lola Lane, Isabel Jewell, Rosalind Marquis, Mayo Methot, Jane Bryan, Eduardo Ciannelli and Allen Jenkins...
, where she met Humphrey Bogart
Humphrey Bogart
Humphrey DeForest Bogart was an American actor. He is widely regarded as a cultural icon.The American Film Institute ranked Bogart as the greatest male star in the history of American cinema....
. They married in 1938. It was her third marriage, first having wed at age 19 to Cosmopolitan Productions cameraman Jack La Mond, whom she divorced in 1927. After the death of her father, Captain Jack Methot, on December 20, 1929, she came to Hollywood in 1930 and soon married Percy T. Morgan (the co-owner, with his brother, of the well-known Cock n' Bull restaurant on Hollywood's Sunset Boulevard). They divorced shortly after she re-acquainted with Bogart in 1936.
Methot and Bogart became a couple of high-profile Hollywood celebrities, but it was not a smooth marriage. Both drank heavily, and Methot gained a reputation for her violent excesses when under the influence. They became known as "The Battling Bogarts," with Methot's nickname widely known, for her combativeness, as "Sluggy." Bogart later named his motor yacht Sluggy, in her honor. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the Bogarts traveled Europe, entertaining the troops. But the troops weren't the only ones who were entertained. Most of the time during their travels, they stayed in officers quarters. They had no trouble borrowing guns, and many times, were caught "shooting up the place" in the middle of the night. Afterwards, the army banned married couples from entertaining the troops for the remainder of the war.
At one point, in their travels during the war, they linked up with director John Huston
John Huston
John Marcellus Huston was an American film director, screenwriter and actor. He wrote most of the 37 feature films he directed, many of which are today considered classics: The Maltese Falcon , The Treasure of the Sierra Madre , Key Largo , The Asphalt Jungle , The African Queen , Moulin Rouge...
in Italy. During a night of heavy drinking, Methot insisted that everyone listen to her perform a song. Though they told her no, she sang anyway. The performance was so bad and embarrassing, Huston and Bogart remembered it years later and based a scene in Key Largo
Key Largo (film)
Key Largo is a 1948 film noir directed by John Huston and starring Humphrey Bogart, Edward G. Robinson, Lauren Bacall, Lionel Barrymore, and Claire Trevor...
on the incident. It was the scene in which the alcoholic girlfriend (Claire Trevor
Claire Trevor
Claire Trevor was an Academy Award-winning American actress. She was nicknamed the "Queen of Film Noir" because of her many appearances in "bad girl” roles in film noir and other black-and-white thrillers...
) of the mobster (played by Edward G. Robinson
Edward G. Robinson
Edward G. Robinson was a Romanian-born American actor. A popular star during Hollywood's Golden Age, he is best remembered for his roles as gangsters, such as Rico in his star-making film Little Caesar and as Rocco in Key Largo...
) sang a number off key and while intoxicated. The performance won Trevor an Oscar.
Numerous battles took place at the Hollywood residence of the famous couple including one in which Methot actually stabbed Bogart in the shoulder. The incident was kept out of the press by the publicity department of Warner Bros. Actress Gloria Stuart
Gloria Stuart
Gloria Frances Stuart was an American actress, activist, painter, bonsai artist and fine printer. Over a Hollywood career which spanned, with a long break in the middle, from 1932 until 2004, she appeared on stage, television, and film, for which she was best-known...
recalled in her later years a dinner party at which Methot produced a pistol and threatened to shoot Bogart. At one point, when Methot was depressed, she slashed her wrists (again, played down by the press thanks to their studio). Methot's career went into a rapid decline as a result of her drinking, and her marriage to Bogart ended in 1945, when he left her to marry Lauren Bacall
Lauren Bacall
Lauren Bacall is an American film and stage actress and model, known for her distinctive husky voice and sultry looks.She first emerged as leading lady in the Humphrey Bogart film To Have And Have Not and continued on in the film noir genre, with appearances in The Big Sleep and Dark Passage ,...
.
Final years and death
Methot was unable to renew her career and settled into a pattern of alcoholismAlcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
and depression
Clinical depression
Major depressive disorder is a mental disorder characterized by an all-encompassing low mood accompanied by low self-esteem, and by loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities...
. Following her divorce from Bogart in May 1945 (Bogart married actress Lauren Bacall
Lauren Bacall
Lauren Bacall is an American film and stage actress and model, known for her distinctive husky voice and sultry looks.She first emerged as leading lady in the Humphrey Bogart film To Have And Have Not and continued on in the film noir genre, with appearances in The Big Sleep and Dark Passage ,...
two weeks later), she moved back to Oregon where her mother helped take care of her. By the early 1950s, struggling to support herself and ill from years of alcoholism, she died in a motel room in Multnomah, Oregon, an outlying suburb of Portland, on June 9, 1951. Her body lay undiscovered for several days. When Bogart heard the news (while shooting The African Queen) his comment was "Such a waste". Mayo Methot's mother, Evelyn W. Methot, survived her daughter by five and a half years and died November 27, 1956. The Methot family members are all interred together at the Portland Memorial Mausoleum in Portland, Oregon.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1930 | Taxi Talks | ||
| 1931 | Corsair Corsair (film) Corsair is a 1931 American film directed by Roland West. The film is based on the novel Corsair by Walton Green.-Cast:*Chester Morris as John Hawks*Thelma Todd as Alison Corning*Fred Kohler as Big John*Ned Sparks as Slim... |
Sophie | |
| 1932 | Lola Carewe | ||
| 1932 | Vanity Street | Fern | |
| 1932 | Virtue Virtue (film) Virtue is a 1932 romance film starring Carole Lombard and Pat O'Brien.-Plot summary:New York City streetwalker Mae is placed on a train by a policeman and told not to come back. However, she gets off, taking the cab of Jimmy Doyle , who doesn't think much of women. She slips away without paying... |
Lil Blair | |
| 1932 | Afraid to Talk | Marge Winters | Alternative title: Merry-Go-Round |
| 1933 | Jenny | ||
| 1933 | Lilly Turner Lilly Turner Lilly Turner is a 1933 melodrama about a woman who marries a bigamist, then a drunk, and falls in love with another man, all while working at a carnival... |
Mrs. Durkee | Uncredited |
| 1933 | Goodbye Love | Sandra Hamilton | |
| 1933 | Counsellor at Law Counsellor at Law Counsellor at Law is a 1933 American drama film directed by William Wyler. The screenplay by Elmer Rice is based on his 1931 play of the same title.-Plot:... |
Zedorah Chapman | |
| 1934 | Jimmy the Gent | Gladys Farrell | |
| 1934 | Registered Nurse | Nurse Gloria Hammond | |
| 1934 | Harold Teen | Sally LaSalle | Alternative title: Dancing Fool |
| 1934 | Side Streets | Maizie Roach | Alternative title: A Woman in Her Thirties |
| 1934 | Mills of the Gods | Sarah | |
| 1935 | Mrs. Florabelle Lawson | ||
| 1935 | We're in the Money We're in the Money (1935 film) We're in the Money is a Comedy released by Warner Bros. Pictures in 1935. The movie stars Joan Blondell and Glenda Farrell. This was one of the nine movies Joan Blondell and Glenda Farrell made together.- Songs :... |
Scenes deleted | |
| 1935 | Dr. Socrates | Muggsy, Red's Moll | |
| 1936 | Mr. Deeds Goes to Town Mr. Deeds Goes to Town Mr. Deeds Goes to Town is a 1936 American screwball comedy film directed by Frank Capra, and starring Gary Cooper and Jean Arthur in her first featured role... |
Mrs. Semple | Uncredited |
| 1936 | Cora | ||
| 1937 | Marked Woman Marked Woman Marked Woman is a crime melodrama film released by Warner Bros. in 1937. It was directed by Lloyd Bacon, and stars Bette Davis and Humphrey Bogart, with featured performances by Lola Lane, Isabel Jewell, Rosalind Marquis, Mayo Methot, Jane Bryan, Eduardo Ciannelli and Allen Jenkins... |
Estelle Porter | |
| 1938 | Women in Prison | Daisy Saunders | |
| 1938 | Numbered Woman | Alternative title: Private Nurse | |
| 1938 | Blonde | ||
| 1939 | Should a Girl Marry? | Betty Gilbert | |
| 1939 | Unexpected Father | Ethel Stone | Alternative title: Sandy Takes a Bow |
| 1939 | Gertie | ||
| 1940 | Brother Rat and a Baby | Girl in Bus | Alternative title: Baby Be Good |