#10: Bogey

I was three years old when Humphrey Bogart died ... but he still became one of my favorite actors of all time!

My mum’s favorite actor was Humphrey Bogart, so as a kid growing up in England, I was raised on a steady diet of old black & white “Bogey” movies on British TV. In my teens, my bedroom wall was plastered with posters of Rod Stewart, Richie Havens, Marc Bolan and Stephen Stills … and pride of place was a giant still of Bogart in one of the greatest movies ever made, the wonderful “Casablanca.” Because of Bogart movies, in which he played hard-boiled detectives like Sam Spade and Phillip Marlowe, I sought out the works of Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler, and I would devour their novels, sat on the top deck of the 105 bus as I journeyed to and from my studio job in Manchester.

So it’s probably no surprise that I’ve featured Bogart in various newspaper features over the years. Here’s a few examples:

In 1981, when I first began to use the stipple style that would become my signature approach to newspaper illustration, I created a portfolio piece to show art directors. Years later, I adapted that piece to represent my version of a poster for the classic Humphrey Bogart movie “The Maltese Falcon.”

And on a purely mercenary note, I should mention that copies of my poster for “The Maltese Falcon” are available through this link to my online store!