Historic Photograph Collections

Mayo Methot Bogart photographs, c. 1907-1940s

Collection number: PH103

Extent: .25 linear ft. (1 container)

Abstract

Mayo Methot Bogart (1904-1951) was an American film and theatre actress. She was married to Humphrey Bogart from 1938-1945. The collection includes candid shots of the couple and portraits of their friends.

Preferred citation: [Identification of item], Mayo Methot Bogart photographs, PH103-[item number], Special Collections and University Archives, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon 97403-1299.

Biographical Sketch

Mayo Methot (1904-1951) Mayo Methot was born March 3, 1904 in Portland, Oregon. In the 1920s she became successful on Broadway as an actress and singer, appeaing in about a dozen productions. In the 1930s she moved to Hollywood and began working with Warner Brothers Studios. Method made 28 films, usually as the "other woman" or as a tough-talking second lead in contemporary crime films. Method met Humphrey Bogart (1899-1957) during the filming of "Marked Woman" in 1937. They married in 1938; she was his third wife.

Although the two were professionally successful, their marriage was characterized by heavy drinking and intense fighting, and the couple were known as "the Battling Bogarts." Bogart applied his wife's nickname, "Sluggy," to his motor yacht. The marriage ended in 1945 when Bogart left to marry Lauren Bacall. Methot's temper and drinking problems led to a decline in her career. Afflicted by alcoholism and depression, she struggled to support herself. Mayo Methot died June 9, 1951 in a motel room in Multnomah, Oregon; her body was not discovered for several days.

Scope and Content Note

The collection consists of 38 prints and a button with a photo. Primary topics are portraits of Methot from her Broadway days, a series of "candid" studio images of the couple at home c. 1944, portraits of friends and work places, and vacation shots from the "Sluggy" yacht.

Box 1: Prints

PH103-01: [Portrait of unidentified boy: "To Aunt Meede from Little Johnnie, aged 2 years 6 months. Chicago, IL June 24, 1886. For Mayo."] Date: 1886 Jun 24. By: Unknown. Loc: Illinois-Chicago
PH103-02: [Portrait of Mayo Methot, age about 3.] Date: 1907 c. By: Unknown. Loc: Oregon-Portland, Multnomah
PH103-03: [Portrait of Mayo Methot, age about 5.] Date: 1909 c. By: Unknown. Loc: Oregon-Portland, Multnomah
PH103-04: Portland Rosebud, Portland (Oregon) Ad Club. [Portrait of Mayo Methot, PH103-03, on button for Rose Festival Date: not yet assigned. By: Unknown. Loc: Oregon-Portland, Multnomah County
PH103-05: [Mayo Methot, aged about ten, posing with rose bouquet and gentleman outside the Hotel Benson. Probably related to Rose Festival.] Date: 1911 c. By: Unknown. Loc: Oregon-Portland, Multnomah County
PH103-06: [Mayo Methot sitting on snowy ground, holding a dog.] Date: 1930s-1940s. By: Unknown. Loc: Unknown
PH103-07: [Studio portrait of Mayo Methot as a teenager.] Date: 1917 c. By: Davies of Portland. Loc: Oregon-Portland, Multnomah County
PH103-08: [Studio portrait of Mayo Methot in a kimono, looking at camera.] Date: 1920s. By: Apeda of New York. Loc: New York-New York City
PH103-09: [Studio portrait of Mayo Methot in a kimono, in profile.] Date: 1920s. By: Apeda. Loc: New York-New York
PH103-10: [Studio portrait of Mayo Methot in a kimono, three-quarter view.] Date: 1920s. By: Apeda of New York. Loc: New York-New York City
PH103-11: [Studio portrait of Mayo Methot in lace-trimmed dress.] Date: 1920s. By: Apeda of New York. Loc: New York-New York City
PH103-12: [Studio portrait of Mayo Methot with diamond brooch at neck.] Date: 1920s. By: Talbot, Charles B. (1841-1900) of Portland, OR. Loc: New York-New York City
PH103-13: [Studio portrait of Mayo Methot in fur coat.] Date: 1940s. By: Unknown. Loc: California-Hollywood
PH103-14: Mayo Methot in "Torch Song," El Capitan Theatre. [Studio portrait.] Date: 1930. By: De Barron of New York. Loc: New York-New York City
PH103-15: [Mayo Methot and Humphrey Bogart at tea.] Date: 1944. By: Unknown. Loc: California-Hollywood
PH103-16: [Mayo Methot and Humphrey Bogart at tea.] Date: 1944. By: Unknown. Loc: California-Hollywood
PH103-17: [Humphrey Bogart lighting Mayo Methot's cigarette] Date: 1944. By: Unknown. Loc: California-Hollywood
PH103-18: [Humphrey Bogart handing a phonograph disc up to Mayo Methot, perched on a shelf.] Date: 1944. By: Unknown. Loc: California-Hollywood
PH103-20: [Mayo Methot and Humphrey Bogart on couch with two Scots terriers.] Date: 1944. By: Unknown. Loc: California-Hollywood
PH103-21: [Mayo Methot and Humphrey Bogart with Newfoundland dog "Cappy", on steps of house.] Date: 1944. By: Unknown. Loc: California-Hollywood
PH103-22: [Mayo Methot and Humphrey Bogart posing: each holds a Scots terrier and they flank a Newfoundland dog, "Cappy."] Date: 1944. By: Unknown. Loc: California-Hollywood
PH103-22: For you little mother. [Mayo Methot behind wheel of a roadster convertible.] Date: 1930s. By: Unknown. Loc: California-Hollywood
PH103-23: [Humphrey Bogart and Mayo Methot's wedding portrait, in the garden of the Baker home in Beverly Hills. Other couple unidentified.] Date: 1938 Aug 20. By: Unknown. Loc: California-Hollywood
PH103-24: [Humphrey Bogart and Methot's wedding banquet, in the garden of the Baker home in Beverly Hills.] Date: 1938 Aug 20. By: Unknown. Loc: California-Hollywood
PH103-25: [Humphrey Bogart and Mayo Methot's wedding banquet, in the garden of the Baker home in Beverly Hills.] Date: 1938 Aug 20. By: Unknown. Loc: California-Hollywood
PH103-26: To my corroborator [?] and my first press agent-Buff, mit luff enuff, me chum. On tour! Season 1925-26. [Pencil portrait of Mayo Methot, signature illegible, with dedication.] Date: 1925-1926. By: Unknown. Loc: Unknown
PH103-27: To Buck, best to you, Pat O'Brien. [Portrait of actor Pat O'Brien (1899-1983), who worked with Bogart on "Angels with Dirty Faces" and four other films in the late 1930s.] Date: 1940s. By: Unknown. Loc: California-Hollywood
PH103-27: With every good wish, Humphrey Bogart. [Portrait of Bogart, wearing mustache, signed.] Date: 1930s-1940s. By: Unknown. Loc: California-Hollywood
PH103-29: Love & kisses to Buff from the Rover Boys, George and Louis. [Two middle-aged men in an apartment reviewing paperwork. Probably writers or producers.] Date: 1940s. By: Unknown. Loc: California-Hollywood
PH103-30: [Mayo Methot and another actress stand with middle-aged man with a cigar.] Date: 1940s. By: Unknown. Loc: California-Hollywood
PH103-31: [Humphrey Bogart, Peter Lorre and a Japanese man poke their heads over a partition. Probably a candid shot.] Date: 1943 Nov. 2. By: Unknown. Loc: California
PH103-32: [Humphrey Bogart on stage with an unknown man. Possibly USO show. "Maia hetch" ? On back.] Date: 1940s. By: Unknown. Loc: Unknown
PH103-33: [Humphrey Bogart and Mayo Methot pose with a group of men in variety of military uniforms, on terrace overlooking a city. Possibly related to USO.] Date: 1940s. By: Unknown. Loc: Unknown
PH103-34: [Humphrey Bogart and Mayo Methot by a train. He signs an autograph for a woman.] Date: 1940s. By: Unknown. Loc: Unknown
PH103-35: [Humphrey Bogart and Mayo Methot by a train. He shakes hands with a man.] Date: 1940s. By: Unknown. Loc: Unknown
PH103-36: [Humphrey Bogart and Mayo Methot in cowboy attire, riding in a horse and buggy flanked by motorcycle policemen. Possibly for 1939 premier of "Oklahoma Kid."] Date: 1940s. By: Unknown. Loc: California-Hollywood
PH103-37: [Humphrey Bogart and Scots terrier on shore, probably off the motor yacht "Sluggy."] Date: 1940s. By: Unknown. Loc: California
PH103-38: [Humphrey Bogart and Mayo Methot on their motor yacht "Sluggy," with Scots terrier.] Date: 1940s. By: Unknown. Loc: California
PH103-39: [Humphrey Bogart on the motor yacht "Sluggy," with Scots terrier. Near shore.] Date: 1940s. By: Unknown. Loc: California

Related materials

Mayo Methot Bogart papers are housed in Manuscripts as CA B633.

Ownership

Publication rights: Property rights reside with Special Collections and University Archives. Copyright resides with the creators of the documents or their heirs. All requests for permission to publish images must be submitted to the Photographs Curator of Special Collections and University Archives. The reader must also obtain permission of the copyright holder.

Access restrictions: None.

Provenance: Unknown.

Processed by: Katy Whitman and Normandy S. Helmer

Date Completed: March 2006

Maintained by: N. Helmer, spcarref@uoregon.edu
Last Modified: 08/09/2006