Mayo Methot’s third husband Humphrey Bogart remains the top male screen legend as compiled by the American Film Institute.
Humphrey Bogart Is Number One
Bogart
Pronouncing Mayo Methot
One of the more challenging celebrity names to pronounce is that of Humphrey Bogart’s wife, Mayo Methot. Have you ever wondered how to properly pronounce Mayo Methot? Read this newspaper article from 1931 and you’ll be saying ‘Mayo Methot’ correctly in no time!
Mayo Methot: The Story Behind Her Name
In addition to her successful acting career and marriage to Humphrey Bogart, Mayo Methot has long aroused curiosity because of her unusual name.
This compelling news story from 1931 suggests why she never changed it.
Mayo Methot’s Compelling Life Story
If all you know about Broadway and film star Mayo Methot is her marriage to leading Hollywood actor Humphrey Bogart, there’s much more to the story. Here’s a glimpse into what convinced her biographer into writing ‘Sluggy: Bogie’s Other Baby.’
Discovered: Humphrey Bogart’s Secret ‘Casablanca’ Hideaway
Photo copyright, Roy Widing
Here’s a little known fact: After more than half a century, Humphrey Bogart & wife Mayo Methot’s Oregon love nest is STILL known as ‘Casablanca.’
Located minutes from the former Eastmoreland district home of Mayo’s mom, the 1920’s-era residence features a picturesque waterfront view off a quiet street in a tony neighborhood just outside Portland.
Some reports have Bogie & Mayo staying at the home on several successive summers, with others suggesting the newlyweds vacationed at ‘Casablanca’ in August, 1938 on their trip from California to visit Mayo’s mother living nearby.
Photo copyright, Roy Widing
Click here for more on the debut biography ‘Sluggy: Bogie’s Other Baby:’
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Mayo Meets the Presidents
Mayo Methot – Courtesy Oregon Historical Society
Meeting a US President is the kind of rare occasion few people ever experience. Theatre and film star Mayo Methot met at least two presidents, one while he was in office and the other before he was elected. Like Mayo Methot herself, the backstory for each meeting is unique.
President Woodrow Wilson
Meeting Woodrow Wilson
As a pre-teen, Mayo’s fame grew upon joining a Portland advertising group’s 1913 east coast junket. Back then, west coast ad agencies were less known than their east coast competitors. So a publicity effort was devised to get advertisers and agencies to work more with west coast ad firms. Young Mayo was selected as a mascot of sorts to travel with the group. The plan was to introduce her to audiences across the nation as ‘The Portland Rosebud,’ with a final stop being the White House. It worked marvelously. A newspaper trail of the group’s travels confirms positive press wherever the Oregon-based group visited.
Newspaper Clipping
The trip culminated with nine-year-old Mayo Methot presenting President Woodrow Wilson with roses and a letter from Oregon Governor Oswald West inviting President Wilson to visit his state.
Ronald Reagan
Meeting Ronald Reagan
Mayo’s documented foray into meeting future leader Ronald Reagan occurred during her marriage to Humphrey Bogart. Mayo’s meeting with the future president was aided by their mutual work as actors. A photo of their meeting here has her seated with husband Bogie, along with actress Jane Wyman and husband Ronald Reagan.
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Little Known Facts About Humphrey Bogart’s Wife, Mayo Methot
Fans of Humphrey Bogart are well aware of his multiple marriages. Of them all, Bogie’s most tempestuous were his seven years as husband to actress Mayo Methot. Nicknamed ‘Sluggy,’ Mayo’s public disagreements with her movie ‘tough guy’ spouse made the ‘Battling Bogarts’ a constant source of celebrity news. Here are three tidbits you probably didn’t know about Bogie’s famously feisty partner.
1. When Mayo was just a teenager, her sea captain father broke the jaw of a young boy who blew kisses to her. This taught Mayo to take matters into her own hands…later with her Hollywood husband.
2. Early in their relationship, Mayo was an accomplished Broadway star and ‘Bogie’ was a struggling movie novice. Their roles changed over time and as Bogart acquired bigger parts, Mayo relinquished both her stage and screen career.
Mayo Methot – 1930, The Ben Solowey Collection
3. After her death in 1951, Humphrey Bogart had flowers regularly sent to Mayo’s Oregon crypt. They stopped arriving in 1957, the year of Bogart’s own passing.
Mayo’s Portland, Oregon Crypt, Photo © Roy Widing
David Niven Talks Humphrey Bogart & Mayo Methot
Actor David Niven became a close friend of Humphrey Bogart. Click here or on the image below for his candid account of the feisty dynamic between Bogie & Mayo.
Actor David Niven
Remembering Mayo Methot
Initially designated to honor the deceased who served in our military, Memorial Day for some is also connected to the memory of civilians.
Memorializing is one way to honor others who are no longer with us. After her death at the age of 47 in 1951, actress Mayo Methot’s former husband, Humphrey Bogart, reportedly sent flowers to her crypt until he died in 1957.
Due to this year’s Coronavirus concerns, few are expected to visit the Portland, Oregon mausoleum where Mayo is interred. Yet the memory of Mayo Methot lives on for many who appreciate her noteworthy legacy, since this small town girl ‘made it’ by achieving the most unlikely trifecta of all.
That’s because Mayo (1). Starred on Broadway, (2). Performed for years before the klieg lights of Hollywood and (3). Married arguably the biggest screen icon of all time, Humphrey Bogart, named the greatest male star by the American Film Institute.
Curious To Know More?
This year instead of placing flowers for Mayo, consider catching up on the life of this one-of-a-kind personality who achieved so much in her short life. Check out the debut biography about Mayo Methot here.
Mayo Methot & Humphrey Bogart Advertisement
Mayo Methot and husband Humphrey Bogart were featured in an advertisement running 79 years ago this week, in April, 1941.
1941 was a very big year for Bogart, when he starred in the films High Sierra and The Maltese Falcon. The advertisement for Beech-Nut brand coffee informs readers that Mayo “…can make Humphrey happy” with their mountain-grown product.
Humphrey Bogart & Mayo Methot: Smooth Sailing
The below 1943 news column by journalist Jimmy Fidler provides an often overlooked perspective about the relationship between Humphrey Bogart and his wife, Mayo Methot. Fidler suggests their much-reported tempestuous relationship was calmer at sea in the absence of others, especially away from the white hot media spotlight.
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The couple’s mutual nautical interests were aided by the fact that Bogart was a Navy veteran and Mayo’s father a sea captain.
Mayo & Bogie, Happy at Sea
While aboard their boat the ‘Sluggy,’ the case can be made that these two professional actors didn’t have an audience egging them on, so it was easier to simply enjoy each other’s company. Get the real story behind film icon Humphrey Bogart’s seven year marriage to stage and screen actress Mayo Methot here in the new book ‘Sluggy: Bogie’s Other Baby.’
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The Wartime Hairstyle of Mayo Methot
This 1944 news column helps to explain Mayo Methot’s headgear while touring with husband Humphrey Bogart during WWII:
The simple act of hair washing wasn’t practical during that wartime visit, so ladies, including Mayo, got creative.
Mayo Methot & Humphrey Bogart in 1944
Get the real scoop of this dynamic and controversial Hollywood couple. Order your copy of ‘Sluggy: Bogie’s Other Baby’ by clicking here.
Book Trailer for ‘Sluggy: Bogie’s Other Baby’ Released
‘Sluggy’ is the biography of Mayo Methot, third wife of film star Humphrey Bogart during the peak of his career. Anyone curious about their seven year roller-coaster Hollywood marriage will find ‘Sluggy’ a revealing view into the mercurial relationship that even movie ‘tough guy’ Humphrey Bogart couldn’t control. His later wife was called ‘Bogie’s Baby.’ Yet years before her, was ‘Bogie’s Other Baby,’ Mayo Methot. Buy ‘Sluggy: Bogie’s Other Baby.’ Available at Amazon here.
‘Sluggy’ Book Excerpt: Humphrey Bogart On His Wife’s Cooking
The following book excerpt is from ‘Sluggy: Bogie’s Other Baby,’ scheduled for release on October 17, 2019. Order your ebook copy today.
It was an August, 1938 trip to Portland soon after their marriage that signaled both Mayo’s commitment to new husband Humphrey Bogart and her disengagement from acting. Mayo had a minor role in the film ‘The Sisters’ released on October 14, 1938, starring Errol Flynn and Bette Davis. Yet when the topic of her future was raised in a front page Oregon Journal story on August 24, 1938, Mayo stated “…I’m not interested in my career anymore. Humphrey’s career is my interest.” Humphrey responded with “Thank you, darling. And to my surprise and amazement, the bride can cook.” However, Hollywood’s hold on Mayo hadn’t completely loosened.
Mayo Methot’s Portland Connection
Humphrey Bogart’s third wife, Hollywood and Broadway performer Mayo Methot, is interred at Wilhelm’s Portland Memorial in Portland, Oregon. Known as ‘The Portland Rosebud’, Mayo’s hometown experiences were key in shaping her later success.
Mayo Methot’s Untold Backstory
Perform an Internet search or read the countless books about Hollywood. There you’ll find sordid and sorry snippets of Mayo Methot’s once high-profile life. What hasn’t been told is a fact-based account of both her human frailties and strengths.
Mayo Methot’s untold backstory of grit and talent included a work ethic that took her to the top. ‘Sluggy’ fills this void with the ambition of even-handedness, avoiding hagiography and its evil twin, the hatchet job. —Excerpt from ‘Sluggy: Bogie’s Other Baby.’
Mayo Methot’s Lofty Perch
Bogie’s Other Baby
Mayo Methot was Humphrey Bogart’s third wife. Born in 1904, she was twenty years older than Lauren Bacall, Bogart’s fourth wife. Before Bacall’s 1924 birth, Mayo Methot was already performing on the Broadway stage, as noted in this newspaper article.
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Given their age difference, fourth wife Lauren Bacall was sometimes called ‘Bogie’s Baby.’ But long before Bacall was Mayo Methot, ‘Bogie’s Other Baby.’ The first ever biography about Mayo Methot is scheduled for release on October 17th, 2019, with book pre-orders now available here.
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‘Sluggy’
Mayo Methot’s first biography is scheduled for release on October 17, 2019, with orders available here. Keep updated using the ‘Follow Blog via Email’ link located at the top right side menu on this page.
Six Degrees of Separation With Mayo Methot’s Alma Mater
Oregon’s Catlin Gabel Campus in Autumn
‘Six degrees of separation’ involves the concept that we’re all six or fewer personal connections from each other. This means if you follow the ‘friend of a friend’ link far enough, any two people can be linked within a maximum of six steps. While the theory has been popularized more recently, an early proponent of ‘six degrees of separation’ was Hungarian writer Frigyes Karinthy in 1929.
‘Six Degrees’ proponent Frigyes Karinthy
Mayo Methot’s educational background is shared by well known luminaries. Like Mayo, some have been been involved in acting and/or film. Here are a few of Mayo’s fellow celebrities from Oregon’s Catlin Gabel School, previously known as ‘Miss Catlin’s School.’
Catlin Students
Margaux Hemingway-Model, actress & granddaughter of novelist Ernest Hemingway.
Margaux Hemingway
Gus Van Sant, Jr. -Film Director
Gus Van Sant, Jr.
Catlin Faculty
James Beard-Chef
James Beard
Another Side of Mayo Methot
Mayo Methot and Humphrey Bogart had much in common, but once they married, media outlets increasingly portrayed her as somewhat of a shrieking shrew.
Mayo Methot circa 1940
By the time the above photo was taken, Mayo had all but disengaged from both the theatre and film. When the topic of her future was raised, Mayo stated “I’m not interested in my career anymore. Humphrey’s career is my interest.” Bogart responded with “Thank you, darling. And to my surprise and amazement, the bride can cook.”
Mayo Methot, The Portland Rosebud
While some are familiar with actress Mayo Methot, few realize she was once known as ‘The Portland Rosebud.’ That moniker stems from her early performances with Portland’s Baker Theatre. Since Portland has long been known as ‘The City of Roses,’ the name seemed apt and stuck.
Young Mayo’s fame only grew when a Portland advertising group traveled to the east coast in 1913. That effort was undertaken for advertisers and ad agencies to send more national advertising dollars to the west coast. Mayo Methot was selected as a mascot of sorts to travel with the group. She was introduced to audiences across the nation as ‘The Portland Rosebud,’ with the main stop being the White House. That’s where 9 year old Mayo Methot presented President Woodrow Wilson—appropriately enough—with roses.
Ever after, Mayo’s nickname nationwide was ‘The Portland Rosebud.’
Mayo Methot 
