Thought of the Day 9.16.12 Lauren Bacall

“You know how to whistle, don’t you, Steve? You just put your lips together and blow.”

— Lauren Bacall

(Photo courtesy: Tweedland)

Betty Joan Perske was born on this day in the Bronx, New York in 1924. She is 88 years old.

She grew up in a middle class family. Her father, William Perske, was a salesman and her mother, Natalie Weinstein-Bacal Perske, was a secretary. Betty’s father, an alcoholic, left when she was six. Her mother changed their last name to Bacall. (The Romanian form of her mother’s maiden name.)

Bacall loved to dance but was smitten by the acting bug too. She studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York. And got some work in off-Broadway productions. She had her first paid acting gig in Johnny 2×4 it was a walk on role, she was 17. She ushered at theatres to make money. She also…