One Name They Know How to Spell in Karachi: Bogart.

Humphrey DeForest Bogart, December 25, 1899 – January 14, 1957.

106 years ago today, a first son was born to an NYC society couple, physician Belmont Bogart and his wife, famed artist and illustrator, Maud Humphrey Bogart. Though well off, his was a less than idyllic childhood. His life, however, proved to be extraordinary.

While not classically handsome in the Gary Cooper way, Bogart had a special quality that was far more smoldering. Dark and masculine, his face conveyed a soul of deep character, tough breaks, and an iron will, but also one of quick humour and romantic possibilities. One of the icons of American maleness, the Screen Bogart remains for even my generation, born twenty years after he fell to cancer, a hero and model of ethical self-interest. And for women of any generation, he represents the pinnacle of casual sexuality, mixed with healthy doses of self-sufficiency and feeling.

Bogart the man, however, may prove to be an even more valuable icon. While some of the brightest stars of his generation fell to drugs, dissipation, and scandal, Bogart was a dependable and diligent actor. Over the space of 82 films, he never arrived unprepared or unready to work, because, despite his ascent to the realm of Hollywood immortals, Bogart never took his fame or his livelihood for granted. He lived according to a work ethic that stated that no one is too famous to put his back into his chosen profession and pull his own weight. Further, his box-office stature and his fame were always kept in check by a humanity unconnected to transitory values such as popularity.

Above all, Bogart is one of the true Idols of Hollywood’s Golden Age. He is what dreams are made of, and today we celebrate the birth of a classic gent.