NEW ORLEANS (AP) – Verita Bouvaire Thompson, the reputed longtime mistress and confidant of Humphrey Bogart, has died. She was 89.
Thompson died of natural causes at JoEllen Smith Living Center on Feb. 1, said Dean Shapiro, her boyfriend.
In 1982, Thompson wrote a revelatory book called “Bogie and Me: A Love Story” in which she described a 14-year secret love affair with Bogart that overlapped with his marriage to Lauren Bacall. Subsequent Bogart biographies corroborated her story.
Between 1950 and 1956, Thompson traveled with Bogart and prepared his toupees, made his Scotch-and-soda drinks and responded to his fan mail.
All the way to her death, her friends said, Thompson adhered to a striking style and outlook reminiscent of the 1940s and Bogart’s movies, dressing in Chanel suits, high heels, hat and gloves – with a whiskey smash in hand.
Thompson was raised by her paternal grandparents and lived most of her youth in northern Mexico. After being named runner-up in the 1935 Miss Arizona Pageant, she moved to Hollywood and got a small part in a Western film before taking up residence in Mexico City where she studied wig making.
Thompson met Bogart at a cast wrap-up party for the blockbuster film “Casablanca” in 1942.
