Humphrey Bogart stage name, but Bogart declined it. The film version of "The Petrified Forest" was released in 1936, and Bogart's performance was called "brilliant", "compelling", and "superb". The film was highly successful, earning $500,000 at the box office, and making Bogart a star. He never forgot Howard's favor, and in 1952 named his only daughter "Leslie Howard Bogart" after Howard, who had died in World War II when a civilian plane he was flying in was shot down under mysterious circumstances. Robert E. Sherwood remained a close friend of Bogart's. Despite his success in "The Petrified Forest," an "A movie", Bogart
Humphrey Bogart weeks later. On March 1, 1956, he underwent a surgical operation in which his entire esophagus, two lymph nodes and a rib were removed. However, the surgery failed, even with chemotherapy. Bogart underwent corrective surgery in November 1956, when the cancer had spread. With time, he grew too weak to walk up and down stairs, fighting the pain yet still able to joke: "Put me in the dumbwaiter and I'll ride down to the first floor in style." It was then altered to accommodate his wheelchair. Sinatra, Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy visited Bogart on January 13, 1957. In an