BACALLS "WORST NIGHTMARE" ? : AFTER HER DEATH MORE REVELATIONS ABOUT THE VERITA BOUVAIR - HUMPHREY BOGART RELATIONSHIP

THE GUARDIAN : CLANDESTINE MISTRESS OF BOGART DIES Vanessa Thorp - writer

Excerpt: Between 1950 and 1956 Thompson (her maiden name was Bouvaire) traveled with Bogart, ostensibly as his personal secretary, bartender, and hairdresser.  A hopeful starlet who had spent most of her youth in Mexico, Thompson had trained in wig-making and then established herself in Hollywood as an expert in the preparation of toupees, working for stars such as George Raft, Ray Milland, and Gary Cooper.  When she traveled with Bogart, she always carried a suitcase packed with 10 hairpieces, including a 'cocktail wig' and a 'shaggy wig."  The actor, Thompson once recalled, was practically bald but hated wearing a toupee. "I used to say, "You'll look like hell without it, like an old man."

...

Bogart made a habit of introducing her in company as his 'mistress', explaining to Thompson later that he believed the joke would ensure suspicious minds were thrown off the scent. The two shared a passion for sailing and drinking that repeatedly left his wife Bacall stranded, according to Jeffrey Meyer's biography Bogart: A Life in Hollywood.

April 23 2022 Missy here.  Just a note that this article uses Meyer's book as a reference... I used Verita's book and was glad to know that this story was repeated in more than one book.