Lauren Bacall

Lauren Bacall isn’t a woman likely to sit still. Last weekend, the actress flew from her home in New York to Washington, D.C., to attend Sen. Ted Kennedy’s 77th birthday gala. And this evening, Bacall appears in Houston for a screening of To Have and Have Not at Landmark River Oaks Theatre, followed by a Q&A with the audience. Chronicle reporter Maggie Galehouse spoke with the actress — born Betty Joan Perske — about smoking, aging, politics and leading men.

Lauren Bacall was spotted going to the Lenox Hill Hospital in New York to visit Natasha Richardson about an hour ago. According to columnist Liz Smith, Richardson was taken off life support today at 1:30PM ET. Bacall was one of the many celebrity guests at Richardson's wedding to Liam Neeson in 1994. At Richardson's bedside over the past day were her mother Vanessa Redgrave, aunt Lynn Redgrave, sister Joely Richardson and ex-husband Robert Fox. Among those paying their respects have been actress Meryl Streep, author Joan Didion and actress Lauren Bacall.

Following the screening of To Have and Have Not,Bacall answered questions from the audience then moved on to the Wyatt home for a private reception, where she regaled guests with Hollywood tales. The lucky ones included Christina Girard, Franelle Rogers, Joelle Rogers, Jay Jones, Terry Wayne Jones and Jacqueline Hamilton. Proceeds benefited Brilliant’s youth leadership programs.