Gifted, independent and candid
RANDOR GUY
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She broke rules, wore pants and chose acting as a career, winning four Oscars.. Katherine Hepburn’s fans are celebrating her centenary.
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On Golden Pond: Katherine Hepburn with Henry Fonda.
She can be labelled as one of the silent founders of the feminist movement in U.S. Blessed with looks, luck and money, she rebelled against tradition and codes of upper-class upbringing. She was the first woman to be seen publicly wearing pants
at a time when American women would not be caught dead in one. While at the prestigious and exclusive Bryn Mawr College, she shocked the establishment by smoking in her room. This independent woman was Katharine Hepburn.
Her movie career lasted 60 long years, during which she won four Best Actress Oscars and received 12 nominations.
She won her fourth Oscar at 74 for ‘On Golden Pond’ (1981). She received the other three for ‘Morning Glory’ (1933), ‘Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner’ (1967), and ‘The Lion In The Winter’ (1968).
Each of these films belonged to different genres, had diverse themes and characters. And the awards for varying roles show her class, charisma and talent.
Though married, she did not hide her many affairs about which she spoke and wrote with joy. She had a tempestuous four-year affair with the American flying millionaire, moviemaker and studio boss, Howard Hughes, (who was quite the ladies man) whom she almost married.
Another well-documented one was her affair with an icon of American Cinema, Spencer Tracy, which ended when he died in 1967.
In spite of it all Katherine Hepburn was one of the most respected artistes of Hollywood. Despite her New England (It encompasses the traditional bunch of six States — Massachusetts, Maine, Vermont, Rhode Island, New Hampshire and Connecticut — in the east, where the immigrants from United Kingdom settled down in the new country) background, she was independent, outspoken and wedded to her own convictions and principles.
Katharine Hepburn, the second of six children, was born into a wealthy family on May 12, 1907 in Hartford, capital of Connecticut. Her father, Dr. Thomas Hepburn, was a successful and noted urologist and her highly educated mother, Katharine, was one of the early champions of Women’s Rights in America. Both parents were free-thinkers and encouraged their daughter, Katharine, to be independent.
Blue-eyed beauty
She joined Bryn Mawr College in 1928 and took a B.A. in Drama. This red-haired and blue-eyed beauty took to theatre in college, and acted in many plays. That was an era when acting as a profession for women was frowned upon by the upper crust in society, but undaunted she chose it as a career and moved to New York.
Ironically, the first role she played on a New York stage was that of a man. She attracted attention and became a success. But some of her performances did draw brickbats too from critics. Hepburn, in the hit play ‘Warrior’s Husband,’ impressed movie mogul David O. Selznick, who took her to Hollywood for her first film, ‘A Bill of Divorcement.’ (1932). Scripted from a hit play, Hepburn played a strong- willed daughter meeting her father (the legendary John Barrymore) after he returned home from a mental institution. She excelled in the role and the film, directed by the talented George Cukor, was a big hit. He and Hepburn were on the same wavelength and made several films together.
The movies, Cukor and Hepburn, together include ‘Little Women’ (1933), ‘Sylvia Scarlett’ (1935), ‘Holiday’ (1938), ‘The Philadelphia Story’ (1940) and ‘Adam’s Rib’ (1949).
However, Hepburn’s career began to wane. Then came ‘The Philadelphia Story.’ Thanks to Howard Hughes, Hepburn had acquired the film rights of the successful stage play and it was rewritten specially for her.
The film version of ‘The Philadelphia Story’ (1940), directed by George Cukor, was a sensational success and Hepburn bounced back to Hollywood and stardom. It also starred Cary Grant and James Stewart. She met Spencer Tracy on the set of ‘Woman of the Year,’ (1942). According to Tracy, Hepburn looked at him and commented with sarcasm, “I’m afraid I’m a little too tall for you, Mr. Tracy.”
He shot back. “Don’t worry, Miss. I’ll cut you down to size.” It was love at first sight. Unfortunately Spencer Tracy, a Catholic, could not divorce his wife and they also had a severely handicapped son. Among the films they made together was ‘Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner’ (1967), directed by Stanley Kramer. It dealt with racism in America.
Major hit
When an independent young woman wants to marry an African-American (Sidney Poitier), her parents (Hepburn and Tracy) discover they are not as broad-minded as they thought. The film was a major hit But Tracy passed away before it was released.
Hepburn also received the Oscar nomination for ‘Woman of the Year’ (1942), ‘The African Queen’ (1951, directed by John Huston), ‘The Rainmaker’ (1956),. ‘Suddenly Last Summer’ (1959) and ‘Long Day’s Journey Into The Night ’ (1962, adaptation of the Eugene O’Neill play, and one of her most brilliant performances).
The last film she made was ‘Love Affair’ (1994) when she was 87. Afterwards she left Hollywood and lived in her 12-acre estate near New York. Katherine Hepburn passed away on June 29, 2003. She was 96.
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