Kate Remembered

( 36 )

Overview

For seven decades Katharine Hepburn played a leading role in the popular culture of the twentieth century - reigning as an admired actress, a beloved movie star, and a treasured icon of the modern American woman. She also remained one of the most private of all the public figures of her time.

In 1983 - at the age of seventy-five, her career cresting - the four-time Academy Award winner opened the door to biographer A. Scott Berg - then ...

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Kate Remembered

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Overview

For seven decades Katharine Hepburn played a leading role in the popular culture of the twentieth century - reigning as an admired actress, a beloved movie star, and a treasured icon of the modern American woman. She also remained one of the most private of all the public figures of her time.

In 1983 - at the age of seventy-five, her career cresting - the four-time Academy Award winner opened the door to biographer A. Scott Berg - then thirty-three - and began a special friendship, one that endured to the end of her illustrious life.

From the start, Scott Berg felt that Katharine Hepburn intended his role to be not just that of a friend but also of a chronicler, a confidant who might record for posterity her thoughts and feelings. Over the next twenty years, Kate used their many hours together to reveal all that came to mind, often reflecting on the people and episodes of her past, occasionally on the meaning of life.

Here are the stories from those countless intimate conversations, and much more. In addition to recording heretofore untold biographical details of her entire phenomenal career and her famous relationships with such men as Spencer Tracy and Howard Hughes, Kate Remembered also tells the amusing, often emotional story of one of the most touching friendships in her final years. Scott Berg provides his own memories of Katharine Hepburn offstage - quiet dinners in her town house in New York City, winter swims (she swam, he watched) in the Long Island Sound at Fenwick, her home in Connecticut, weekend visits with family members and dear friends...even some unusual appearances by the likes of Michael Jackson and Warren Beatty. Finally, Kate Remembered discusses the legendary actress's moving farewell, during which her mighty personality surrendered at last to her failing body - all the while remaining true to her courageous character.

Kate Remembered is a book about love and friendship, family and career, Hollywood and Broadway - all punctuated by unforgettable lessons from an extraordinary life.

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Editorial Reviews

From Barnes & Noble
Originally published soon after Katharine Hepburn's death, Kate Remembered presents the silver-screen legend as a vibrant, feisty, opinionated woman. A. Scott Berg is perhaps the actress's ideal biographer: He is a Pulitzer Prize–winning author and Hepburn's longtime personal friend. Like its subject, the book is brisk, spunky, and heartfelt.
The Los Angeles Times
The book is a graceful and affectionate portrait of a cranky old lady whose legend is of more interest than the suffocating reality of slow geriatric decline that Berg recounts with a self-effacing patience and kindness that never acknowledges the most obvious fact about their friendship: His appearance on her doorstep was a godsend to the actress, then 76. — Richard Schickel
The Washington Post
… Kate Remembered is her last performance, and one of her most touching. That it comes to us from beyond the grave, and immediately, should not be a shock. That's the sort of thing a goddess does. — Dennis Drabelle
People
A worthy look at a candid Kate. — Aug. 18th, 2003
Entertainment Weekly
[an] unusual and unusually fitting "account"...of a life lived outside the usual...
—July 25, 2003
Washington Post Book World
The central virtue of Kate Remembered is the author's generosity with his insider's privileges.
—July 20-26, 2003)
Publishers Weekly
Even those who've read many Hepburn biographies will find Berg's immersion in the actor's world engrossing, full of crisply-voiced takes on old Hollywood and intimate looks at her everyday life. As a longtime friend and ardent fan, Berg (Lindbergh; Max Perkins; etc.) does not attempt an objective biography; instead, he aims to convey Hepburn's thoughts and memories. Framed by Berg and Hepburn's 20-year friendship, the book charts the inescapable subjects of Hepburn's life, such as her romance with Spencer Tracy and her assessment of her own performances. She considered Tracy the greatest American screen actor and her last years with him (in the 1960s) the happiest of her life. Among her movies, she spoke warmly of her films with George Cukor. As to Hepburn's sexual orientation, Berg notes that in the 1930s she lived with actress Laura Harding and decades later was rumored to have exceptionally close relations with a woman, but Hepburn reported nothing. Most interesting is Berg's depiction of Hepburn's early acting days: how she moved from Broadway to Hollywood, negotiated an outsized salary, and, after becoming box-office poison, fought her way back with The Philadelphia Story. Throughout those years, she was befriended personally and professionally by her husband Ludlow Ogden Smith and by industrialist Howard Hughes. Berg is true to his subject and lets her voice come through in every quote, whether she's pooh-poohing him for thinking the 50-ish-degree water near her Connecticut house is cold ("Only for the first few seconds. And then you're numb") or explaining why she never tried to marry Spencer Tracy: "I never wanted to marry Spencer Tracy." Photos. (July 11) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
Forbes Magazine
One of America's foremost biographers gives a moving, masterful memoir of his unique relationship with one of Hollywood's legendary giants, Katharine Hepburn. Berg first met Hepburn in the early 1980s, when he was assigned to write a magazine article about her. Berg became something of a James Boswell to Hepburn, and they spent many an evening together, with her recounting incidents and personalities in her life. (5 Sep 2005)
—Steve Forbes
Library Journal
The life of the late, great Katharine Hepburn has been accurately and thoroughly preserved in print by her friend Berg. Released upon her death in June 2003, Kate Remembered not only captures the amazing history of Hepburn's life and career, but Berg manages to capture her personality, her passions, and her dry wit. The author, who met the actress in the early 1980s, had unprecedented access to her, and his friendship and admiration for her are evident in his writing. In addition to telling the life story of the incomparable actress, the book even serves as a history of early Hollywood and Broadway. Masterfully read by actor/director Tony Goldwyn, the audio version gives an entirely new dimension to Berg's already visual narrative. His interpretation of Hepburn's trademark voice is endearing and adds depth to the clean and flowing production. Recommended for most collections, especially those strong in biography and movie history.-Nicole A. Cooke, Montclair State Univ. Lib., NJ Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
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Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780425199091
  • Publisher: Penguin Group (USA) Incorporated
  • Publication date: 9/7/2004
  • Edition description: Reprint
  • Pages: 384
  • Sales rank: 435,261
  • Product dimensions: 5.58 (w) x 8.36 (h) x 1.12 (d)

Meet the Author

A. Scott Berg graduated from Princeton University in 1971 and is the author of Max Perkins: Editor of Genius, Goldwyn: A Biography, and Lindbergh, for which he received the National Book Award, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and the Pulitzer Prize, respectively.

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Read an Excerpt

A Private Function

I've never felt so intimidated ringing a doorbell.

Even though she and I had become friendly in the past few months over the telephone and I was standing at her front door in New York City at her invitation, I was genuinely nervous about our first meeting. And I've never been especially starstruck.

But this was different. Katharine Hepburn was the first movie star I had ever noticed, and she had been my favorite ever since-the only actor whose plays and movies I attended just because she was in them.

On that Tuesday-April 5, 1983-I arrived at Third Avenue and Forty-ninth Street with fifteen minutes to spare. So I walked around a few neighboring blocks until 5:55 p.m. Then I slowly walked east on Forty-ninth Street until I was a few doors from Second Avenue-number 244. I stood on the sidewalk for another minute and a half, until the second hand on my watch ticked toward twelve. I opened the little black iron gate, stepped down into the well at the curtained front door, and pressed the button. The bell let out a ring so shrill, I could practically feel all four floors of the brownstone shake.

Nobody answered. After a long pause, a short woman with black hair poked her cherubic face out of an adjacent door, the service entrance, and said, "Yes?"

I said I had a six o'clock appointment with Miss Hepburn. Was I at the wrong door? "No, no," she said. "I'll let you in." She came to the front door, and I heard two heavy locks tumble. This was Norah Considine, who cooked and cleaned. She said Miss Hepburn was expecting me.

I entered the vestibule and left my raincoat on a bench at the foot of the steep, narrow staircase, with its metal pole for a handrail. Another woman appeared from the kitchen-gray-haired, bony, with a neckbrace; and we introduced ourselves. She was, as I presumed, Phyllis Wilbourn, Hepburn's companion and majordomo. "Oh, yes. Go right up," she said in a sandy-throated English accent. "Miss Hepburn's expecting you." At the top of the landing, I could look into the rear living room, where the last of that day's light was coming in from the garden.

Before I had even entered the room, I heard the unmistakable voice from inside. "Did you use the bathroom?"

"I'm sorry?" I said, now standing in the doorway and seeing Katharine Hepburn for the first time.

She sat to the right in a comfortable-looking chair, her feet _in white athletic shoes propped up on a footrest. She appeared _to be amazingly fit for a seventy-five-year-old then recovering from a serious car accident. She looked restored and relaxed, her skin tight against the legendary cheekbones, her eyes clear, a soothing pale blue, her hair a ruddy gray, all pulled off her face and pinned up into her trademark knot. She wore no makeup and flashed a _big movie-star grin, exuding charm and energy. She was wear-_ing khaki pants, a white turtleneck under a blue chambray shirt, and she had a red sweater tied loosely around her neck. As I approached her, I tried to take in as much of the room as I could-the high ceiling, pictures on the walls, a fire blazing in the fireplace, nothing ostentatious except for huge bouquets of flowers everywhere.

"Did you use the bathroom?" she asked again, before I had reached her.

"No."

"Well, don't you think you should?"

"No, thank you. I don't think that's necessary."

"Well, I think you should probably go back downstairs and use the bathroom first." I repeated that I didn't think it was necessary but that I would do my best.

Two minutes later I returned; and as I reached the top of the stairs, she asked, "Did you use the bathroom?"

"Well, actually," I said, "I did, thank you."

"Good. You know my father was a urologist, and he said _you should always go to the bathroom whenever you have to . . . and you see, you had to. So how do you do? I'm Katharine Hepburn."

"Yes, I know you are." We shook hands, and from her chair she looked me up and down and smiled. "You're tall." A little over six feet, I told her. "Tennis?" No, I said, but I swim regularly and work out with weights at a gym. "Boah." A little boring, I concurred, adding that it was the most time-efficient form of exercise for me.

"Do you smoke?" she asked.

I started to laugh-feeling as though I had walked into a production of The Importance of Being Earnest-and said, "No, Lady Bracknell, I don't." She laughed and said, "I used to. Gave it up. Disgusting habit. Well, I hope you drink."

"Fortunately," I said, "I do." With that, she sent me to the table behind her, on which sat a wooden African mask of a woman with unusually large, wild eyes and prominent cheekbones. "Somebody sent me that," she said. "It looks just like me, don't you think?" Except for the tribal paint, it did. Next to it sat a large wooden tray with several bottles of liquor and three thick glass goblets. "Do you see anything there you like?" I did-a bottle of King William IV Scotch. She asked me to make two of them, according to her specifications-which meant filling the glass beyond the brim with ice, pouring a shot of the whiskey slowly over the cubes, then topping it with soda. She directed me to sit on the couch to her right, white canvas covered with a red knit throw. She took a sip, then a gulp of her drink and said, "Too weak." I doctored it. "Yours looks too weak," she said. Fearing a replay of the bathroom episode, I stood my ground, saying, "I feel the need to stay one ounce more sober than you."

While we discussed the interview I had come to conduct with her, Phyllis Wilbourn climbed the stairs. I started to get up, as the neck-braced septugenarian appeared a little wobbly; but my hostess assured me she was just fine. "You've met Phyllis Wilbourn?" Miss Hepburn inquired, as the older woman passed a tray of hot cheese puffs. "My Alice B. Toklas."

"I wish you wouldn't say that," Phyllis insisted. "It makes me sound like an old lesbian, and I'm not."

"You're not what, dearie, old or a lesbian?" she said, laughing.

"Neither." With that, Phyllis fixed her own drink, a ginger ale, and sat in a chair opposite us; and I continued to soak up the room. Hepburn watched me as I gazed at a carved wooden goose hanging on a chain from the ceiling. "Spencer's," she said. Then I noticed a painting of two seagulls on some rocks.

"Do you think that's an exceptional picture or not?" she asked.

"It's amusing," I said. "Fun."

"Me," she said, referring to the artist.

The fire was dying, and Hepburn asked if I knew anything about fireplaces. I told her I was no Boy Scout but that I could probably kick a little life into it. "Let's see," she said, preparing to grade me in what was clearly an important test. I used the pair of wrought-iron tongs to turn a few logs over, and they went up in a blaze. She was visibly pleased. "How about those on the mantel?" she asked, referring me to a pair of small figurines, nude studies of a young woman. "Me," she said.

"You sculpted these?" I asked.

"No, I posed for them." Upon closer scrutiny, I could see that was the case and that she was pleased again.

Over the next few minutes, we made small talk-about my hometown, Los Angeles, our mutual friend director George Cukor, who had died there just a few months prior, and our impending interview. She asked how much time I thought I would need, and I asked, "How much have you got?"

"Oh, I'm endlessly fascinating," she said, smiling again. "I'd say you'll need at least two full days with me."

As my fire-tending had made the room warmer, I stood and removed my blue blazer, which I set on the couch. "I don't think so," said Hepburn gently but firmly. "Now look, I want you to be as comfortable as you like. But look where you've put that jacket. It's right in my sight line, and it's, well, somewhat offensive."

"Yes," I said, "I can see that." As I started to put it back on, she said that wasn't necessary, that there was a chair on the landing and I should just "throw it there"-which I did. Upon re-entering the room, I instinctively adjusted a picture on the wall, a floral painting which was slightly askew.

"Oh, I see," said Miss Hepburn with great emphasis; "you're one of those." She smiled approvingly and added, "Me too. But nobody was as bad as Cole Porter. He used to come to this house, and he'd straighten pictures for five minutes before he'd even sit down. Listen, while you're still up, I'm ready for another drink. How about you?"

Again I made mine the weaker. It was not that I was afraid of falling on my face. It was more that I felt as though I were now walking through an RKO movie starring Katharine Hepburn, and I didn't want to miss a single frame of it.

As the clock on the mantelpiece bonged seven, Miss Hepburn said, "Look, I only invited you for drinks tonight because I wasn't sure how we'd get on, but you're more than welcome to stay for dinner; there's plenty of food. But I can tell by the way you're dressed, and I must say I like that tie, you've got another date. It's probably better if you go anyway because we're starting to talk too much already, and then we won't be fresh for the performance tomorrow. Shall we say eleven?" I explained that I did, in fact, have a dinner date; but for her I would happily break it. "No," she said, "we don't want to run out of things to say to each other." We shook hands goodbye, and I exited the room, grabbing my jacket from the chair.

When I was halfway down the stairs, I heard her shout, "Use the bathroom before you leave!"

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Customer Reviews

Average Rating 4
( 36 )
Rating Distribution

5 Star

(20)

4 Star

(8)

3 Star

(3)

2 Star

(3)

1 Star

(2)

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See All Sort by: Showing 1 – 20 of 36 Customer Reviews

  • Anonymous

    Posted August 31, 2003

    TEDIOUS & BORING

    I was disappointed. This was less a biography of KH, and more of a diary of the author's experiences with her - along with what appeared to be LISTS of details of her movies, etc. The author seems to be a back-slapping, self-crediting hanger-on who seems to think he had more influence over her than what is probably true. He was also kind of a petty gossip. The book got very long & tedious. Sorry, Katharine. You deserved better.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted August 21, 2003

    Don't waste your time or money on Scott Berg's memoirs of himself

    This got a one star rating because there wasn't a zero star option! This book mentions Scott Berg more that it mentions Hepburn or anyone else. He needed an editor to delete loads of pages about his own life and that of people other than Hepburn he's interviewed to write about. He is so excited and impressed with himself and the famous people he interviews, you'd think he was a wide-eyed adolescent, and untrained in sticking to his subject.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted September 4, 2003

    Scott Berg's Memiors

    I wish I had been aware of 'Me' long before its vague mention about halfway through Berg's 'biography'. I felt forced to slog through Berg's accounts of how many reculsive actors from the old days he has managed to befreind because I believed this was the only accurate source material about Hepburn's life. I think Berg must have known many readers would believe that, too, and used it as a sort of blackmail to tell his own memoirs. In the first three chapters, I learned nothing new about Hepburn, but I learned all about Berg's meditation schedule, breakfast menu, and illustrious career as a biographer.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted April 1, 2012

    I have this book two times. It is a great book.

    I have this book two times. It is a great book.

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  • Posted October 25, 2011

    Spend some time with Katharine Hepburn

    This is a warm, affectionate, honest portrait of Katharine Hepburn written by her friend. While some have criticized the author for putting too much of himself in this, I think that's a little unfair; he is telling us what it was like to know her, to spend time with her. Berg doesn't focus on details that have been covered dozens of times in standard biographies, he does focus on what it felt like being with her, and dealing with her famous, feisty personality. There are a few places where I feel he goes too far in what he reveals, but overall this is a rewarding book for Hepburn's fans.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted July 2, 2005

    Great Biography (but is it true?)

    This was the most excellent biography of Katharine Hepburn, and most compelling about her life. Warren Beatty was a real con man, seducing Kate to perform a small role at 85 years old so that he can tell everyone that he directed a movie with her. Michael Jackson just wanted a photo with her as a publicity stunt, but at least he was straight-forward with Kate and not sleezeball as what Warren Beatty did. I highly recommend this book or audiotapes but make sure you are not operating heavy machinery at the time, or else you will be totally distracted because this will pull you in and not let you go until the end. But is it all true??? Only Kate knows... --GIF

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  • Anonymous

    Posted July 8, 2005

    Great book

    It's a book about Kate Hepburn and the author's friendship when she was alive. It also mentions facts about the people who were in her life too.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted May 3, 2004

    CD Audiobook vs. Hard Copy Book

    If there is a Kate Hepburn movie on a classics channel ... I'm watching it! So, I know and love that Hepburn voice and debated a bit before choosing the CD Audiobook (for my daily half hour vehicle commute) over the hard copy. Well, I HAD NO IDEA that Tony Goldwyn's reading of this book would be such a special treat; he was brilliant! Many thanks to A. Scott Berg for sharing the tender details of his relationship with this extraordinary woman in such a sensitive and entertaining way! I have NO DOUBT that Kate would have been pleased with this work!

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  • Anonymous

    Posted March 27, 2004

    Absolutely Fasinating!!!

    I never knew much about Kathryn Hepburn until after reading A. Scott Berg's wonderful book She is now my 'Idol'. Thank you to Scott for doing such an incredible job of bringing her into 'my' life!! I never want the book to end.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted November 5, 2003

    The Great Kate!

    I truly enjoyed the book. I have been a Hepburn fan for many years, and I am enamored by her films. A. Berg got off the beaten path quite a few times to boast about himself and his accomplishments in obtaining interviewees for his previous books. But, in all, he captured the essence of the great Kate: strong in spirit, independent, head strong, rebel. An unique individual in her generation. A standard bearer for women in the future.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted November 15, 2003

    touching

    I have not seen many Hepburn movies but I read this book. It was one of the most touching bio's I have read.I highly recommend this book.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted October 26, 2003

    A great read

    The mark of a good book is whether or not you can react to the story. This book made me laugh out loud as well as cry. Kate was a great lady and Scott Berg did her story true justice. I enjoyed the way that the references to Spencer Tracy were vague and kept their (Kate and Spencer's) diginity by not becoming gossipy. This appears to be her true story and not soap-dish nonsense.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted August 7, 2003

    A great tribute to a legend!

    I had been interested in reading this book ever since Ms. Hepburn's death this summer. I had always enjoyed her strong-willed, independent performances (especially THE PHILADELPHIA STORY), and knew few details and stories of her life. Mr. Berg did an incredible job recalling stories of the legend from talks by a fire. He recounts her memories of everything from her brother's suicide in the 1920's to first coming to Hollywood, career in Broadway, to working with everyone from Cary Grant, Jimmy Stewart and Henry Fonda. Although Mr. Berg had known her for less than a quarter of her life, he got to know many of the idiosyncrasies, pet peeves, favorite and least favorite entertainers, and so on of one of the most celebrated performers of the twentieth century. Yes, many will say how dare she break up marriages with her dating and loving of married men, including Leland Hayward and of course, Spencer Tracy, but that is where she found the love she had looked for all of her life. They were happy together, and to her that is all that mattered. Reclusive in her last years, and at the end looking every bit of her age, A. Scott Berg was given the chance of a lifetime: just to meet Katharine Hepburn, let alone become a friend and 'critic'. I couldn't put it down, and ended up finishing the 300+ page book within 4 days. A wonderful tribute to any Katharine Hepburn fan!

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  • Anonymous

    Posted August 13, 2003

    Good Job Scott

    Totally enjoyed this book. It's like you are somewhere in the same area as Scott & Kate, listening to them talk. I would like to get some of her old films to watch. I believe the only movie I saw of her's was African Queen. Enjoyed Kate in On Golden Pond!

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  • Anonymous

    Posted August 30, 2003

    Loyal and Strong and Humerous

    Scott Berg honorably held a national treasure in his hands until she faded into yesterday...and he did it with genuine integrity and love... I loved this book...Kate was right to trust this author with her friendship and her story...I am so at peace with Mr. Berg's portrayal of this superstar in her twilight years that I will look no further for my own sake...his book allows closure for a universally loved heroine who loved to live, laugh, struggle and win! Hepburn was a pricesless jewel and Mr. Berg's sincerity polished her shine even in the face of the inevitable...

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  • Anonymous

    Posted August 16, 2003

    Might as well read 'ME' instead

    I never read ME by Katharine Hepburn but I did read Berg's book and at first enjoyed it. Until that is I recently saw the Biography of Katharine Hepburn in which she talked about her life and her book. I realized that about 80% of what he wrote in his book were HER words and nothing new. Aside from the tidbit about Michael Jackson and her friendship with Cynthia McFadden, Berg brought nothing new to the readers. what a disappointment. I would have never bought the book if I knew I only needed to watch about her life on Biography. I could have written pretty much the same book by quoting everything she said and then adding things here and there. that's what he did. with a little research and TV watching, we could all be writers!

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  • Anonymous

    Posted August 16, 2003

    Much More Than A Movie Star!

    Even though I had admired Miss Hepburn's work over the years, it wasn't until I read this book did I realize how utterly human she really was. I think this book was the best bio done on a famous person due to the fact that the author knew the subject personally and his love and respect for Miss Hepburn shows all throughout the book. Even though I knew the ending, I cried when he was describing Miss Hepburn's last years but Mr. Berg did show Miss Hepburn in a dignified light in describing her last years He is a wonderful writer! I had never heard of him before but now I can't wait to read his other books. I am going to tell everyone I know to get this book because even though all might not of have been fans of Miss Hepburn, this books tells a wonderful story of a person who wasn't afraid to take chances and live! I would like to meet Mr. Berg and thank him for writing such a book that moved me deeply. I will never be able to look at a Hepburn movie in the same light ever again

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  • Anonymous

    Posted September 16, 2003

    Kate Remembered

    This is a great read, more about Kate than about her career, and that's what I had hoped it would be. I'm not quite finished, but I think that's because I don't want it to finish. I'm anxious to read Scott Berg's other books.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted August 23, 2003

    Beautiful book

    What is special about Berg's book is his luminous, larger-than-life subject, of course. But then it's his loving, tender, admiring and well-written account of what SHE said that makes this lovely and fascinating story a one-of-a-kind record of the great lady's life and thoughts. It's a treat if you love Kate, or if you love life, or if you love old Hollywood stories, or new Hollywood stories. But mostly it's a treat if you are looking for inspiration for living each moment of your life with zest, grace, class, honesty, strength and humor. Well done, Mr. Berg. Well done.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted July 25, 2003

    Not a bad read

    While A. Scott Berg is an excellent biographer, I was expecting more Hepburn and less Berg; however, that said, this is an interesting look at the later years of one of America's last true 'stars'. Mr. Berg captures very well Ms. Hepburns voice and has chronicled her remembrances in an easy read. Her final years are disturbing for those who would like to remember Ms. Hepburn as the strong, fiercely independent woman that she portrayed and that she lived. Without peer, Ms. Hepburn was an original and we won't see her likes again. My, she was yare.

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