Kate Remembered

Rating:
Summary: Somewhat flawed, but seldom less than engrossing
Review: It is something of a challenge to get past the questionable propriety of this book's having being published a mere 12 days after Katharine Hepburn's death - especially given author A. Scott Berg's unfortunate choice of words in describing the event ("On the afternoon of Sunday, June 29, 2003, Cynthia McFadden thoughtfully placed the call I had been anxiously awaiting."). The timing and the phraseology both suggest that Berg and Putnam Press were chomping at the bit, eagerly awaiting Hepburn's demise in order to publish "Kate Remembered." However, much like watching Hepburn herself - who was seldom less than riveting even in a mediocre vehicle - it is almost impossible to resist being drawn into Berg's book and the world of this acting legend's final decades which he vividly recreates for the reader. What is revealed is what most of us already deduced - that this was a charmingly eccentric woman of considerable strength (both physical and emotional), with an enormous zest for life, a razor-sharp wit and a delightfully wicked sense of humor. If Berg's accounts are accurate - and they appear to ring true - the repartee during even the most mundane of activities, such as cooking dinner or playing a simple board game, would not have been out of place in the works of Noel Coward or Oscar Wilde. Where the book tends to bog down is in the more traditionally biographical segments recounting Hepburn's early career - although Berg is able to offer up a few interesting new anecdotes as provided by his subject, most of this material has already been amply covered. Unfortunate, too, are Berg's occasional lapses in chronological accuracy - he speaks of the death of fellow actresses Joan Crawford and Mae West during the mid-1980's, yet Crawford and West died in 1977 and 1980, respectively. In the same passage, he wrongly states that Jean Arthur's and Myrna Loy's deaths predated Greta Garbo's 1990 demise. And along the same lines, Berg refers to the filming of On Golden Pond in 1979, when it was actually shot in 1980. Further, it is surprising that an author who spent years researching a biography of movie mogul Samuel Goldwyn never learned that the "Brothers" in "Warner Bros." is always abbreviated. But this is mostly nitpicking - and if it seems at times that Berg is something of an interloper (for although he goes to great lengths to assure us that Hepburn enjoyed his attention - even demanded it - there is still the faint sense that his relationship with her is somewhat opportunistic on his part; quite simply, he never seems to fully "belong" in her milieu), the means justify the end... for what Berg ultimately offers the reader is a peek inside a rarified world we would otherwise never have a way of knowing.

[7/18/03 - Special note to my friend in Texas who questions my knowledge of the English language - please consult an unabridged dictionary and look up the secondary definition(s) of the word "anxious" (i.e., "ardently or earnestly wishing") and you will hopefully understand while I find Berg's choice of words unfortunate; frankly, I should think a Pulitzer Prize-winning author could have come up with a far better way of expressing the manner in which he received the (presumably dreaded) news of Hepburn's death.]

Rating:
Summary: Odd.
Review: Not quite biography or memoir, the book is simply odd and elitist in the sense that Berg is the ultimate outsider/insider. That tension creates this uneven book. Berg, a noted biographer, had access to a legend and this rendering of Hepburn's life celebrates that access - his coming and goings - from Hepburn's various homes over a period of two decades and some of his insights into Hepburn's personal and professional life as a result. The confidences he shares with Hepburn serve as a sort of decor - he gives the outlines and shapes, but really very few details and keeps us, the readers, at arms' length from the apparent coziness of their arrangement as a tease throughout the book. Hepburn remains an object, despite that the fact they seem to be friends, but don't share much in terms of life experience according to what he has reported, the bulk of which are purely domestic endeavors such cooking meals, late night conversations where he depicts himself as interviewer, and of them sharing the task many times of making up his guest bed, a sort of intimacy that celebrates what, the fact Hepburn doesn't have a maid and makes a mean hospital corner? That makes the ending even odder when Berg, after writing about Hepburn's death, invents himself in the last paragraph of the book into Hepburn's early life as some kind of suitor-love object. If she'd been in love with him, a much younger man, and used her life story as bait, then that would have increased the pathos of both her life and their relationship even more. The fact that he merely implies that this was a mutual motive for each other's company is far from poetic, which is what he may have intended ahd more dishonest or a cheat. It also deliberately or indeliberately inserts him as much a character in Hepburn's life story as any of her most famed relationships with Spencer Tracy or Howard Hughes.

Outside of that strange twist, given the fact that so much has been written about Hepburn, even by the star herself, it would be difficult to add much more to the Hepburn character study, aside from some opinions Hepburn obviously didn't care to share with the world until she passed - not that any of them are that tittilating - i.e. so what if Howard Hughes was the lust of her life or that she didn't favor Meryl Streep's acting method? There isn't that much more to learn regarding her famed relationship with Tracy, that she didn't want to marry him isn't that surprising and given her advancing age and the memory challenges Berg documents due to that, who knows how much she started bending around her own history in her later years? Perhaps she did want to marry Tracy at some point and never admitted it, but the fact is he never divorced his wife all the same.

Most interesting is the portrait Berg draws of the aging and increasingly isolated star, two factors which obviously contributed to her wanting him to stick around as observer. For all her fame and fortune, her biggest and longest life roles were as a sister/aunt to her clubby New England family, as mentor to the ambitious likes of others, such as Cynthia MacFadden, a draw to eccentric mercenaries like Michael Jackson and Warrren Beatty, a lure to someone like Berg whom she obviously wanted to record her life.

But its Berg's role itself that begins to raise the most questions as the book proceeds. The fact that Hepburn wants Berg as her witness, if not biographer, expands his role to beyond that of a literary sycophant, though the book is also littered with references to his relationships to others of Hepburn's ilk, particularly female aging stars or Hollywood players. Berg seems to play the companion role quite comfortably to those hungry for an audience and an ear, and that's how he inserts himself in the book - Hepburn is just one of several aging legends who are in a sense courting him, which is both a bit pathetic and perhaps more insighful into Berg's character and motives than he perhaps intended. He remains essentially the unavailable target, veiled by his pen and reputation and he makes an uneasy reference to the movie "Sunset Blvd," where, like the protagonist in that movie, he is the writer (though hardly obscure) is being monopolized by vain fading star, in this case Hepburn as his own version of Norma Desmond. Except this becomes a disturbing aspect of the book. Berg seems to thrive on providing so many accounts of those relationships outside of Hepburn's scope and not simply as a comparison of how these women are handling the prospect of age, dying, obscurity compared to Hepburn herself. Instead, Berg seems to be inadvertantly celebrating the fact that he has not one (Hepburn) but several Norma Desmonds pulling at him, some of whom are also colleagues of Hepburn, competitive for his time and attention, which is the end seems a bit of a betrayal, deliberate or unintended, to the subject of the book.

Worth the buy is Berg's outrageous account of Hepburn's last film role in Warren Beatty's horrendous "Love Affair" in which the star/director both uses Berg for access to Hepburn and openly fusses about every detail with him, such as whether or not Hepburn would utter a tasteless line of dialogue as part of the stint (she did). Beatty comes off as both vain and ridiculous and both Hepburn, and Berg, who played go-between to help convince Hepburn to take the minor role, get hilariously mixed up in Beatty's naracisstic endeavor. A priceless rendering of Hollywood hybris to which Hepburn herself was never immune, but compared to Beatty, her brand of egotism comes off as rational due to her enormous talent and intellect.

Rating:
Summary: The best for the best
Review: A funny and touching book. It is amazing how well the author conveys Miss Hepburns presence. How lucky he was to have spent that time with her and how lucky we are that he writes about it so beautifully. A great tribute.

Rating:
Summary: My Favorite Aunt
Review: On June 3, 2004, Sotheby's opened an exhibition of Kathryn Hepburn's property which will be auctioned off from her estate. Sotheby's had inquiries from all over from fans to advanced collectors to galleries. What is it about this star that has created such interest in owning a piece of this star?

Scott Berg, who had long personal friendship with Hepburn, does an excellent job in providing a behind the scenes glimpse into her life, what made her tick, and possibly, why she has been so attractive to so many. "Kate Remembered" is a well-written, fast-paced biography. This is a biography written with the reader in mind.

Berg describes the source of her fierce independence and her moves from stage to movies and later to TV. He also gives us a glimpse of some of the biggest names in Hollywood during her era, and the role Louis Mayer and Sam Goldwyn played in shaping their careers. He spares no details of her relationships with George Stevens, Cary Grant, Howard Hughes, Leland Hayward, and, of course, Spencer Tracy.

Learn about her views of Sir Laurence Olivier (a "small" man), John Wayne, Timothy Dalton, Peter O'Toole, and Bob Hope (a big egomaniac), Warren Beatty (vanity), Michael Jackson (a ten year old boy in 25 year old body), and her favorite movies.

While Hepburn stood alone with her fierce independence, beauty, and brains, Berg shows us that this hardly defined the feisty woman from Connecticut. She was a woman "with attitude" not caught up with Hollywood, a woman who was grounded, a woman who never developed a sense of entitlement, and, yet, a woman who had few friends as she got older.

Berg goes into great detail about why Tracy was the event in her life that taught her how to love rather than seeking to be loved; why Judd Harris tired to destroy her after she resurrected her career; why she felt she could never attend the Academy Awards; and how "The Philadelphia Story," which saved her career, was created and produced.

Some of the book's priceless quotes include:

Her response after Sean Penn punched out a photographer... "Why wouldn't someone who pays to see your picture in the movies, not want to take your picture?"

On her profession..."Actors and actresses are prostitutes selling themselves for our entertainment."

On having children... She never wanted to have to make the choice between giving a scheduled performance or staying home to care for a sick screaming child.

"Life, it is not easy. Life is tough for everyone, most become its victim."

She was the keeper of her own flame, and while she maintained a starry distance, she always seemed like our favorite aunt. And Berg's book tells us why, she was our favorite aunt!

We are fortunate for her enduring relationship with Scott Berg that made this book possible.

Rating:
Summary: Kate or Scott?
Review: It took me a while to figure out what bothered me about this biography, and then decided that it's because the book is as much about Scott Berg as it is about Kate Hepburn, and I don't really care all that much about Scott. As other reviewers have noted, much of this material has been covered by other biographers and in books by Hepburn herself (if you haven't read her story of the Making of the African Queen, go find a copy).
If you want to read about how Hepburn interacted with others (generous, funny, demanding, imperious - pick one depending on the setting), you might learn something from this book. If you want to learn about how Berg made the most of an invitation to dinner, and, perhaps, what about him so interested Hepburn, this book is worth your time.
It was interesting that at one point Berg sort of looks down on Warren Beatty using a private piece of information about Howard Hughes for his own gain, information which Berg had gotten from Hepburn, when Berg's whole book is private information about various people which he's using for gain. I guess the difference is that Berg had Kate's permission. For my taste, I would have rather read more about Hepburn, and less about the biographer.

Rating:
Summary: just an opportunist selling his supposedly best "friend".
Review: As a KH fan I couldn't be more disappointed.

This book is just another way to serve Mr. Berg's career. He talks more about himself than KH. He uses weird excuses to end up talking about his Pulitzer price and his dull career (who cares about Mr.Berg???).

The book won't give you any new information about KH!!! I don't need to know about dull intimacies that have no interest whatsoever for any true KH fan. It is just pure bragging of Mr.Berg.

After reading this book I don't know KH any better (all info is already known by real fans) but instead I definitively know that Mr.Berg is not the kind of person I would invite for tea time.

Had Mr. Berg wanted to pay a homage to KH, he could have done it writing other things about her that might have been more interesting.

I suggest not to waste your money.

Rating:
Summary: katharine with an a!
Review: when i got this book i thought that it was going to be a charming read about a man sharing his memories of his friend, it's not quite like that, although that was the writers intention, there is something about reading this book that makes the reader feel ucomfortable, almost like listening in on a phone call without the other person knowing, the book is rather bland and only livens when irene selznick enters she was clearly a riot!
if you get this book just be prepared to feel as though your envading an old womans privacy!

Rating:
Summary: What he left out...
Review: I read most of the other reviews before starting the book, and I have to agree with most of the good ones. However, after finishing the book last night, and after staring at the ceiling when I went to bed, I began wondering about that poor woman who spent the last months (years?) tethered to an oxygen bottle. Why? Did she have emphysema? Did she have COPD? And why, if she was so physically active, would she be plagued with such problems. Those questions, and the tossing and turning, made my poor wife leave the bed and go into another room to read her book. Then I remembered. The author mentions that both Hepburn and Tracy were smokers, at least back in the 50's or 60's. Ah hah! A smoker. (Of course, it would be expected that a young woman seeking emancipation in the 20s would take to the habit.) But, then the questions came hammering through. If she was a smoker, she would have had her little rituals that would have been associated with the habit. "I hope you don't mind me smoking, darling." There would have had to have been such dialogue about this, and she would have been militantly defensive about the habit. What bothers me is that the author said absolutely nothing about this--maybe for a good reason, because she had quit by the time he knew her, but there is an unkinder thought lurking that he might have purposely avoided mentioning this filthy habit. (You now know my bias--reformed smokers are the worst.) Anyhow, this is no big deal, and I do not want to detract from this intimate look at a truly outstanding woman. But, I sure wish I knew if the smoking was what did her in.

Rating:
Summary: Woman of the Century
Review: When I finished reading this touching and personal tribute to the finest actress we have ever known, I could not let it go. I immediately, with tears in my eyes, turned back through the pages, looking for favorite parts, and read them again. Scott Berg gave us a gift - a window into the life of a woman who epitomizes why life can be beautiful, even with its bumps. Katharine Hepburn, while gruff on the outside, was feminine, loving, and determined to make the best of her life. She will always be an example to women, and men, who dare to challenge the norm, and be different when the times dictate otherwise. Life is about living, and loving, and being loved. Katharine Hepburn left us a legacy, not just on film. I felt like I was sitting on Berg's shoulder - I could hear Ms. Hepburn talking when he described their conversations. I laughed, cried and wondered with him. For anyone who admired this woman as a person, as an actress, as a trailblazer for women in a male dominated profession (regardless of what professon), as one who loved and was loved, this book is a must. Thank you Scott Berg.

Rating:
Summary: "Cold Sober, I Find Myself Absolutely Fascinating"...Agreed
Review: Before this book, published just days after her death last year at 96, I felt there wasn't much more I needed to know about screen legend Katharine Hepburn. I had read Barbara Leaming's comprehensive family tree biography and much earlier, the late Garson Kanin's remembrance, "Tracy and Hepburn". Like so many others, I was taken by her headstrong heiresses, liberated career women, lovestruck spinsters, devouring mothers and domineering queens. Her angular cheekbones, her often haughty behavior, her whinnying laugh, her hands-on-hips posturing - all ingrained in my movie viewing memories. I recalled her first TV interview with Dick Cavett in 1973 when she asserted quite accurately with characteristic candor, "Cold sober, I find myself absolutely fascinating". No argument here. Author A. Scott Berg, who became Hepburn's confidante in her last twenty years, has painted a portrait of an irascible woman whose defiant, New England character had not changed much in her nearly hundred years of living. She made no apologies for the life she led and the values she espoused, nor did she need to as lovably eccentric as she was. Hepburn was ahead of her time in her views on female empowerment but amazingly old-fashioned when it came to the dynamics between men and women, as epitomized by her loving, sometimes abusive relationship with the alcoholic and tormented Spencer Tracy, an affair she recalls in the book with a percolating mix of nostalgia and unfiltered honesty.

Much more than a standard biography, Berg's eminently readable book does a wonderful job of showing off her sarcasm and biting wit. Hepburn's razor sharp sense of humor informs her memories of getting sick while filming "The African Queen", being pursued by germ-conscious Howard Hughes, and in one hysterical account, rebuffing Michael Jackson's obtuse request for publicity shots. Her views on the current crop of actors are similarly merciless in ribaldries - Meryl Streep (apparently her least favorite actress with her methodical approach described by Hepburn as "Click, Click, Click"), Glenn Close ("She's got these big, flat, ugly feet" said Hepburn after seeing her onstage), Melanie Griffith ("lethargic"), Arnold Schwarzenegger ("I don't understand him" as Hepburn was referring not to his audience appeal but to his English). I found her interest in TV journalist Cynthia McFadden quite interesting with Hepburn obviously envisioning her as the granddaughter she never had and someone she entrusted to be the executor of her will. The last pages chronicling an enfeebled Hepburn's last months are inevitably sad but resonant of a life fully lived, for one could never feel sorry for Hepburn. She would have never tolerated that. Berg is quite the biographer having covered the lives of Lindbergh and Sam Goldwyn among others, but this is a much more intimate account like Graham Greene's "Travels with My Aunt". A charming book of a most unusual friendship captured by Berg with great heart and just enough sentiment to make you want to rent "Summertime", "Holiday", "The Lion in Winter", "Bringing Up Baby", and on and on and on...