Sunday, June 29, 2003
Katharine Hepburn - THE COMMENTARY
By Joseph Planta
VANCOUVER – When I started this column four years ago today, I made a rough list of topics that I could explore or write about, lest I run out of subjects to delve into in about 800 or so words. Katharine Hepburn was one of those subjects that I wanted to write about, but every time I started, I could never capture the essence of what I thought of this remarkable lady, this classy broad, this remarkable actress, this legend. This afternoon I was both saddened and shocked upon hearing of the death of Miss Hepburn at the age of 96. In a way, it's unbelievable that someone so indomitable and energetic is gone. Though she hadn't made a movie nor public appearance in nearly a decade, her timelessness on film makes her so much a part of our consciousness. Somehow, she's always there, and with her death, we sort of expect her to be there. I suppose that's what shock is all about.
Just last week, her niece Katharine Houghton, was on Larry King's program talking about her fabled aunt. When asked on how to sum up Katharine Hepburn's life, and how we'll remember her, she said, she will be remembered as the quintessential 20th Century American woman. And how. It may be a stretch, but it's totally correct. Katharine Hepburn never played waifs, on screen, and off-screen she never suffered fools gladly. She was tough, yet she had an unbelievable tenderness and warmth that extended beyond the movie screen.
Katharine Hepburn was the most respected, most honoured and one of the most beloved actresses in film in the 20th Century. Full stop. She won four Academy Awards, a record, from an equally record number of nominations – 12. (Meryl Streep, equally esteemed in her generation, earlier this year received her 13th Oscar nomination, surpassing Hepburn, however as Roger Ebert noted soon after, two of those were for supporting actress, whereas the Great Kate's 12 were all in the leading actress category.) When the American Film Institute named the top film stars of the 20th Century a few years back, Katharine Hepburn was tops for females. She did express the angst and rancour that women endured through the century. Whether those frazzled women in the 1930s and 1940s, trying to achieve parity with the other sex, she was certainly ahead of her time. And when she embodied the emergence of females as being more than the weaker sex, Katharine Hepburn was front and centre.
Earlier this spring, I read James Prideaux's 1996 memoir, Knowing Hepburn and Other Curious Experiences. It was a remarkable book, because it was curious how one could fill a book simply with anecdotes of experiences with Katharine Hepburn, even though they weren't all that close. Prideaux writes about the irascibility of Hepburn, including many colourful experiences they shared, along with her faithful assistant Phyllis, in Vancouver itself, the location of many a movie shoot in her later years. Prideaux though, challenged constantly by Hepburn's demanding personality, was unanimous in his appraisal of her, that she was unique and special enough, that anything she would do, whether unpleasant or unkind, would be permissible because she was so great and because she was so admired and respected.
She wasn't known for her pretence, which is surprising because she made a career and cultivated a legend as an actress. She was eccentric enough that even though she was brilliant, she refused to buy into the nonsense and hysteria that her fame and glory came with. Never did she go to an Oscar ceremony to collect any of those four Oscars, and the only time that she did attend, she went to present an honorary award. Even then, she appeared in a pair of white slacks and garden clogs.
Katharine Hepburn will be remembered for her toughness and her fragility. It coloured the roles she played in her life, including her legendary love affair with Spencer Tracy. It was interesting to see how even as tough a lady she was, she fell so passionately in love with the cantankerous and oh so typically male (not to mention Irish), Spencer Tracy. She fell, and fell hard. Even though they weren't married, their partnerships in film, solidified their love and chemistry in motion pictures. Their partnership off-screen was unique in that Hollywood knew of it, and even though he was still married and couldn't divorce thanks to his Roman Catholic faith, it wasn't salacious gossip as some of the relationships we have seen since. They were living together at the time of his death, having just wrapped up their last film, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner. Even though they'd been living together for years, when the end came, she returned him back to his family, and it was his wife that played the role of widow, whilst everyone knew the real widow was Hepburn herself. There's an interesting anecdote that Hepburn writes about in her biography of about a decade ago. She writes that after Spencer Tracy's death, she phoned his wife and said that the two of them should become friends, as they had shared a connection with Spencer Tracy so. Alas, Mrs. Tracy, only could say, "All these years, I thought you were just a rumour."
Perhaps the finest example of their love, was the situation that took place the morning of Spencer Tracy's funeral. She had resigned herself to not attending the funeral out of respect for his widow and his family. She and her loyal assistant Phyllis had gone down to the funeral home prior to the funeral to spend some final moments with his remains. It turns out that the funeral home was short staffed and there weren't enough people around to act as pallbearers to take the coffin to the hearse. So, Miss Hepburn in her indomitable style, decides to help carry the coffin to the car. She returned to her own car, and from there, followed the coffin to the church where the service was, and simply turned back and went home.
Katharine Hepburn's life cannot be summed up in 800 words. Doing so will leave something out and be somewhat disingenuous. Many will attempt to do so in the days to come, and will do so in vain. Katharine Hepburn defies definition or mere eulogising. Her films and her timeless performances do her justice. She raised the bar in film, as in life, and all will be resigned for a long time to come, to meet her fine and colourful example. Katharine Hepburn was 96, and truly great.
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An archive of Joseph Planta's previous columns can be found by clicking HERE .