Smithus
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Posts posted by Smithus
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They had an excellent working relationship and got on pretty well in real life . It was Cary Grant who did some match making and got Howard Hughes to fly onto a beach and meet Katharine - .
In later years I believe that Katharine and Cary didn't see that much of each other - one of the reasons was that Katharine was very good friends with Betsy Blair and the divorce probably affected the friendship . Also Katharine was not inclined to think well of people who got involved with partners much younger than themselves. However Katharine and Cary always spoke well of each other - but there was never any romantic relationship between them
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Bette was a great actress but I think that Katharine's ability to collaborate with people throughout her life meant that she she able to grow more as an actress . By that I mean that Katharine knew how to work with people and build relationships over a long period of time . I think that Bette didn't help her career in that way.
Being an actor is more than about talent although you have to have talent. Its also about making decisions, handling your career and dealing with her your professional and personal life . Bette was super talented .
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Ralph
I have read the new biography and I have a very poor opinion of it . Not because of the allegations but because its so poorly written and inaccurate .
I have access to a lot of material relating to Hepburn that the general public doesn't see and I have read widely and seen some pretty rare material on Katharine including her letters . It is true that its not possible to write a probing biography if you idolise someone but I was particularly surprised that the author didn't make use of newer material that has come out since Katharine's death .
A good example of poor research in most of the biographies is Katharine's husband Ludlow . He only gave one interview to the media and reading it makes you realize that he was not the idiot that most people have portrayed him as .
We wait in hope for a decent biography of Spencer as well
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No problems .
Katharine was probably a difficult person to work for at times but she was enormously generous and loyal to those who worked for her and many people who worked for her became her best friends . Phyllis is mentioned in a number of books - apparently she had a reasonably good relationship with Spencer although he liked to tease her because of her british accent .
It was Katharine and Phyllis who went down to the funeral parlour in 1967 and drove the car behind Spencer on the way to the funeral - his own funeral cortage .
Katharine also had a guy who looked after her house in New York when was living in California - Charles he worked for her for over 40 years .
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Constance Collier was not Katharine's companion - she was her acting coach and she didn't look after Katharine . They were good friends and apparently Constance was a bit of a mother figure to Katharine after her mother died suddenly .
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You have mixed up a number of different people .
It was Phyllis Willbourn who first worked for Constance Collier . Phyllis was a nurse and she was originally employed to help Constance who was a diabetic . Constance was one of the first people to be given insulin for her diabetes - she was literally hours away from death and the drug saved her life .
In 1955 Constance Collier died and Phyllis went to work for Katharine (they already knew other ) Phyllis was slightly older than Katharine and she continued to work for Katharine until her death in 1995 - she was over 90 when she died and she really didn't work any more but Katharine and Phyllis were great friends and so Katharine took care of her and considered her to be family . Apparently Phyllis had a beautiful apartment and lived reasonably well . She is buried with the Hepburn family as she had no family of her own .
Norah was Katharine's cook and housekeeper and worked for Katharine for many years . Katharine left her some money in her will .
Bette and Kate
in General Discussions
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Bette and Katharine had a respect for each other but I believe Bette was a bit jealous of Katharine at times. Katharine said that Bette was a great actress . The idea of them starring together in a movie did come up - Bette was enthusiastic , Katharine was not.