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[gentle wistful music playing]
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[TV host 1] Katharine Hepburn.
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[TV host 2] Katharine Hepburn.
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-[TV host 3] Katharine Hepburn.
-[TV host 4] Katharine Hepburn.
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Four Oscars,
which is more than anybody else.
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[TV host 5] A true American eccentric.
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[TV host 6] Every time
somebody compiles a list
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of the most admired women,
there's Katharine Hepburn.
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[Kat] She wasn't afraid to say,
"I really just wanted to be famous."
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[Robin]
She would use her own intelligence
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and her own savvy to negotiate
deals and changes in scripts.
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She's opening doors
that she doesn't necessarily realize
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are going to be there
for other women to walk through.
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[typewriter keys clacking]
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[Glenn] She was one
of the first women to wear pants
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and to wear sometimes
rather masculine-looking,
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tailored clothes
that women were not wearing.
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[Angela Lansbury]
She was told by the heads of RKO,
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"No self-respecting actress would ever
wear Dungarees in public."
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She stripped them off and strolled
through the lot in her undergarments.
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[audience laughs]
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[Katharine] The wardrobe
is a self-indulgence, isn't it?
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That everybody's been smart enough
to copy. [chuckles]
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[Mundy] Kate was always an intense person.
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She was a lot of fun and fascinating
and deep-thinking and mischievous.
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"Come on, let's go break in that house
and see what's in there."
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[Katharine] I could get in anywhere.
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The only time I nearly lost my life
was dropping through a skylight.
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Shoplifting. I didn't know
that she ever did that.
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No, she's not a shoplifter.
She may be other things.
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[Claudia] What happens to women's ideals
and how they see themselves,
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how they dream about themselves?
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There's nobody more than Hepburn
who tells you about that story.
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Thank you, of course, to Ms. Hepburn.
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The longevity of her career
I think is inspiring to everyone.
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[Angela] She dared to say no
to how the system wanted to mold her.
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Now, how you feel about being you?
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I feel very good about it.
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She confused the industry.
She confused the movie-goer.
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She confused the press.
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Katharine Hepburn refused
to be an influencer.
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Influence yourself.
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[gentle wistful music continues]
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[Katharine] When I was starting out,
all I wanted was to be famous.
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But I soon realized
that if I wanted to last
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more than five minutes in this industry
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and survive to tell the tale,
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I had to put in the work
to never stop pushing.
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I still try to swim every day
I'm out here.
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It helps me get out of my head.
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Feels like only yesterday
I was just a child
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climbing trees and fighting with the boys.
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It's my safe place. Always has been.
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Through it all, I always come back.
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I've lived a good life.
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I remember when I was young,
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I'd look at old people and think,
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"That will never happen to me."
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But I tell you, it goes like...
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[fingers snap]
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You always call me Miss Hepburn.
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So why don't you shift and call me Kate?
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[gentle string music]
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Now, here I am,
and I've been here quite a long time.
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The feet have a few more steps in them.
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One leg is a bit shaky.
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I keep bumping myself.
I don't know what that means.
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Certain things have maintained themselves.
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I can see pretty well,
and I still seem to have
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a wild amount of energy
that I can still go on.
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But I can't tell you
the things that have made me
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do this or this or this.
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You know, how the hell
could I tell the story of my life?
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[Dick Cavett] Katharine Hepburn,
never having been on television,
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she agreed to come into my studio
for a test only.
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No, I think I go the other way.
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[Dick Cavett] She checked the cameras,
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the lights, these chairs,
the temperature in the studio.
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She pronounced the carpet ugly.
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-Can we have a table that's--
-John.
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Nobody answers.
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[Dick Cavett] Then she surprised me
by suddenly saying,
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"Why don't we just go
ahead and do it now?"
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I have a feeling that millions of people,
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they feel that you probably have
some guiding principles,
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some secret that if only they knew them,
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they could be as successful
and as content as you seem to be.
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But you say it's luck.
That there aren't two or three rules.
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No, well, I think it's in the first place,
it's lucky if you have an intelligent
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and brilliant and inspiring
father and mother.
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-Yeah.
-And it's lucky if you've had experiences
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before the age of 15,
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which teach you not to be afraid.
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[bright jazz music playing]
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It's changed a lot around here
since I was a kid.
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I grew up wild and free
with one brother Tom, older,
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and my two younger, Dick and Bob.
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Being a girl was a torment.
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I would shave my hair
every summer just like them.
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I always wanted to be a boy.
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Dad taught us gymnastics
and how to swim and wrestle.
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When I think back, it really was
the most perfect, happiest of childhoods.
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[bright jazz music continues]
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One of my earliest memories
was that of my mother
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getting me and my brothers
to give out red balloons
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at the local fair.
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She had a stall and asked us
to hand out leaflets
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promoting the women's vote.
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Their radical beliefs
caused quite a scandal in the town.
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That was one of dad's gems.
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Mother was one of the top debaters.
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She was quick-witted and a lot of fun.
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She would read us all the greats,
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Bernard Shaw, Emerson, O'Neill.
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Our house was a meeting ground
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for all the progressive radicals
of the time.
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[Katharine, on tape]
We kids were allowed in,
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but we didn't do much talking.
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We met Emmeline Pankhurst,
Rebecca West, Richard Bennett,
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any number of distinguished
doctors and professors.
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The door of our house was always open.
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[Bonnie] She was the daughter of what
we now consider progressive parents.
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Her father was a doctor
and he advocated birth control.
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Her mom was a suffragette.
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They told her basically,
"You do what you want."
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So she called herself by a boy's name.
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I think it was Jimmy
or Billy or something.
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Cut her hair and she learned
to play golf, she swam.
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Because her parents say,
"You just do what you wanna do.
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I mean, we're not gonna stop you."
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And so that's how she felt about her life.
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[Katharine] All us children
were incredibly close,
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but Tom, Dick and I were inseparable.
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[bright jazz music]
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[ship horns blaring]
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[Katharine, on tape] I've come
to the conclusion it was an accident.
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[Glenn, on tape]
Based on the fact that your father
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had taught him or kind of-
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[Katharine] Taught him,
taught us, to hang ourselves.
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[Glenn] Just as a stunt.
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[Katharine] As a stunt,
and this was at games and various events.
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-[Glenn] Had you ever tried it?
-[Katharine] No.
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[Glenn] But your brother,
it would seem decided to try.
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[Katharine] He was fascinated by it.
He could do it.
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[Glenn] Excuse me.
I just wanna turn this over.
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[Katharine]
We were in New York visiting our aunt.
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We went out to see a play one evening,
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and when we came back, Tom,
who was 16 at the time,
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came to me before bed
and told me how much he loved me.
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I didn't think anything of it.
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The following morning
when I went to his room
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to fetch him for breakfast,
I found him hanging.
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-Dead.
-[gentle pensive music]
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I took him down and lay
his cold body on the bed.
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I felt detached from everything
that was happening around me.
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I was devastated.
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The hardest part about it all
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was that we weren't only told
to not talk about Tom.
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We had to pretend that he was
not ever part of our family,
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to act as if he'd never lived.
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This was how our father
managed the family's grief,
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to pretend it never happened.
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[gentle pensive music]
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[Mundy] They were an amazing, bright,
capable, cohesive family.
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But her father came from a different era.
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The reality of what happened
in the Hepburn household
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was that everybody
was horrified and quiet.
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Dr. Hepburn loved his children,
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he wanted to be a good father,
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but he was really tough on his kids
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in an idealistic way.
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But by today's standards,
really harsh, probably abusive.
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You have to heat it slowly,
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or else it'll pop.
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I remember my mother
talking about Tom's death,
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and my mother said,
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"Well, they told the
newspapers it was an accident."
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He had been to the circus
a few days before
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and watched a hanging thing
where there was a fake way
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to hang yourself and appear
as though you were hanging.
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But then...
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That's what my mother
said when I was young.
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But then as time passed,
I asked my father about it,
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and that's when he said
he remembered his father
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sitting in the chair in the front hall,
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the straight back chair
with his head in his hands going,
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"Why did he do it? Why did he do it?"
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And my father said, "Well," to himself,
my father said, "Well, you big ass.
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It's because you were so mean to him."
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Dr. Hepburn was on some level,
aware of his contribution.
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And to have his eldest
son die of his own hand
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was deeply troubling
and obviously, horribly painful.
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Our family had a lot of troubles.
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Kate's mother's father committed suicide.
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00:12:01,160 --> 00:12:06,680
Dr. Hepburn's older brothers
died under suspicious conditions.
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But it was considered in bad taste
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to go around with your tragedy evident.
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So his way of being strong was to go,
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"Well, it's a nice day.
We got work to do. Let's go."
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[Katharine's brother] Our father moved us
to a new neighborhood
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to try and help us all
move on with our lives.
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"A fresh start," he said.
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But Tom's death seemed to separate Kate
from the outside world.
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She became more introverted and withdrawn,
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like Tom was, sinking into
a deeper kind of depression.
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She told me she'd made a promise
that she would never forget him
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and would live her life secretly
for the both of them.
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She started getting anxiety attacks,
which made her sick.
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She found it hard being around
the other kids at school.
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So our parents let her be homeschooled.
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Dad thought if they kept her busy,
it would help.
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00:13:02,400 --> 00:13:04,760
But she started withdrawing into herself.
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00:13:05,720 --> 00:13:08,880
They eventually became so worried,
they made her go back to school.
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[Katharine] I hated college.
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I wasn't used to the discipline,
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the regular hours and classes.
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I started getting into trouble for smoking
and breaking into houses.
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Anyway, after about two years,
they called in my parents
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and practically asked me to leave.
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One night soon after, I decided that's it.
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I'd pull myself together,
get on with life,
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but also do what I wanted.
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In my junior year,
I won a role in the school play.
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Nerves, fear, applause.
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I finally felt fascinating.
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It was right there and then
I decided to be an actress.
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[Bob] Dad always felt
that if a girl went into theater,
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it was as though she had announced
that she was going to be a prostitute
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00:14:01,600 --> 00:14:04,440
and that she would not get anywhere
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00:14:05,280 --> 00:14:08,680
or any good jobs
unless she slept with the director.
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00:14:10,000 --> 00:14:11,200
[Katharine] When I told my parents
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00:14:11,280 --> 00:14:14,920
I was moving to New York,
dad hit the roof.
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00:14:15,000 --> 00:14:17,040
But mom was just glad
to see me do something
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00:14:17,120 --> 00:14:19,320
other than what was expected of women.
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00:14:19,400 --> 00:14:23,760
She was a true feminist,
and just told me to do what I wanted.
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00:14:23,840 --> 00:14:25,120
So I went.
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00:14:27,080 --> 00:14:29,480
And I had started out as an understudy,
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and I was always a
pretty good flash actor.
241
00:14:32,880 --> 00:14:36,200
I could read a part
without knowing what I was doing,
242
00:14:36,280 --> 00:14:37,800
and I could always get a part.
243
00:14:37,880 --> 00:14:40,480
Never could keep it,
'cause I would get so excited
244
00:14:40,560 --> 00:14:43,400
that my voice would shoot
way up in the top of my head
245
00:14:43,480 --> 00:14:46,000
and I would get red in
the face, talk too fast,
246
00:14:46,080 --> 00:14:47,640
and couldn't act.
247
00:14:47,720 --> 00:14:50,640
When they were all sitting out there,
it just petrified me.
248
00:14:50,720 --> 00:14:54,000
So I wrote Dad and said, "Would
you back me with lessons?"
249
00:14:54,080 --> 00:14:57,520
He wrote me and said he was
winning bets on the golf course
250
00:14:57,600 --> 00:15:00,200
and he considered that that was bad money,
251
00:15:00,280 --> 00:15:02,200
so he'd send it to me.
252
00:15:02,280 --> 00:15:05,440
[gentle bright music]
253
00:15:10,920 --> 00:15:13,680
[Katharine] The first real friend I made
there was Laura Harding.
254
00:15:13,760 --> 00:15:16,360
I met her through my
acting coach Robinson-Duff.
255
00:15:16,880 --> 00:15:18,800
She was part of New York's High Society
256
00:15:18,880 --> 00:15:21,880
and heir to the American Express fortune.
257
00:15:21,960 --> 00:15:24,560
She knew all the highbrow
customs of the time
258
00:15:24,640 --> 00:15:26,640
and introduced me to her circle of friends
259
00:15:26,720 --> 00:15:28,200
in the theater world.
260
00:15:28,280 --> 00:15:30,840
Then Luddy, my old friend from back home,
261
00:15:30,920 --> 00:15:33,360
moved to New York, and in no time at all,
262
00:15:33,440 --> 00:15:35,320
he'd become part of our gang.
263
00:15:35,720 --> 00:15:37,800
He was my beau, too, from then on,
264
00:15:37,880 --> 00:15:40,360
and he was a real sweetheart.
265
00:15:40,440 --> 00:15:42,840
He made it his mission
to do everything he could
266
00:15:42,920 --> 00:15:44,160
to make me a star.
267
00:15:44,240 --> 00:15:46,760
He paid for lessons,
drove me to rehearsals,
268
00:15:46,840 --> 00:15:49,280
and helped me film my auditions.
269
00:15:51,480 --> 00:15:53,200
[Robin] Kate was
landing understudy roles
270
00:15:53,280 --> 00:15:56,440
in some great plays,
but she kept getting fired.
271
00:15:58,480 --> 00:16:01,280
She finally had the chance
to step into the leading role,
272
00:16:01,360 --> 00:16:05,360
and after delivering an amusing line
where the audience exploded with laughter,
273
00:16:05,440 --> 00:16:07,520
her overconfidence found its way in.
274
00:16:07,600 --> 00:16:10,680
Her voice rose to a high pitch
and she spoke so quickly
275
00:16:10,760 --> 00:16:14,120
that no one could even understand her
through the remainder of the performance.
276
00:16:14,200 --> 00:16:16,200
So she was fired.
277
00:16:17,760 --> 00:16:19,840
[Katharine] After about
a year of knock backs,
278
00:16:19,920 --> 00:16:23,200
getting dropped from shows,
and with only understudy roles,
279
00:16:23,280 --> 00:16:25,840
I was just about ready to give up.
280
00:16:25,920 --> 00:16:29,400
Sensing my sinking mood,
Luddy proposed to me,
281
00:16:29,480 --> 00:16:32,520
and I thought, you know, why not?
282
00:16:32,880 --> 00:16:35,400
We had a simple wedding,
and I even convinced him
283
00:16:35,480 --> 00:16:39,080
to bring our friends,
Jack and Laura on our honeymoon.
284
00:16:40,160 --> 00:16:43,560
[Mundy] Kate wanted
to do all the normal things
285
00:16:43,640 --> 00:16:47,320
like have a life and have children
and have a mate.
286
00:16:47,400 --> 00:16:52,760
But when she really tried
to do that with Luddy,
287
00:16:52,840 --> 00:16:55,760
she realized that she was different,
288
00:16:55,840 --> 00:17:00,720
that her enormous energy
would drive her insane very quickly.
289
00:17:00,800 --> 00:17:04,640
And within two weeks,
she needed to move back to New York
290
00:17:04,720 --> 00:17:06,880
and continue her efforts.
291
00:17:07,440 --> 00:17:12,760
And he, for his part,
understood that he had married a mad woman
292
00:17:12,839 --> 00:17:14,480
with 10 times the energy,
293
00:17:14,560 --> 00:17:18,119
and so he packed up and moved with her,
294
00:17:18,200 --> 00:17:20,319
throwing his own life aside
295
00:17:20,400 --> 00:17:23,400
and just going,
"Whatever you want, Kate. Let's do it.
296
00:17:23,480 --> 00:17:25,800
I love you. I'm gonna help."
297
00:17:25,880 --> 00:17:28,840
[bright jazz music]
298
00:17:34,240 --> 00:17:37,800
[gentle orchestral music]
299
00:17:39,200 --> 00:17:42,040
[crowd chattering]
300
00:17:46,080 --> 00:17:47,920
[Robin] Kate had understudied
for Hope Williams
301
00:17:48,000 --> 00:17:49,760
in several New York productions,
302
00:17:49,840 --> 00:17:54,480
and she studied Hope's style and persona
from the wings each night.
303
00:17:54,560 --> 00:17:56,760
Her masculine dress sense
in what Kate would call
304
00:17:56,840 --> 00:17:59,720
the half boy, half woman persona.
305
00:18:00,880 --> 00:18:04,080
Like a chameleon, Kate adopted
some of these mannerisms.
306
00:18:04,160 --> 00:18:08,000
So when Hope abandons
The Warrior's Husband production,
307
00:18:08,080 --> 00:18:09,800
Kate's given the lead role chance
308
00:18:09,880 --> 00:18:12,640
and she channeled everything
that she had practiced.
309
00:18:12,720 --> 00:18:16,720
The play was a huge success
and catapulted her into the public's eye.
310
00:18:17,920 --> 00:18:21,600
[Katharine] I was finally starting
to get the recognition I had craved.
311
00:18:21,680 --> 00:18:23,680
My career skyrocketed.
312
00:18:23,760 --> 00:18:25,920
My headshot was sent to L.A.
313
00:18:26,000 --> 00:18:28,600
and I was asked to go out
to test for a part in a film
314
00:18:28,680 --> 00:18:30,280
called A Bill of Divorcement,
315
00:18:30,360 --> 00:18:34,600
to be directed by George Cukor
and starring John Barrymore.
316
00:18:34,680 --> 00:18:36,160
I got a train with Laura
317
00:18:36,240 --> 00:18:40,120
and we both arrived in L.A.
in a hot, sweaty mess.
318
00:18:40,200 --> 00:18:42,800
I don't think the head of RKO,
David Selznick,
319
00:18:42,880 --> 00:18:45,880
was very impressed
when he picked us up from the station.
320
00:18:45,960 --> 00:18:48,640
[gentle piano music]
321
00:18:50,760 --> 00:18:53,320
-[camera beeps]
-[reel clicking]
322
00:18:54,000 --> 00:18:56,960
[Katharine] Every actor in America
had gone up for this part,
323
00:18:57,040 --> 00:19:00,280
and I knew George would've seen
hundreds of tests.
324
00:19:00,360 --> 00:19:02,600
So I decided to do something different,
325
00:19:02,680 --> 00:19:04,440
a scene from Holiday.
326
00:19:04,520 --> 00:19:08,200
I'd understudied Hope and watched her
play that scene night after night,
327
00:19:08,280 --> 00:19:10,960
and I took a lot of her
into my performance.
328
00:19:11,040 --> 00:19:12,800
I knew I'd made an impression.
329
00:19:12,880 --> 00:19:15,800
John Barrymore came straight
to see me after they watched it
330
00:19:15,880 --> 00:19:17,560
to tell me what he thought.
331
00:19:17,640 --> 00:19:20,000
I was going to be a star.
332
00:19:20,440 --> 00:19:21,520
[camera beeps]
333
00:19:21,600 --> 00:19:24,320
[Katharine]
A few days later, the call came in.
334
00:19:24,400 --> 00:19:26,600
Laura was to play the supporting role,
335
00:19:26,680 --> 00:19:31,000
and I was given the leading part
in my first ever picture.
336
00:19:31,080 --> 00:19:33,680
Laura and I decided to move to Hollywood,
337
00:19:33,760 --> 00:19:37,040
and that was the beginning
of the end for me and Luddy.
338
00:19:38,680 --> 00:19:41,200
[bells dinging]
339
00:19:45,840 --> 00:19:48,560
[beeping]
340
00:19:48,640 --> 00:19:50,320
[bright orchestral music]
341
00:19:50,400 --> 00:19:53,280
[Katharine] Then shooting started
on A Bill of Divorcement,
342
00:19:53,360 --> 00:19:56,200
and the first shot was a party scene.
343
00:19:56,280 --> 00:19:58,720
In a beautiful chiffon dress,
344
00:19:58,800 --> 00:20:03,560
I came floating down the stairs
and into the arms of David Manners.
345
00:20:04,720 --> 00:20:07,720
[Robin] In her very first film
she played John Barrymore's daughter
346
00:20:07,800 --> 00:20:11,440
in a creaky melodrama called
A Bill of Divorcement.
347
00:20:11,520 --> 00:20:17,600
She was 24 making her film debut.
He was 50, a long established star.
348
00:20:17,680 --> 00:20:20,920
He was one of the famous
Hamlets of his generation.
349
00:20:21,000 --> 00:20:24,760
He was also an infamous
alcoholic, a womanizer,
350
00:20:24,840 --> 00:20:29,320
and like other powerful men in Hollywood,
used to getting exactly what he wanted.
351
00:20:30,560 --> 00:20:33,360
[Katharine, on tape] He asked me to come
to his dressing room on the lot one day.
352
00:20:33,440 --> 00:20:36,560
I went, and there he was lying
on his couch
353
00:20:36,640 --> 00:20:40,280
in a, what shall I say,
comparative disarray.
354
00:20:40,360 --> 00:20:42,840
There was a pause,
a quick shuffle of the blanket.
355
00:20:42,920 --> 00:20:46,760
"Oh, oh, I'm sorry. See you later,"
he said.
356
00:20:46,840 --> 00:20:51,560
I went, "Oh, my. How very strange."
357
00:20:51,640 --> 00:20:53,280
I'll make it up to you.
358
00:20:53,360 --> 00:20:55,320
[Katharine]
Anyway, he was an angel after that.
359
00:20:55,400 --> 00:20:57,560
His main object really seemed
360
00:20:57,640 --> 00:21:01,520
to be absolutely certain
that I made a big hit.
361
00:21:01,600 --> 00:21:05,240
He held my face to the camera
in our many scenes together.
362
00:21:05,320 --> 00:21:07,600
[bird whistling]
363
00:21:07,680 --> 00:21:08,840
What's that?
364
00:21:11,520 --> 00:21:12,520
Nothing.
365
00:21:16,200 --> 00:21:18,160
[plane whirring]
366
00:21:18,240 --> 00:21:20,360
[Robin] After working on
A Bill of Divorcement,
367
00:21:20,440 --> 00:21:23,840
Kate and Laura became part
of George Cukor's close circle,
368
00:21:23,920 --> 00:21:26,960
attending his parties,
making friends in the industry.
369
00:21:27,040 --> 00:21:29,480
Kate said that George
would always sit her next to people
370
00:21:29,560 --> 00:21:31,320
that could help her in her career,
371
00:21:31,400 --> 00:21:33,680
but no one in Hollywood knew
she was married.
372
00:21:33,760 --> 00:21:36,160
She was courting
several big players in the industry,
373
00:21:36,240 --> 00:21:38,040
including her agent, Leland Hayward,
374
00:21:38,120 --> 00:21:41,200
who taught her the ins and outs
of negotiating with the studios.
375
00:21:42,440 --> 00:21:45,040
[interviewee]
She was anything but a big star,
376
00:21:45,120 --> 00:21:49,200
but she treated herself
like a star in the negotiations.
377
00:21:49,280 --> 00:21:51,880
She wouldn't sign a term contract,
378
00:21:51,960 --> 00:21:54,720
and her agent, Leland Hayward,
wouldn't let her.
379
00:21:54,800 --> 00:21:56,280
So she signed a contract
380
00:21:56,360 --> 00:22:00,000
that gave her a very big salary,
$1,500 a week.
381
00:22:01,120 --> 00:22:03,560
[Katharine] One day,
I was hanging out between meetings
382
00:22:03,640 --> 00:22:05,200
in Pandro's office,
383
00:22:05,280 --> 00:22:08,400
and I spotted the script
for Morning Glory on his desk.
384
00:22:08,480 --> 00:22:11,840
I started to flick through it.
It was incredible.
385
00:22:11,920 --> 00:22:14,200
I called Laura and told her to drive over.
386
00:22:14,280 --> 00:22:17,240
We read the script together
and she was as convinced as I
387
00:22:17,320 --> 00:22:21,040
that no matter what,
I had to play the lead.
388
00:22:21,120 --> 00:22:22,880
Leland told me they'd already cast it,
389
00:22:22,960 --> 00:22:26,040
but I said, "No, it's for me."
390
00:22:26,120 --> 00:22:29,360
Well, he went off
and managed to get me the part.
391
00:22:29,440 --> 00:22:32,000
[gentle string music]
392
00:22:32,080 --> 00:22:33,480
Good morning, Tom.
393
00:22:33,560 --> 00:22:37,080
[Robin] In 1933,
she stars in Morning Glory,
394
00:22:37,160 --> 00:22:39,840
and Kate was perfect for the role
of a small town actress
395
00:22:39,920 --> 00:22:42,840
who arrives in New York,
hungry for stardom.
396
00:22:42,920 --> 00:22:44,760
And in this performance,
you really see Kate
397
00:22:44,840 --> 00:22:48,040
trying to prove to the world
that she could be a serious actress.
398
00:22:48,120 --> 00:22:51,720
And all of you, be quiet. Be quiet.
399
00:22:51,800 --> 00:22:54,280
[gentle string music]
400
00:22:54,360 --> 00:22:56,760
Romeo. Romeo.
401
00:22:58,000 --> 00:22:59,920
Wherefore art thou, Romeo?
402
00:23:00,960 --> 00:23:04,880
Deny thy father and refuse thy name.
403
00:23:12,440 --> 00:23:14,680
[Robin] As the Katharine Hepburn
Cultural Art Center,
404
00:23:14,760 --> 00:23:16,720
affectionately known as the Kate,
405
00:23:16,800 --> 00:23:19,640
the most significant contribution
to our collection
406
00:23:19,720 --> 00:23:22,840
was in February, 2020,
when Ms. Hepburn's grand-niece,
407
00:23:22,920 --> 00:23:26,080
Skylar Grant, gave to us
several boxes of items
408
00:23:26,160 --> 00:23:28,840
that had been at the
Grant home in Fenwick.
409
00:23:29,840 --> 00:23:30,720
Let's see.
410
00:23:30,800 --> 00:23:33,440
To our delight, we opened the boxes
and found dozens of letters
411
00:23:33,520 --> 00:23:35,120
that Ms. Hepburn
had written to her family,
412
00:23:35,200 --> 00:23:37,800
as well as some wonderful photos.
413
00:23:37,880 --> 00:23:40,720
I felt like her voice
was in my head after a little while
414
00:23:40,800 --> 00:23:42,240
of transcribing letters.
415
00:23:44,480 --> 00:23:46,640
This is a very typical letter
416
00:23:46,720 --> 00:23:49,760
that she would have
written home to her mother.
417
00:23:49,840 --> 00:23:52,640
This is from July of 1933.
418
00:23:52,720 --> 00:23:55,400
Morning Glory is about to open,
419
00:23:55,480 --> 00:23:57,360
and, you know,
she's talking in this letter
420
00:23:57,440 --> 00:23:59,120
about, "I hope people will like it."
421
00:23:59,200 --> 00:24:01,040
"I hope," again, "it's well received."
422
00:24:01,120 --> 00:24:03,720
And Morning Glory
becomes her first Academy Award.
423
00:24:04,440 --> 00:24:06,680
[Katharine, on tape] The first week
or two that I was in Hollywood,
424
00:24:06,760 --> 00:24:08,520
I got all my money in cash
425
00:24:08,600 --> 00:24:10,960
and I put it in the bureau drawer
and I spent it all.
426
00:24:11,040 --> 00:24:13,560
And Dad said, "Where's the money?
We'd better put it in the bank."
427
00:24:13,640 --> 00:24:15,000
And I said, "It's gone."
428
00:24:15,080 --> 00:24:17,400
So he said,
"You better have them send it to me."
429
00:24:17,480 --> 00:24:22,400
So until the day he died,
he took my money and sent me an allowance.
430
00:24:23,840 --> 00:24:26,560
[jovial piano music]
431
00:24:26,640 --> 00:24:29,440
[Katharine] The press started calling
Laura my other half,
432
00:24:29,520 --> 00:24:30,760
because when things kicked off,
433
00:24:30,840 --> 00:24:33,800
she helped take over
every aspect of my life,
434
00:24:33,880 --> 00:24:36,560
becoming my wardrobe designer,
press agent,
435
00:24:36,640 --> 00:24:39,560
and even negotiating
with the producers and directors,
436
00:24:39,640 --> 00:24:43,320
putting her career on hold
to look after mine.
437
00:24:43,400 --> 00:24:47,320
[jovial piano music continues]
438
00:24:47,400 --> 00:24:50,480
[Robin] Kate was off to a flying start,
making back-to-back films.
439
00:24:50,560 --> 00:24:52,600
A Bill of Divorcement is a hit.
440
00:24:52,680 --> 00:24:55,520
She's immediately offered a part
in Christopher Strong.
441
00:24:55,600 --> 00:24:57,920
Then she makes Morning Glory,
which as we all know,
442
00:24:58,000 --> 00:25:00,440
is a hit, and then "Little Women.
443
00:25:00,520 --> 00:25:02,640
But in one of the letters
in our collection,
444
00:25:02,720 --> 00:25:05,800
she writes to her mother,
"I'm not decided yet on 'Little Women,'
445
00:25:05,880 --> 00:25:08,560
so I'm stalling
about as long as possible."
446
00:25:08,880 --> 00:25:10,520
It's going to be a long production.
447
00:25:10,600 --> 00:25:13,320
It means she may have
to give up theatrical roles
448
00:25:13,400 --> 00:25:15,520
in New York if she decides
to make the film.
449
00:25:15,920 --> 00:25:18,160
It was never cut and dry decision making.
450
00:25:18,240 --> 00:25:19,520
But Little Women became the most
451
00:25:19,600 --> 00:25:21,880
commercially successful film
that Kate made,
452
00:25:21,960 --> 00:25:25,040
and the money she earned,
still managed by her father,
453
00:25:25,120 --> 00:25:28,440
allowed her to rent
increasingly extravagant places.
454
00:25:30,600 --> 00:25:33,040
[water sloshing]
455
00:25:34,360 --> 00:25:35,600
[woman] "Dear Brimsl,"
456
00:25:35,680 --> 00:25:39,400
your house is beyond
my wildest imagination.
457
00:25:39,480 --> 00:25:41,680
I beg to see it and I'm wildly jealous
458
00:25:41,760 --> 00:25:43,560
of that cat, Pollocks.
459
00:25:43,640 --> 00:25:46,360
I wish you were here or I with you.
460
00:25:46,440 --> 00:25:48,320
I dare not think of what I'm missing."
461
00:25:50,640 --> 00:25:53,840
[gentle wistful music]
462
00:25:53,920 --> 00:25:55,920
[Robin] There's a break where she goes
463
00:25:56,000 --> 00:25:58,920
back to the stage
and she makes The Lake.
464
00:26:00,120 --> 00:26:02,240
This is not a success.
465
00:26:02,320 --> 00:26:04,840
She actually has to buy her
way out of this contract
466
00:26:04,920 --> 00:26:07,040
so that she doesn't have
to continue performing
467
00:26:07,120 --> 00:26:10,360
in this production that is going nowhere.
468
00:26:11,400 --> 00:26:13,880
She gives the producer
every last cent that she had
469
00:26:13,960 --> 00:26:16,760
in her checking account
in order to get out of that contract
470
00:26:16,840 --> 00:26:18,440
and get back to Hollywood.
471
00:26:19,640 --> 00:26:21,520
[Katharine, on tape] That was
a very, very difficult thing
472
00:26:21,600 --> 00:26:23,080
for me to deal with.
473
00:26:24,840 --> 00:26:29,080
From defeat, I learned you have to know
a little bit what you're doing,
474
00:26:29,160 --> 00:26:31,960
and you can't move on saying,
475
00:26:32,040 --> 00:26:33,520
"Well, I don't want to go this way.
476
00:26:33,600 --> 00:26:36,680
I'm going this way
because you are pushing me."
477
00:26:36,760 --> 00:26:38,000
Don't do that.
478
00:26:38,480 --> 00:26:40,720
There's one person to blame,
479
00:26:40,800 --> 00:26:42,920
and that is you.
480
00:26:44,520 --> 00:26:46,600
Every girl has a time
in her life when she's positive
481
00:26:46,680 --> 00:26:49,520
she's divinely talented for the stage.
482
00:26:49,600 --> 00:26:50,800
[Robin] After The Lake,
483
00:26:50,880 --> 00:26:53,600
it's miss, miss, miss, miss,
unfortunately.
484
00:26:53,680 --> 00:26:54,840
Spitfire.
485
00:26:54,920 --> 00:26:56,480
I'm the best thief in the country.
486
00:26:56,560 --> 00:26:58,520
[Castmate] Oh, Trigger, you're sinful.
487
00:26:58,600 --> 00:27:00,040
I ain't sinful. I'm hungry.
488
00:27:00,120 --> 00:27:01,360
[Robin] The Little Minister.
489
00:27:01,440 --> 00:27:04,920
I suppose one must be very
clever to be a minister.
490
00:27:05,000 --> 00:27:06,240
[Robin] Break of Hearts.
491
00:27:06,320 --> 00:27:09,520
[dramatic emotional music]
492
00:27:11,560 --> 00:27:12,800
Stop.
493
00:27:13,160 --> 00:27:15,120
[Robin] And then Sylvia Scarlett.
494
00:27:15,200 --> 00:27:18,920
But what a role in Sylvia Scarlett.
495
00:27:19,000 --> 00:27:23,600
She portrays a young woman,
masquerading as a young man
496
00:27:23,680 --> 00:27:25,880
so that she can travel with her father.
497
00:27:25,960 --> 00:27:28,600
And the transformation is amazing.
498
00:27:28,680 --> 00:27:31,200
Oh, I say that's marvelous.
499
00:27:31,280 --> 00:27:32,160
I say.
500
00:27:32,240 --> 00:27:34,880
I wonder what it'd be like to kiss anybody
with a mustache like that.
501
00:27:34,960 --> 00:27:36,440
-I don't know.
-Let's try.
502
00:27:36,520 --> 00:27:38,600
[Robin] That was a movie
that was very controversial
503
00:27:38,680 --> 00:27:41,160
and unfortunately, I don't
think a lot of people understood
504
00:27:41,240 --> 00:27:43,720
the premise of the film,
and so that was a miss.
505
00:27:44,720 --> 00:27:47,840
Michael. Michael.
506
00:27:47,920 --> 00:27:51,160
[Robin] They filmed a lot of the scenes
outdoors and on the beach.
507
00:27:51,240 --> 00:27:54,320
And that's where she meets Howard Hughes
for the first time.
508
00:27:54,400 --> 00:27:56,880
Howard was an inventor, a businessman,
509
00:27:56,960 --> 00:28:00,640
a film producer, and he was
a friend of Cary Grant's.
510
00:28:00,720 --> 00:28:03,640
He wants to meet her, so he flies in,
511
00:28:03,720 --> 00:28:07,040
and she thought it was so obtrusive.
How dare he.
512
00:28:07,120 --> 00:28:08,520
[waves crashing]
513
00:28:11,520 --> 00:28:15,040
[Katharine] My relationship with Leland
felt like it was getting serious,
514
00:28:15,120 --> 00:28:17,680
and I felt awful
for stringing Luddy along.
515
00:28:18,400 --> 00:28:21,000
I knew it was time to let him go.
516
00:28:21,080 --> 00:28:22,280
Poor Luddy.
517
00:28:22,360 --> 00:28:25,440
He had done everything
to help me get to where I was.
518
00:28:25,520 --> 00:28:29,520
I took his money, used his car,
then broke his heart.
519
00:28:30,680 --> 00:28:32,440
[Mundy] She was
always friends with Luddy,
520
00:28:32,520 --> 00:28:36,520
and I get the feeling,
ultimately honest with him,
521
00:28:36,600 --> 00:28:39,440
probably after being found out
or something like that.
522
00:28:39,520 --> 00:28:44,120
But I don't think that she ever
worked to deceive.
523
00:28:44,200 --> 00:28:49,760
And as she said, the attitude was,
"I'm going over there. Get outta my way."
524
00:28:52,680 --> 00:28:54,800
[cars whizzing]
525
00:28:57,560 --> 00:29:01,280
This letter was
as she was sailing to Mexico
526
00:29:01,360 --> 00:29:04,680
for her divorce,
to have it done hush hush.
527
00:29:04,760 --> 00:29:06,800
And she's of course,
sailing with her friend Laura.
528
00:29:08,960 --> 00:29:09,880
She tells her mother,
529
00:29:09,960 --> 00:29:13,320
"I hope we do not get bitten
by snakes and tarantulas."
530
00:29:14,160 --> 00:29:15,880
And, you know, she says here,
"I've spoken to no one."
531
00:29:15,960 --> 00:29:17,200
She would always tell her mother,
532
00:29:17,280 --> 00:29:19,960
"Don't ever talk to the press,"
even before she was a star.
533
00:29:20,040 --> 00:29:21,200
"Don't talk to anybody."
534
00:29:23,920 --> 00:29:27,800
And it's when Kate returned to Hollywood,
we presume Leland proposed to her.
535
00:29:27,880 --> 00:29:31,360
But by then she had figured out
she wasn't marriage material.
536
00:29:32,000 --> 00:29:34,800
After she turned him down,
he started to drift away.
537
00:29:34,880 --> 00:29:37,840
Then the story goes one day
while he was away in New York,
538
00:29:37,920 --> 00:29:39,800
she received a telegram out of the blue
539
00:29:39,880 --> 00:29:41,800
saying that he had
married another actress.
540
00:29:41,880 --> 00:29:45,480
[plane whirring]
541
00:29:45,560 --> 00:29:48,600
[Katharine] I was heartbroken
and couldn't stop crying.
542
00:29:48,680 --> 00:29:51,480
But mother told me
to stop moping and get busy.
543
00:29:51,560 --> 00:29:55,200
So I accepted a theater role
in Boston playing Jane Eyre.
544
00:29:56,240 --> 00:29:59,120
I saw in the press
that Howard was in town,
545
00:29:59,200 --> 00:30:03,240
and I must have been lonely or something,
because I invited him to dinner.
546
00:30:03,320 --> 00:30:05,760
Then we had dinner every show thereafter.
547
00:30:06,680 --> 00:30:08,840
He moved into the same hotel,
548
00:30:08,920 --> 00:30:12,840
and then he followed us on tour.
conducting his work on the telephone.
549
00:30:13,400 --> 00:30:16,680
After the play finished,
we headed back to California together,
550
00:30:16,760 --> 00:30:21,160
and I moved into his house,
proving that persistence pays.
551
00:30:22,200 --> 00:30:27,400
[Toyah] Howard Hughes collected women
the way most people collect ornaments.
552
00:30:27,480 --> 00:30:30,320
And he had them scattered
around Hollywood.
553
00:30:30,400 --> 00:30:34,400
These young starlets
that he promised work to,
554
00:30:34,480 --> 00:30:37,400
and work never, ever came.
555
00:30:37,480 --> 00:30:43,240
And Katharine had quite a long
and very deep relationship with him,
556
00:30:43,320 --> 00:30:45,400
and she held her ground.
557
00:30:46,800 --> 00:30:49,040
[Glenn, on tape] Sounds like you two
had a lot of fun together.
558
00:30:49,120 --> 00:30:51,560
[Katharine, on tape] Yes, he was
a good golfer, good tennis player.
559
00:30:51,640 --> 00:30:52,640
[Glenn] Flew planes.
560
00:30:52,720 --> 00:30:53,760
[Katharine] Yeah, yeah.
561
00:30:53,840 --> 00:30:58,360
[Glenn] Even you flew one
under the 59th Street Bridge.
562
00:30:58,440 --> 00:31:01,160
Do you think it was that you
liked his adventurousness?
563
00:31:01,240 --> 00:31:04,280
[Katharine] I suppose
he opened doors for me.
564
00:31:05,160 --> 00:31:07,000
[Glenn] Were you an opportunist?
565
00:31:09,080 --> 00:31:12,040
[Katharine] I think
everyone is an opportunist.
566
00:31:12,120 --> 00:31:14,800
If they have an opportunity
to be opportunistic.
567
00:31:14,880 --> 00:31:18,000
[both laughing]
568
00:31:18,680 --> 00:31:22,920
[solemn ambient music]
569
00:31:23,000 --> 00:31:26,200
[Bonnie] Katharine Hepburn scared people
and she frightened people.
570
00:31:26,280 --> 00:31:29,240
She was a threat. She was Lilith.
571
00:31:29,320 --> 00:31:33,320
She was this thing that was going to
come down and sort you out.
572
00:31:33,400 --> 00:31:35,400
And oh, oh, by the way, guys,
573
00:31:35,480 --> 00:31:37,600
she actually didn't need you
to live either.
574
00:31:37,680 --> 00:31:41,400
So in that arc of time,
and we're talking about the middle '30s,
575
00:31:41,480 --> 00:31:44,520
when she had three films
in a row that flopped,
576
00:31:44,600 --> 00:31:46,320
there was no mercy.
577
00:32:00,880 --> 00:32:03,880
[Robin]
The '30s killed a lot of careers.
578
00:32:04,000 --> 00:32:08,560
She made a lot of bad movies
and some movies that are terrific,
579
00:32:08,640 --> 00:32:11,960
that weren't appreciated at the time,
like Bringing Up Baby.
580
00:32:12,040 --> 00:32:16,600
She said, "I think moviegoers thought
I was just too la-dee-da.
581
00:32:16,680 --> 00:32:18,840
And there were a lot of people
who just wanted
582
00:32:18,920 --> 00:32:22,080
to see me fall flat on my face."
583
00:32:26,960 --> 00:32:30,520
[Katharine] My going rate
had nose dived from 150,000
584
00:32:30,600 --> 00:32:34,040
to Paramount offering me just 10,000.
585
00:32:34,120 --> 00:32:36,720
Howard was pressuring me to accept.
586
00:32:36,800 --> 00:32:39,880
He was worried about
what people were saying about him.
587
00:32:39,960 --> 00:32:41,960
It was the only offer I had,
588
00:32:42,040 --> 00:32:44,960
but I knew it would be
the end of my career if I took it.
589
00:32:45,040 --> 00:32:47,720
So I called them back and declined,
590
00:32:48,280 --> 00:32:51,520
then retreated back to Fenwick
to figure out my next move.
591
00:32:53,440 --> 00:32:56,400
[wind whooshing]
592
00:32:56,480 --> 00:32:59,040
And then the hurricane came.
593
00:32:59,120 --> 00:33:03,600
And we watched as our family home
got swept up and carried down the river.
594
00:33:04,760 --> 00:33:07,840
It was when Howard sent water over
in a plane
595
00:33:07,920 --> 00:33:11,800
but didn't visit, that I knew
our relationship was over.
596
00:33:11,880 --> 00:33:16,480
To say that I was feeling sorry for myself
was an understatement.
597
00:33:16,880 --> 00:33:21,800
[Mundy] Kate said to Mama,
"Oh, I'm ruined. I'm done," and,
598
00:33:21,880 --> 00:33:24,160
"they all are mean to me."
599
00:33:24,240 --> 00:33:26,320
And Mama said to Kate, [laughs]
600
00:33:26,400 --> 00:33:31,920
"You've gotten rich and famous,
and now you're complaining about it.
601
00:33:32,000 --> 00:33:34,920
You've been knocked down. Get up."
602
00:33:43,480 --> 00:33:46,240
[Katharine] Not long after
starting to rebuild our home,
603
00:33:46,320 --> 00:33:47,760
the phone rang.
604
00:33:47,840 --> 00:33:51,040
It was an old friend of mine,
Philip Barry, the playwright.
605
00:33:51,120 --> 00:33:53,200
He had heard I was back
home and wanted to come
606
00:33:53,280 --> 00:33:55,400
and pitch me a new idea.
607
00:33:55,480 --> 00:33:58,040
So he joined me for tea
and described in great detail
608
00:33:58,120 --> 00:34:01,000
a play called The Philadelphia Story.
609
00:34:01,080 --> 00:34:04,240
It was so good, I signed up right away.
610
00:34:04,320 --> 00:34:08,520
Afterwards, I called Howard.
We were still speaking almost every day,
611
00:34:08,600 --> 00:34:11,520
and he told me to act fast
and buy the movie rights
612
00:34:11,600 --> 00:34:12,840
before the play opened.
613
00:34:12,920 --> 00:34:16,600
So I did, and worked closely with Philip
to finish the script.
614
00:34:18,080 --> 00:34:21,040
[Claudia] She is a smart businesswoman.
615
00:34:21,120 --> 00:34:24,960
She is in charge of this
image that she presents,
616
00:34:25,040 --> 00:34:27,080
and she has a friend called Philip Barry.
617
00:34:27,159 --> 00:34:30,040
And he writes this play when
she has no movies to make
618
00:34:30,120 --> 00:34:32,480
called Philadelphia Story.
619
00:34:32,560 --> 00:34:36,080
And she reads it and says,
"Not only am I playing this role,
620
00:34:36,159 --> 00:34:38,560
I'm investing in the Broadway production,
621
00:34:38,639 --> 00:34:40,639
and I'm buying the movie rights,"
622
00:34:40,719 --> 00:34:43,120
which has gotta be one
of the most brilliant
623
00:34:43,199 --> 00:34:46,320
business decisions any
woman in movies ever made.
624
00:34:46,400 --> 00:34:48,400
Never mind a movie star in movies.
625
00:34:48,480 --> 00:34:50,280
She borrows the money, as I understand it,
626
00:34:50,360 --> 00:34:52,800
from Howard Hughes,
but she gets the movie rights.
627
00:34:52,880 --> 00:34:55,040
She's a huge hit on Broadway.
628
00:34:55,120 --> 00:34:56,800
Everything is looking good again,
629
00:34:56,880 --> 00:34:59,160
and she sells the movie to MGM.
630
00:34:59,240 --> 00:35:02,400
The studio of studios
in Hollywood to Louis B. Mayer.
631
00:35:02,480 --> 00:35:05,360
She can insist on being the star,
which is obvious.
632
00:35:05,440 --> 00:35:08,000
She can tell him what director
she wants, which is Cukor.
633
00:35:08,080 --> 00:35:10,920
She knew what she wanted exactly,
634
00:35:11,000 --> 00:35:14,360
but she was officially box office poison.
635
00:35:15,440 --> 00:35:17,720
[Bonnie] What male
was box office poison?
636
00:35:17,800 --> 00:35:19,440
I can't think of anybody.
637
00:35:19,520 --> 00:35:21,680
I mean, it was even known
that John Barrymore,
638
00:35:21,760 --> 00:35:23,120
who was a big star, was a drunk.
639
00:35:23,200 --> 00:35:26,680
He wasn't box office poison
as far as the industry was concerned,
640
00:35:26,760 --> 00:35:28,920
but she was box office poison.
641
00:35:32,920 --> 00:35:36,880
So she's what's called a Yankee,
642
00:35:36,960 --> 00:35:40,240
and I mean it not the way Southerners
call people in the north.
643
00:35:40,320 --> 00:35:43,680
She was actually a form
of American aristocracy.
644
00:35:44,680 --> 00:35:46,280
It was the Depression.
645
00:35:46,360 --> 00:35:50,440
And people are like, "What the?
I can't even eat."
646
00:35:50,520 --> 00:35:52,680
And then this voice comes through,
647
00:35:52,760 --> 00:35:55,240
so Americans could hear in her voice
648
00:35:55,320 --> 00:35:58,080
that she had money
and that she was highly educated.
649
00:35:58,160 --> 00:36:00,680
Would you care to see me do
the sleepwalking scene from Macbeth?
650
00:36:00,760 --> 00:36:03,920
No. Oh, Paul, damn it.
651
00:36:04,000 --> 00:36:07,040
Well, the teachers at Ms. Porter's school
thought it was very promising.
652
00:36:07,120 --> 00:36:12,280
[Bonnie] She had to change herself
so that she was acceptable to the industry
653
00:36:12,360 --> 00:36:13,960
and acceptable to viewers.
654
00:36:14,040 --> 00:36:16,640
She had to find her heart.
She had to find her soul.
655
00:36:16,720 --> 00:36:18,160
She had to come down a peg.
656
00:36:18,240 --> 00:36:21,840
And that's why Philadelphia Story,"
the beginning of it is so exquisite.
657
00:36:21,920 --> 00:36:25,160
[bright uplifting music]
658
00:36:26,640 --> 00:36:29,920
[tense suspenseful music]
659
00:36:35,640 --> 00:36:37,680
[Bonnie] First shot, first shot,
first shot.
660
00:36:37,760 --> 00:36:42,280
Before there's no word spoken.
Cary Grant pushes her down in the door.
661
00:36:43,600 --> 00:36:45,200
[Katharine thuds]
662
00:36:47,120 --> 00:36:48,720
That's what guys wanted to do to her.
663
00:36:48,800 --> 00:36:50,720
Guys wanted-- the minute
she opened her mouth,
664
00:36:50,800 --> 00:36:53,120
they wanted to take a
pie and go, "Shut up."
665
00:36:53,200 --> 00:36:54,120
Or... [grunts]
666
00:36:54,200 --> 00:36:55,920
She thought, "Well, let me just do it."
667
00:36:56,000 --> 00:36:57,320
So she did it.
668
00:36:58,200 --> 00:37:01,480
[Mundy] After that, it's like, ooh,
she's a force to be reckoned with.
669
00:37:01,560 --> 00:37:04,080
She thinks big. She's got brains.
670
00:37:04,160 --> 00:37:06,160
Now let's see what's next.
671
00:37:09,240 --> 00:37:11,560
[gentle ethereal music]
672
00:37:11,640 --> 00:37:14,840
[Katharine] My friend Garson
sent me a new idea he had had
673
00:37:14,920 --> 00:37:16,960
that his brother was working on.
674
00:37:17,040 --> 00:37:20,480
It wasn't finished, but I could
already see it had great potential,
675
00:37:20,560 --> 00:37:25,160
and I knew at this point in my career,
I had to strike while the iron was hot.
676
00:37:25,240 --> 00:37:28,040
I ripped off the front page
that had their names on,
677
00:37:28,120 --> 00:37:30,960
and put on a new front page
with Philadelphia Story II
678
00:37:31,040 --> 00:37:35,120
scribbled on it with a big question mark
before sending it on to Mankiewicz.
679
00:37:35,200 --> 00:37:36,720
I told him if he was interested,
680
00:37:36,800 --> 00:37:40,760
to get back to me in 24 hours
or I'd go elsewhere.
681
00:37:41,240 --> 00:37:45,880
He told me to head out to LA for a meeting
with Mayer and himself as soon as I could.
682
00:37:45,960 --> 00:37:49,280
So I caught a Stratoliner
out straightaway.
683
00:37:49,880 --> 00:37:51,920
[Katharine, on tape]
Mayer, shrewd as hell,
684
00:37:52,000 --> 00:37:54,040
used flattery for all it was worth.
685
00:37:54,120 --> 00:37:56,160
Inside I was nervous,
686
00:37:56,240 --> 00:37:59,280
but I held firm
and told them what I wanted.
687
00:37:59,360 --> 00:38:02,080
One hundred thousand
for the story and script.
688
00:38:02,160 --> 00:38:05,000
One hundred thousand
for myself to star in it,
689
00:38:05,080 --> 00:38:07,240
and 10,000 for my commission.
690
00:38:08,720 --> 00:38:11,360
The room went quiet.
691
00:38:11,440 --> 00:38:14,480
They tried to offer me 175,000,
692
00:38:14,560 --> 00:38:16,440
but I refused.
693
00:38:16,520 --> 00:38:18,440
I held my nerve,
694
00:38:18,520 --> 00:38:23,040
and when I sensed Mayer might back out,
insisting I tell him who wrote it,
695
00:38:23,120 --> 00:38:24,640
I doubled down even more,
696
00:38:24,720 --> 00:38:27,000
telling him I was taking offers only.
697
00:38:27,080 --> 00:38:29,920
And if he was interested,
I would send him the finished script
698
00:38:30,000 --> 00:38:31,520
over in a couple of days.
699
00:38:32,120 --> 00:38:36,120
Now, knowing there was genuine interest,
we locked ourselves away.
700
00:38:36,200 --> 00:38:39,240
Ring, Mike, and I worked
together to finish the script,
701
00:38:39,320 --> 00:38:41,640
delivering it to them a few days later.
702
00:38:41,720 --> 00:38:46,640
-[solemn music]
-[typewriter keys clack]
703
00:38:50,080 --> 00:38:54,120
[Robin] The purchase of the script for
Woman of the Year by Mankiewicz and Mayer
704
00:38:54,200 --> 00:38:58,200
would make it at that time,
a record for an original screenplay.
705
00:38:58,280 --> 00:39:00,520
And they had no idea until
after they had signed
706
00:39:00,600 --> 00:39:04,000
the contract that it had
been by two novice writers.
707
00:39:04,560 --> 00:39:07,600
Kate wanted Spencer Tracy
to play the leading man.
708
00:39:07,680 --> 00:39:10,520
She greatly admired him
as a person, as an actor.
709
00:39:10,600 --> 00:39:12,920
She always called him an actor's actor.
710
00:39:13,000 --> 00:39:15,160
After she did some digging
around and found out
711
00:39:15,240 --> 00:39:18,560
that he had a window
of availability, she got him.
712
00:39:18,640 --> 00:39:20,360
[Larry King] Spencer Tracy,
he comes into her life
713
00:39:20,440 --> 00:39:22,160
through making a movie with her.
714
00:39:22,240 --> 00:39:24,440
[Katharine Houghton]
Yes, they made Woman of the Year.
715
00:39:24,520 --> 00:39:28,280
And by the way,
that story about when they met,
716
00:39:28,360 --> 00:39:32,760
she supposedly said to him,
"Well, you are not very tall."
717
00:39:32,840 --> 00:39:36,120
And he supposed to have said,
"I'll cut you down to my size."
718
00:39:36,200 --> 00:39:37,080
You remember that story?
719
00:39:37,160 --> 00:39:38,560
-[Larry King] Is that true?
-[Katharine Houghton] No.
720
00:39:38,640 --> 00:39:43,480
She used to wear three inch platform shoes
to make herself terribly tall.
721
00:39:43,560 --> 00:39:46,600
So she said, "You are not
as tall as I thought you were."
722
00:39:46,680 --> 00:39:49,920
And Joe Mankiewicz said,
"Don't worry, Kate.
723
00:39:50,000 --> 00:39:52,120
He'll cut you down to his size."
724
00:39:53,160 --> 00:39:56,160
[Katharine] I heard after our meeting
that Spence told Garson
725
00:39:56,240 --> 00:39:58,640
he found me to be a strange creature.
726
00:39:58,720 --> 00:40:03,000
Apparently he didn't like that I had
a rather ambiguous sexuality,
727
00:40:03,080 --> 00:40:05,840
dirty fingernails, and always wore pants.
728
00:40:05,920 --> 00:40:08,000
I just think he found
me rather unattractive
729
00:40:08,080 --> 00:40:11,640
and disappointing and thought,
"Oh my God, what am I stuck with?"
730
00:40:11,720 --> 00:40:15,240
I guess he thought I was a lesbian,
but found out pretty quickly
731
00:40:15,320 --> 00:40:18,040
that I had no problems
with the opposite sex.
732
00:40:18,120 --> 00:40:21,840
Anyway, he signed up for the film,
and after that, in my career,
733
00:40:21,920 --> 00:40:25,560
I'd never again budge
on something I believed in.
734
00:40:28,320 --> 00:40:32,240
[energetic orchestral music playing]
735
00:40:33,440 --> 00:40:34,880
[Claudia] I love Woman of the Year.
736
00:40:34,960 --> 00:40:37,520
It's again, a script written for her.
737
00:40:37,600 --> 00:40:41,200
And every cliche of male,
female relationships
738
00:40:41,280 --> 00:40:44,000
is ironically reversed in this movie.
739
00:40:44,080 --> 00:40:45,600
She's the important woman
740
00:40:45,680 --> 00:40:49,680
having a life of not only
independence, but importance,
741
00:40:49,760 --> 00:40:52,760
dealing with world politics
at a time of war.
742
00:40:52,840 --> 00:40:56,080
She's this new female ideal.
743
00:40:57,200 --> 00:40:58,200
Shill.
744
00:40:58,280 --> 00:41:00,560
Spencer Tracy is the sports columnist
745
00:41:00,640 --> 00:41:03,520
for the same newspaper
where she's the political columnist.
746
00:41:03,600 --> 00:41:07,640
Their chemistry was clearly
obvious for everyone to see.
747
00:41:07,720 --> 00:41:09,640
What are you trying to prove?
Why am I here?
748
00:41:09,720 --> 00:41:11,760
-Well, Sam--
-After all, you know, a little normal
749
00:41:11,840 --> 00:41:14,120
could have driven you down here.
Why did you ask me?
750
00:41:14,200 --> 00:41:16,280
Thought you might wanna kiss me goodbye.
751
00:41:16,360 --> 00:41:18,960
[Claudia] Their first kiss
on screen is mostly hidden
752
00:41:19,040 --> 00:41:22,920
by the way it's shot from behind his head
with his face hidden
753
00:41:23,000 --> 00:41:26,120
and with his hat brim hiding
her face almost completely.
754
00:41:27,840 --> 00:41:30,120
[Glenn, on tape] You say that you found
the true meaning of love.
755
00:41:30,200 --> 00:41:33,400
[Katharine, on tape]
Yes. No question that that's true.
756
00:41:33,480 --> 00:41:36,200
[Glenn]
How quickly did you fall in love?
757
00:41:36,280 --> 00:41:38,640
[Katharine]
I would think almost immediately.
758
00:41:39,880 --> 00:41:44,160
[Claudia] When Woman of the Year
was playing at Radio City in 1942,
759
00:41:44,240 --> 00:41:46,680
the gossip columnist Sheilah Graham
managed to tell her
760
00:41:46,760 --> 00:41:49,480
thousands of readers
that Tracy and Hepburn
761
00:41:49,560 --> 00:41:51,520
got on like a house of fire,
762
00:41:51,600 --> 00:41:55,720
and the love scenes in the picture
are extremely convincing.
763
00:41:55,800 --> 00:41:59,560
[gentle romantic music]
764
00:41:59,640 --> 00:42:01,600
[interviewer]
What attracted you to Spencer Tracy?
765
00:42:01,680 --> 00:42:03,360
[Katharine, on tape] His sense of humor.
766
00:42:03,440 --> 00:42:07,440
He had a wonderful sense of humor,
a remarkable memory.
767
00:42:08,600 --> 00:42:13,360
What attracted me to Spencer Tracy is...
What's the word? Magic.
768
00:42:20,760 --> 00:42:23,040
[Claudia] It was adultery, of course.
769
00:42:23,120 --> 00:42:27,600
Tracy was married,
but had been having affairs for years
770
00:42:27,680 --> 00:42:29,040
before Hepburn showed up,
771
00:42:29,120 --> 00:42:32,080
which was an open secret
apparently in Hollywood,
772
00:42:32,160 --> 00:42:35,680
although not at all
bandied about in the press.
773
00:42:42,560 --> 00:42:45,920
[Mundy] Kate was harried by the press,
774
00:42:46,000 --> 00:42:49,600
and she learned very quickly
to keep them at arm's length.
775
00:42:50,320 --> 00:42:54,200
And it was a fun game I think also,
776
00:42:54,280 --> 00:42:56,480
to be terribly important
and don't let anybody know,
777
00:42:56,560 --> 00:42:57,760
and let's sneak over here.
778
00:42:57,840 --> 00:43:03,320
And it's a fun game to feel wanted,
to feel important.
779
00:43:12,280 --> 00:43:14,920
[tape whirring]
780
00:43:15,000 --> 00:43:17,040
[Glenn, on tape] He told me
the rumors in the early '30s
781
00:43:17,120 --> 00:43:18,520
were she must be a lesbian.
782
00:43:18,600 --> 00:43:19,560
[Katharine, on tape] Yes.
783
00:43:19,640 --> 00:43:23,280
[Glenn] Because she's so aggressive
and she wears pants,
784
00:43:23,360 --> 00:43:25,560
and in those days,
you didn't give interviews.
785
00:43:25,640 --> 00:43:27,480
[Katharine] Well, I didn't want
to give interviews
786
00:43:27,560 --> 00:43:29,760
because I thought,
"No use talking about something
787
00:43:29,840 --> 00:43:32,040
until you know whether it's any good."
788
00:43:32,120 --> 00:43:36,160
Then when I found out that it was okay,
then I didn't need to talk to him.
789
00:43:36,240 --> 00:43:38,640
[both chuckling]
790
00:43:39,880 --> 00:43:43,400
[Katharine] People were always gossiping
about Laura and I.
791
00:43:43,480 --> 00:43:45,680
The director Mark Sandrich
eventually told me
792
00:43:45,760 --> 00:43:47,640
that he might have been
the one responsible
793
00:43:47,720 --> 00:43:52,200
for starting this rumor after he overheard
Laura on the phone at the studio
794
00:43:52,280 --> 00:43:56,560
trying to get hold of me,
referring to herself as my husband.
795
00:43:56,640 --> 00:43:58,800
[Mundy] Oh, was she a lesbian?
I don't know.
796
00:43:58,880 --> 00:44:01,760
She was probably everything
and maybe nothing.
797
00:44:01,840 --> 00:44:06,360
She was whatever
you dream her to have been.
798
00:44:06,440 --> 00:44:08,080
Because that's the point.
799
00:44:08,160 --> 00:44:10,960
Like, if a guy's too nice, he must be gay.
800
00:44:11,040 --> 00:44:14,240
If a woman's too aggressive,
she must be gay.
801
00:44:14,320 --> 00:44:17,560
Well, as Kate would say, "What a bore."
802
00:44:17,640 --> 00:44:19,000
The whole thing is so boring.
803
00:44:19,080 --> 00:44:21,240
You can't know,
and it's none of your business
804
00:44:21,320 --> 00:44:23,320
and who the hell cares, anyway?
805
00:44:23,400 --> 00:44:26,560
[gentle bright music]
806
00:44:29,320 --> 00:44:31,600
[Claudia] She certainly
didn't mind the speculation
807
00:44:31,680 --> 00:44:34,440
about who she was dating
or how significant it was
808
00:44:34,520 --> 00:44:36,720
that she wore slacks all the time.
809
00:44:36,800 --> 00:44:39,960
It kept people guessing about her
and talking about her.
810
00:44:40,040 --> 00:44:43,080
But when it came to scripts,
she knew exactly what she wanted,
811
00:44:43,160 --> 00:44:44,480
and she went back to the theater
812
00:44:44,560 --> 00:44:48,560
to do another Philip Barry
play called Without Love.
813
00:44:48,640 --> 00:44:50,840
She tried to get the producers
in New York to hire Tracy
814
00:44:50,920 --> 00:44:54,200
to co-star with her,
but they were worried about his drinking.
815
00:44:54,280 --> 00:44:55,960
That was hard.
816
00:44:56,040 --> 00:44:58,240
Working together was
a pleasure on its own,
817
00:44:58,320 --> 00:45:00,000
but it was also an excuse
818
00:45:00,080 --> 00:45:02,920
for being together
without sneaking around.
819
00:45:04,120 --> 00:45:06,600
[Larry King]
Was that love affair a secret?
820
00:45:06,680 --> 00:45:10,520
[Katharine Houghton] It had to be Larry,
because of his being married.
821
00:45:10,600 --> 00:45:15,040
And I don't think that either one of them
wanted to bring attention.
822
00:45:15,120 --> 00:45:17,000
[Larry King] So how did they pull it off?
823
00:45:17,080 --> 00:45:19,080
[Katharine Houghton]
They worked very hard at it.
824
00:45:19,160 --> 00:45:20,920
Never staying in the same hotels,
825
00:45:21,000 --> 00:45:23,040
going in back doors.
826
00:45:23,120 --> 00:45:25,320
My aunt went up lots of fire escapes,
827
00:45:25,400 --> 00:45:28,760
climbed in and out of
windows across roofs.
828
00:45:30,600 --> 00:45:33,360
[Katharine] It took me
until I was 33 years of age
829
00:45:33,440 --> 00:45:36,160
to fall in love and know
what it really meant.
830
00:45:37,640 --> 00:45:40,160
His needs came before mine,
831
00:45:40,240 --> 00:45:43,640
and I looked for his approval
with everything that I did.
832
00:45:44,320 --> 00:45:47,560
[bright lounge music]
833
00:45:53,680 --> 00:45:56,840
[metal sign creaking]
834
00:46:03,600 --> 00:46:06,240
[Joe] He was pretty quiet, my grandfather.
835
00:46:06,320 --> 00:46:09,360
Strong silent type, you know?
836
00:46:09,440 --> 00:46:11,480
But he actually took time
to take me out in the yard
837
00:46:11,560 --> 00:46:12,560
and play Frisbee.
838
00:46:12,640 --> 00:46:15,600
And, you know, he offered
to take me places,
839
00:46:15,680 --> 00:46:17,800
but my grandmother wouldn't
let me ride in the car with him
840
00:46:17,880 --> 00:46:20,480
because he was a fast driver
841
00:46:20,560 --> 00:46:23,240
and whatever other reasons
she might have had.
842
00:46:24,640 --> 00:46:27,280
When I started drinking,
my mom would tell me
843
00:46:27,360 --> 00:46:30,000
about alcoholism in the family
and how it's hereditary.
844
00:46:30,080 --> 00:46:34,000
And then Spencer, when I had
questions about his health,
845
00:46:34,080 --> 00:46:36,880
it was blamed on damage he did
846
00:46:36,960 --> 00:46:40,520
from drinking and from
depression and anxiety.
847
00:46:41,320 --> 00:46:43,960
Having my dad, having a deaf son,
848
00:46:44,040 --> 00:46:48,640
and then Catholic guilt
for his relationship problems.
849
00:46:48,720 --> 00:46:51,800
And he actually felt guilty
that he became an actor
850
00:46:51,880 --> 00:46:54,120
instead of a father
in the Catholic church.
851
00:46:54,200 --> 00:46:55,840
He said, "You should have more
respect for your plumber."
852
00:46:55,920 --> 00:46:58,600
You know, "They do more
for you than an actor ever will."
853
00:46:58,680 --> 00:47:02,360
[gentle somber music]
854
00:47:02,440 --> 00:47:06,200
[Claudia] It wasn't the fairy tale
that they later presented it as being.
855
00:47:06,680 --> 00:47:08,360
Spencer the alcoholic.
856
00:47:08,440 --> 00:47:10,320
Spencer who couldn't work on a set
857
00:47:10,400 --> 00:47:13,000
without her being there
to help control him.
858
00:47:13,080 --> 00:47:15,880
[gentle morose music]
859
00:47:15,960 --> 00:47:20,160
[Katharine Houghton] Sure, it was
a tempestuous or complicated relationship.
860
00:47:20,960 --> 00:47:22,440
And fiery.
861
00:47:22,520 --> 00:47:24,480
He could be often tough on her,
862
00:47:24,560 --> 00:47:26,880
and I think that was the
only person she allowed
863
00:47:26,960 --> 00:47:28,320
to get away with that.
864
00:47:30,680 --> 00:47:34,640
[Katharine, on tape] Spencer had
found life very difficult.
865
00:47:34,720 --> 00:47:38,720
He felt that the miseries
that he brought on people
866
00:47:38,800 --> 00:47:42,920
were avoidable and that
if he hadn't existed,
867
00:47:43,000 --> 00:47:44,960
the world would've been better off.
868
00:47:46,080 --> 00:47:48,480
That's a heavy load to carry.
869
00:47:49,920 --> 00:47:53,200
[woman] "Dearestt Brimsl,
how are things for you?
870
00:47:53,280 --> 00:47:55,800
I know so little about you these days,
871
00:47:55,880 --> 00:47:58,640
what you are thinking and how you are.
872
00:47:58,720 --> 00:48:01,560
I hope you are well and you're about
to start on the new picture.
873
00:48:01,640 --> 00:48:04,560
I send my love and lots of it."
874
00:48:07,120 --> 00:48:08,800
[Robin] Although Kate was making time
875
00:48:08,880 --> 00:48:11,920
to look after Spencer,
she still was challenging herself,
876
00:48:12,000 --> 00:48:15,440
looking for interesting scripts,
things that she could put her stamp on.
877
00:48:16,000 --> 00:48:19,320
When she got the script
for Keeper of the Flame in 1943,
878
00:48:19,400 --> 00:48:22,040
it was a controversial idea for the time.
879
00:48:22,120 --> 00:48:25,680
Not only was this script
smart and incredibly dramatic,
880
00:48:25,760 --> 00:48:28,640
but there had never been a film
depicting women in this way.
881
00:48:28,720 --> 00:48:31,160
A woman going to trial for murder.
882
00:48:32,840 --> 00:48:34,400
[Katharine] The character of Christine
883
00:48:34,480 --> 00:48:37,080
was a mature, complex woman.
884
00:48:37,160 --> 00:48:41,560
Fully rounded, not another girl
like in so many of my other films.
885
00:48:41,640 --> 00:48:44,520
So I jumped at the chance
to play a real character
886
00:48:44,600 --> 00:48:46,360
with real life experience.
887
00:48:48,120 --> 00:48:51,200
[Robin] Keeper of the Flame was another
classic Tracy, Hepburn pairing.
888
00:48:51,280 --> 00:48:53,920
And I think it particularly inspired Kate,
889
00:48:54,000 --> 00:48:56,560
because there had been an
unspoken rule in Hollywood films
890
00:48:56,640 --> 00:48:59,080
that a woman could never
get away with murder.
891
00:48:59,160 --> 00:49:02,480
Kate wouldn't settle for this,
and she rewrote the ending of the film.
892
00:49:02,560 --> 00:49:04,520
But when she submitted the new ending,
893
00:49:04,600 --> 00:49:07,240
the writer refused to budge
, and that was that.
894
00:49:09,800 --> 00:49:14,760
[Katharine, on TV] Senator Kennedy
has just introduced 11 bills
895
00:49:14,840 --> 00:49:18,160
in the state Senate, which if passed,
896
00:49:18,240 --> 00:49:22,920
will set California
education back 50 years.
897
00:49:23,600 --> 00:49:27,080
These men have learned well
898
00:49:27,160 --> 00:49:31,160
that the hand which rocks the cradle
899
00:49:31,240 --> 00:49:33,040
shakes the world.
900
00:49:34,000 --> 00:49:35,960
[Robin] Kate had been cautious to engage
901
00:49:36,040 --> 00:49:38,880
in the public domain,
but by the end of the '40s,
902
00:49:38,960 --> 00:49:42,280
the House Un-American Committee
concerned with moral decline
903
00:49:42,360 --> 00:49:45,480
had introduced new censorship
laws across the arts.
904
00:49:45,560 --> 00:49:48,800
This was Kate's world,
and she disagreed completely.
905
00:49:48,880 --> 00:49:50,680
So she stood up and she spoke.
906
00:49:53,320 --> 00:49:55,600
[Katharine] I did it
because I believed in it.
907
00:49:55,680 --> 00:49:58,040
I had the full support
of my parents who believed
908
00:49:58,120 --> 00:50:01,560
the only advantages of my position
was the voice it gave me
909
00:50:01,640 --> 00:50:03,360
to uplift others without it.
910
00:50:04,240 --> 00:50:08,400
It wasn't about politics.
It was about censorship.
911
00:50:08,480 --> 00:50:11,520
Spence disapproved of actors
meddling in public affairs.
912
00:50:11,600 --> 00:50:14,080
And again, the press sought
to drag me through the mud,
913
00:50:14,160 --> 00:50:15,680
branding me pink.
914
00:50:15,760 --> 00:50:18,560
I didn't work for the rest
of the year after that.
915
00:50:19,560 --> 00:50:24,200
Garson called with a new script
he had written for us, Adam's Rib.
916
00:50:24,280 --> 00:50:26,480
It represented everything I believed in,
917
00:50:26,560 --> 00:50:29,160
and I worked closely
with him on the script.
918
00:50:29,240 --> 00:50:31,840
With Spencer on board
and George directing,
919
00:50:31,960 --> 00:50:35,360
it was nice to have all my
friends back working together.
920
00:50:36,920 --> 00:50:38,640
Good morning, Mr. Hurlock.
921
00:50:38,720 --> 00:50:40,040
Good morning.
922
00:50:40,120 --> 00:50:42,600
Do you believe in equal rights for women?
923
00:50:42,680 --> 00:50:44,400
-What?
-Objection.
924
00:50:44,480 --> 00:50:45,800
[Claudia] Adam's Rib
is one of the movies
925
00:50:45,880 --> 00:50:49,040
where she really gives voice
to the idea of women's equality,
926
00:50:49,120 --> 00:50:51,040
loud and clear and blatant,
927
00:50:51,120 --> 00:50:54,240
because she's arguing for it in court.
928
00:50:54,320 --> 00:50:57,760
She has continual speeches
about what would you do
929
00:50:57,840 --> 00:50:59,200
to a man in this position?
930
00:50:59,280 --> 00:51:02,000
Why wouldn't you do that
to a woman in this position?
931
00:51:02,080 --> 00:51:05,960
In fact, women's equality
is not only a subtext of the movie
932
00:51:06,040 --> 00:51:08,920
the way it always is with her,
but the subject.
933
00:51:09,000 --> 00:51:11,840
This poor woman, isn't she
entitled to the same justice,
934
00:51:11,920 --> 00:51:13,560
I mean, that's usually reserved for men?
935
00:51:13,640 --> 00:51:16,000
The same unwritten law
that got Lenahan off.
936
00:51:16,080 --> 00:51:17,480
[Robin] Kate was
becoming known for playing
937
00:51:17,560 --> 00:51:20,640
characters who defied
society's expectations.
938
00:51:20,720 --> 00:51:23,240
And this was what she was
doing in her own life.
939
00:51:23,320 --> 00:51:25,480
She was living very
differently from most women
940
00:51:25,560 --> 00:51:27,680
who were settling down
and having children.
941
00:51:29,360 --> 00:51:32,040
[Glenn, on tape] Had you wanted children,
would you have married?
942
00:51:33,000 --> 00:51:34,200
[Katharine, on tape] Yeah, I would've,
943
00:51:34,280 --> 00:51:35,600
but I would have led
a totally different life.
944
00:51:35,680 --> 00:51:40,880
I wouldn't have worked,
'cause I felt that it was a tremendous job
945
00:51:40,960 --> 00:51:43,000
to bring up children carefully.
946
00:51:43,080 --> 00:51:47,280
-But I wanted to be filmed and a star.
-[laughter]
947
00:51:47,360 --> 00:51:49,680
[Glenn] And you are.
948
00:51:49,760 --> 00:51:54,400
[Katharine] Yes, but I mean,
and one pays the price, I think.
949
00:51:54,480 --> 00:51:57,880
[Glenn] And the price though,
was it any lonelier for you, do you think?
950
00:51:57,960 --> 00:52:01,280
[Katharine] No, I don't think so.
I don't think, I'm not the lonely type.
951
00:52:05,000 --> 00:52:07,160
[TV host] I know the whole story.
952
00:52:08,160 --> 00:52:11,720
Sam Spiegel told Bogie,
he had Huston and Hepburn,
953
00:52:11,800 --> 00:52:15,040
And he told Huston he had
Bogart and Hepburn.
954
00:52:15,120 --> 00:52:17,800
And he told Hepburn
he had Bogart and Huston
955
00:52:17,880 --> 00:52:19,600
before he had any of them.
956
00:52:19,680 --> 00:52:21,520
And that's how he got all of them.
957
00:52:21,600 --> 00:52:24,040
[crowd laughs]
958
00:52:28,280 --> 00:52:31,800
[Katharine] Sam Spiegel sent me
C.S. Forester's The African Queen,"
959
00:52:31,880 --> 00:52:35,000
to see if I would consider
playing Rose in the adaptation.
960
00:52:35,080 --> 00:52:39,560
It was excellent, and I met right away
with John Huston and Sam.
961
00:52:39,640 --> 00:52:42,440
At that point, they weren't sure
who was going to play the man,
962
00:52:42,520 --> 00:52:44,600
but thought it should
be an authentic Cockney.
963
00:52:44,680 --> 00:52:47,920
But once they thought of Bogie,
there was no one that could compete
964
00:52:48,000 --> 00:52:52,400
with his personality and looks,
so they changed the character to Canadian.
965
00:52:53,960 --> 00:52:56,600
Heading out to Africa felt foreboding.
966
00:52:56,680 --> 00:52:58,840
I still hadn't seen a completed script,
967
00:52:58,920 --> 00:53:01,920
but Bogie who had worked
with John before said,
968
00:53:02,000 --> 00:53:04,280
"Don't worry, this is the way he does it."
969
00:53:04,360 --> 00:53:07,120
I said, "Wow, this is
getting a bit tight."
970
00:53:07,200 --> 00:53:10,080
He said, "You'll see. It'll be worth it."
971
00:53:15,240 --> 00:53:19,200
[Angela] It was in those days
called continuity.
972
00:53:25,080 --> 00:53:28,320
That's me, Katie Hepburn,
973
00:53:28,960 --> 00:53:34,040
Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall,
John Huston.
974
00:53:36,080 --> 00:53:38,360
We were all bitten, as I used to say,
975
00:53:38,440 --> 00:53:42,880
bitten to buggery by all
these flying insects.
976
00:53:42,960 --> 00:53:47,040
Well, I was young,
so it was all a new experience.
977
00:53:47,120 --> 00:53:51,760
I mean, the camp was literally
hacked out of the jungle.
978
00:53:51,840 --> 00:53:55,880
The boys would play cards or what.
There was nowhere else to go.
979
00:53:55,960 --> 00:54:01,360
But Katie, she kept to herself
and read and learnt her lines
980
00:54:01,440 --> 00:54:03,360
and things like that.
981
00:54:03,440 --> 00:54:06,360
She was very disciplined,
but she'd be quite bossy.
982
00:54:06,440 --> 00:54:09,120
I mean, John, I suppose
you could say he certainly
983
00:54:09,200 --> 00:54:12,240
wasn't methodical in the way
she was used to.
984
00:54:13,360 --> 00:54:17,560
One day we had the famous morning.
We'd traveled up the river and everything.
985
00:54:17,640 --> 00:54:20,920
We're doing this scene
and he said, "Print it."
986
00:54:21,000 --> 00:54:23,160
And she said, "But you weren't looking."
987
00:54:23,240 --> 00:54:27,120
She said, "But John, you weren't-"
"But I was listening, Katie."
988
00:54:27,200 --> 00:54:31,160
"That's not the same.
I wanna do it again."
989
00:54:31,920 --> 00:54:34,480
Well, we turned the boat around.
990
00:54:34,560 --> 00:54:38,400
We managed to decapitate
the boiler and everything else
991
00:54:38,480 --> 00:54:40,080
with all the trees.
992
00:54:40,160 --> 00:54:44,000
So that took about four or five hours
to put the boat back together again
993
00:54:44,080 --> 00:54:46,040
and do the scene.
994
00:54:46,760 --> 00:54:50,680
We used the original, actually,
in the film. She never knew.
995
00:54:51,480 --> 00:54:53,040
That way.
996
00:54:53,120 --> 00:54:55,000
Pull her over.
997
00:54:56,080 --> 00:54:59,240
[gentle somber music]
998
00:55:05,040 --> 00:55:08,960
[Mundy] Kate's mother
was very bright, very capable,
999
00:55:09,040 --> 00:55:10,840
very original thinking,
1000
00:55:10,920 --> 00:55:16,480
and really held the family together
by being a skilled negotiator.
1001
00:55:16,560 --> 00:55:18,400
She could handle Hep.
1002
00:55:19,320 --> 00:55:23,480
And she had a brain
hemorrhage and abruptly died
1003
00:55:23,560 --> 00:55:25,080
at the age of 72.
1004
00:55:25,640 --> 00:55:27,440
Everybody was in shock.
1005
00:55:27,520 --> 00:55:29,720
It was a horrific moment.
1006
00:55:29,800 --> 00:55:32,800
Later when her father died,
1007
00:55:32,880 --> 00:55:37,040
she by then had a little
experience with death.
1008
00:55:37,120 --> 00:55:39,360
But after Kate's mother died,
1009
00:55:39,440 --> 00:55:41,880
she basically overdosed on work.
1010
00:55:41,960 --> 00:55:46,040
'Cause if there's one thing Kate has,
it's nervous energy.
1011
00:55:46,120 --> 00:55:48,880
And so the pain turns into,
1012
00:55:48,960 --> 00:55:52,640
"Okay, I'm gonna make it
right. I'm gonna fix it."
1013
00:55:52,720 --> 00:55:55,920
And it's possible to fix it
so much that you collapse.
1014
00:56:02,280 --> 00:56:06,960
[Claudia] One knows that she had
certain nervous afflictions.
1015
00:56:07,720 --> 00:56:10,480
And there's the story about
The Millionairess in London
1016
00:56:10,560 --> 00:56:12,520
where she apparently
was having a nervous breakdown
1017
00:56:12,600 --> 00:56:13,840
while she was playing it
1018
00:56:13,920 --> 00:56:18,640
where she couldn't speak
and all this with her throat.
1019
00:56:19,800 --> 00:56:21,320
She was increasingly manic,
1020
00:56:21,400 --> 00:56:24,400
and then eventually in New York,
she checked into a hospital.
1021
00:56:24,480 --> 00:56:28,760
But there she was performing
night after night after night.
1022
00:56:29,960 --> 00:56:33,960
[Mundy] My mother said there was
a waste basket where you'd get on stage.
1023
00:56:34,040 --> 00:56:36,920
And now and again she'd
puke in the waste basket,
1024
00:56:37,000 --> 00:56:41,360
'cause she was so wired and scared
and, "Oh, my God, what'll they think?
1025
00:56:41,440 --> 00:56:43,280
I've got to do a good job."
1026
00:56:43,360 --> 00:56:44,960
And so she'd puke.
1027
00:56:45,040 --> 00:56:47,720
And then as my mother said,
she'd go on stage
1028
00:56:47,800 --> 00:56:50,480
and be absolutely brilliant,
1029
00:56:50,560 --> 00:56:53,080
and she'd come backstage
and she'd grab me by the shoulders,
1030
00:56:53,160 --> 00:56:54,880
"Was I any good? Was I any good?"
1031
00:56:55,840 --> 00:56:58,440
[Katharine] I always felt
they were out to get me
1032
00:56:58,520 --> 00:57:00,440
and that I better be good.
1033
00:57:00,520 --> 00:57:04,960
And I still think I'd better be good.
You know, I struggled to do my best.
1034
00:57:05,040 --> 00:57:08,080
-[TV host] I understand that.
-I struggled for days to...
1035
00:57:08,160 --> 00:57:10,720
do my best for this.
Do you know what I mean?
1036
00:57:10,800 --> 00:57:13,240
And I don't think you
ever feel like anything.
1037
00:57:13,320 --> 00:57:15,520
You feel like a bore.
1038
00:57:15,600 --> 00:57:18,320
You know, don't you?
Or, do you feel fascinating?
1039
00:57:18,400 --> 00:57:20,600
[TV host] No, I feel like a bore
a good most of the time.
1040
00:57:20,680 --> 00:57:22,040
Like a bore. Like a bore.
1041
00:57:22,120 --> 00:57:24,440
Then you think,
"My God, they're gonna find out
1042
00:57:24,520 --> 00:57:27,440
what a bore I am,
and then that'll be a terrible thing."
1043
00:57:30,560 --> 00:57:32,720
[Robin] "I am delighted
to know that not only
1044
00:57:32,800 --> 00:57:35,360
did you survive the African expedition,
1045
00:57:35,440 --> 00:57:38,640
but you got so much fun
and only a little disease out of it.
1046
00:57:38,720 --> 00:57:41,120
I wish I could write this minute dash
for London
1047
00:57:41,200 --> 00:57:43,560
and be with you for a couple of weeks."
1048
00:57:45,200 --> 00:57:48,680
The Millionairess was a huge hit
for Hepburn in London,
1049
00:57:48,760 --> 00:57:52,320
but she optioned the film rights,
she worked on a screen adaptation
1050
00:57:52,400 --> 00:57:54,760
and she pushed the script
to everyone she knew
1051
00:57:54,840 --> 00:57:57,040
who had some power in the business.
1052
00:57:57,120 --> 00:58:01,120
She offered to work for free
and pay the director out of her pocket
1053
00:58:01,200 --> 00:58:03,480
if anybody would make a movie of this.
1054
00:58:04,240 --> 00:58:05,800
No one bought it.
1055
00:58:07,120 --> 00:58:09,240
[Katharine] I wish I'd
never given up on it.
1056
00:58:09,320 --> 00:58:12,480
It's that strange thing that time does.
1057
00:58:12,560 --> 00:58:15,960
I had forgotten all the doors
shut in my face before then.
1058
00:58:16,040 --> 00:58:17,680
All the no's.
1059
00:58:17,760 --> 00:58:19,680
It had never stopped me before.
1060
00:58:19,760 --> 00:58:22,720
But this time I gave up too quickly.
1061
00:58:24,400 --> 00:58:26,760
[Robin] Kate reached out
to Constance Collier
1062
00:58:26,840 --> 00:58:30,240
and asked if she would coach her
for her upcoming Shakespeare tour.
1063
00:58:30,320 --> 00:58:31,960
She had helped Kate on The Millionairess.
1064
00:58:32,040 --> 00:58:34,480
and had become not only
a friend, but a confidant.
1065
00:58:34,560 --> 00:58:35,840
So Constance headed to London
1066
00:58:35,920 --> 00:58:38,360
with her trusted assistant,
Phyllis Wilbourn.
1067
00:58:38,440 --> 00:58:41,600
When Constance died suddenly
while Kate was on tour,
1068
00:58:41,680 --> 00:58:44,960
Kate immediately hired Phyllis
as her own personal secretary.
1069
00:58:46,640 --> 00:58:50,360
[Mundy] Phyllis said, "I never married
because there were no men.
1070
00:58:50,440 --> 00:58:51,960
They had all been killed in the war.
1071
00:58:52,040 --> 00:58:56,680
So I came to America
with Miss Hepburn and here I am."
1072
00:58:56,760 --> 00:59:00,120
Phyllis was the sweetest, most helpful,
1073
00:59:00,200 --> 00:59:04,880
gentle creature on the planet.
1074
00:59:04,960 --> 00:59:10,400
And Kate kept her carefully [laughs]
for the rest of her life.
1075
00:59:12,360 --> 00:59:18,000
[Glenn] Phyllis was very introverted
and there to serve, basically.
1076
00:59:18,080 --> 00:59:20,920
She would call and arrange an interview.
1077
00:59:21,000 --> 00:59:25,480
She'd greet you at the door.
She would say, "Madam is upstairs."
1078
00:59:25,560 --> 00:59:27,560
She would kind of drift
in and out of a room.
1079
00:59:27,640 --> 00:59:29,240
You wouldn't hardly know she was there.
1080
00:59:29,320 --> 00:59:34,000
She was clearly
very closely bonded to Hepburn.
1081
00:59:34,080 --> 00:59:37,440
It was a very trusting relationship.
1082
00:59:39,080 --> 00:59:43,120
[Katharine] Spence, Phyllis and I
became like a tight-knit family.
1083
00:59:43,200 --> 00:59:45,400
Phyllis helped take over
everything in my life
1084
00:59:45,480 --> 00:59:47,760
so I could just focus on my work.
1085
00:59:47,840 --> 00:59:49,440
She would join us on holiday
1086
00:59:49,520 --> 00:59:52,800
and help me nurse Spence back
to health when he got sick.
1087
00:59:53,720 --> 00:59:56,640
[gentle bright music]
1088
00:59:58,040 --> 01:00:01,120
[Bonnie]
Women have to constantly be an act.
1089
01:00:01,200 --> 01:00:05,640
And Katharine Hepburn decided,
"If I'm going to be an act,
1090
01:00:05,720 --> 01:00:09,320
I'm going to control what that act is."
1091
01:00:09,400 --> 01:00:11,360
When she got older in the '50s,
1092
01:00:11,440 --> 01:00:15,840
she made herself into the spinster
who's looking for love.
1093
01:00:17,080 --> 01:00:20,800
[Claudia] The film I have
the most trouble watching
1094
01:00:20,880 --> 01:00:23,880
is the very beautiful David Lean movie,
Summertime.
1095
01:00:23,960 --> 01:00:29,080
The idea of the character undercut her
at every single moment.
1096
01:00:29,160 --> 01:00:33,480
She is desperately alone and sad
because she has no man.
1097
01:00:33,560 --> 01:00:36,120
It's a lesson about
what will happen to you
1098
01:00:36,200 --> 01:00:39,560
if you don't get on the
marital boat early on.
1099
01:00:39,640 --> 01:00:42,720
And the next horrible nail
in the spinster coffin
1100
01:00:42,800 --> 01:00:44,600
is called Desk Set.
1101
01:00:44,680 --> 01:00:46,480
She's the head of a research foundation,
1102
01:00:46,560 --> 01:00:49,560
but she has a male boss
for whom she's been pining
1103
01:00:49,640 --> 01:00:53,320
for seven years, waiting for him
to propose marriage to her.
1104
01:00:53,400 --> 01:00:56,360
For the 500th time,
there's a glass wall behind you.
1105
01:00:56,440 --> 01:00:57,800
Bunny, who do you think you're kidding?
1106
01:00:57,880 --> 01:00:59,920
Everybody knows you haven't
got a brain in your head.
1107
01:01:00,000 --> 01:01:02,200
The only way you keep your job
is by being nice to me.
1108
01:01:02,280 --> 01:01:03,720
Well, a girl has to work.
1109
01:01:03,800 --> 01:01:06,480
Work? Oh, yes, work.
1110
01:01:06,560 --> 01:01:09,800
[Claudia] It's incredible to watch
Hepburn with all her vigor
1111
01:01:09,880 --> 01:01:13,600
and vitality and intelligence
fit this part of the story in.
1112
01:01:13,680 --> 01:01:15,960
She can do anything, but she
won't get the credit for it.
1113
01:01:16,040 --> 01:01:18,960
She won't get the money for it,
and she's still pining away for it.
1114
01:01:19,040 --> 01:01:21,920
There's a happy ending
where Spencer Tracy enters
1115
01:01:22,000 --> 01:01:25,360
and presumably better things
will happen for her now.
1116
01:01:25,440 --> 01:01:29,120
But again, those are the endings.
And what you walk away with is an image
1117
01:01:29,200 --> 01:01:32,400
of what's been going on
through the entire movie.
1118
01:01:32,480 --> 01:01:34,240
You're the only thing I care about.
1119
01:01:35,480 --> 01:01:36,920
[camera clicks]
1120
01:01:47,560 --> 01:01:52,000
[Katharine] In the space of a few years,
Spence and I lost many good friends.
1121
01:01:52,080 --> 01:01:55,600
David Selznick, Louis B. Mayer, Bogie.
1122
01:01:55,680 --> 01:02:00,360
It was a difficult time,
and each lost deeply affected Spencer.
1123
01:02:02,600 --> 01:02:04,720
[Bonnie] Spencer Tracy...
1124
01:02:04,800 --> 01:02:08,040
can't go on any longer.
He just can't do it.
1125
01:02:08,120 --> 01:02:11,640
The demons have got him
physically and mentally.
1126
01:02:11,720 --> 01:02:14,000
And she takes five
years out of her career,
1127
01:02:14,080 --> 01:02:17,960
which means everything
to her, to take care of him.
1128
01:02:21,080 --> 01:02:25,160
[Robin] After Spence became ill,
Kate and Spence finally moved in together
1129
01:02:25,240 --> 01:02:28,440
in a cottage on George Cukor's property.
1130
01:02:29,560 --> 01:02:32,120
He used to paint and they
would go to the beach
1131
01:02:32,200 --> 01:02:34,840
and they lived a very quiet life.
1132
01:02:34,920 --> 01:02:37,720
And when he was sick, she loved that.
1133
01:02:37,800 --> 01:02:43,200
She seemed to feel empowered
by him not being so strong, I guess.
1134
01:02:44,720 --> 01:02:48,760
[Katharine, on tape]
I was not able to solve his problems,
1135
01:02:48,840 --> 01:02:55,400
but I was able to help him by seeing
that he didn't fall down the stairs.
1136
01:02:55,480 --> 01:02:59,480
You know, or break his goddamn
neck or just be miserable.
1137
01:03:00,400 --> 01:03:02,480
So that was my pleasure.
1138
01:03:04,640 --> 01:03:07,200
[Kat] My father was filmmaker
Stanley Kramer,
1139
01:03:07,280 --> 01:03:09,560
who made Guess Who's Coming to Dinner.
1140
01:03:09,640 --> 01:03:13,320
My parents were part
of the Kate, Spence inner circle,
1141
01:03:13,400 --> 01:03:16,360
and she used to come over
after playing tennis and say,
1142
01:03:16,440 --> 01:03:19,600
"I wanna see my baby." [laughs]
1143
01:03:19,680 --> 01:03:22,920
Cat, my mom and Spence and my father,
1144
01:03:23,000 --> 01:03:25,920
they used to have dinner
and Spence and her were both
1145
01:03:26,000 --> 01:03:29,040
always very gossipy about
who was sleeping with who
1146
01:03:29,120 --> 01:03:32,400
or who was cheating on whom
or who was dating whom.
1147
01:03:32,480 --> 01:03:34,880
And this was kind of
their form of entertainment.
1148
01:03:34,960 --> 01:03:39,480
My mom helped cast
Katharine Houghton in the role of Joey.
1149
01:03:39,560 --> 01:03:43,600
She said to my father,
"Why don't you cast her actual niece?"
1150
01:03:43,680 --> 01:03:46,360
Dr. John Wade Prentice. This is my dad.
1151
01:03:46,440 --> 01:03:47,800
-Pleased to meet you.
-Oh, how are you?
1152
01:03:47,880 --> 01:03:50,440
Nice to know you, but, but what is it?
Is something wrong?
1153
01:03:50,520 --> 01:03:54,640
[Bonnie] This is a picture about
a fairly upper middle class,
1154
01:03:54,720 --> 01:03:58,960
left wing, white couple whose daughter
brings home a Black man.
1155
01:03:59,040 --> 01:04:01,400
You know, we would think
to ourselves now, you know,
1156
01:04:01,480 --> 01:04:04,240
"Anybody would let you marry
Sidney Poitier."
1157
01:04:04,320 --> 01:04:07,200
It didn't matter, you know,
what color or gender you were,
1158
01:04:07,280 --> 01:04:09,680
you'd marry Sidney Poitier,
so what was the deal?
1159
01:04:09,760 --> 01:04:13,520
But in those days, that was shocking,
1160
01:04:13,600 --> 01:04:15,640
because there were states
of the Union where,
1161
01:04:15,720 --> 01:04:19,240
for real, Katharine Houghton
and Sidney Poitier
1162
01:04:19,320 --> 01:04:21,800
could not get married legally.
1163
01:04:21,880 --> 01:04:24,640
Two weeks ago, I would've said
such a thing was inconceivable.
1164
01:04:25,360 --> 01:04:28,480
[Bonnie] Spencer Tracy,
he doesn't stand up, if you notice,
1165
01:04:28,560 --> 01:04:30,560
in that movie very much, 'cause he can't.
1166
01:04:30,640 --> 01:04:34,000
His heart is giving way.
She was very tense.
1167
01:04:34,080 --> 01:04:38,560
And she knows based on his politics
and the way he's lived his life,
1168
01:04:38,640 --> 01:04:40,440
this is the way he wants to go out,
1169
01:04:40,520 --> 01:04:43,760
to make this statement
that we're all equal.
1170
01:04:43,840 --> 01:04:47,360
Where John made his mistake,
I think, was attaching
1171
01:04:47,440 --> 01:04:50,440
so much importance
to what her mother and I might think.
1172
01:04:51,160 --> 01:04:54,960
Because in the final analysis,
it doesn't matter a damn what we think.
1173
01:04:55,680 --> 01:04:58,840
The only thing that matters
is what they feel
1174
01:04:58,920 --> 01:05:03,120
and how much they feel for each other.
1175
01:05:07,440 --> 01:05:11,600
And if it's half of what we felt...
1176
01:05:15,280 --> 01:05:16,800
that's everything.
1177
01:05:18,120 --> 01:05:20,480
[gentle solemn music]
1178
01:05:25,320 --> 01:05:28,080
[water dripping]
1179
01:05:31,000 --> 01:05:33,000
[Katharine]
The day after I wrapped my shots,
1180
01:05:33,080 --> 01:05:36,600
in the middle of the night,
I heard Spence shuffling down the hall.
1181
01:05:38,160 --> 01:05:42,280
I got up to help him,
and I heard a cup smash.
1182
01:05:42,360 --> 01:05:45,040
Then the sound of his body
hitting the floor.
1183
01:05:48,080 --> 01:05:51,120
Spence was dead. Heart attack.
1184
01:05:52,560 --> 01:05:54,000
Peace at last.
1185
01:05:56,120 --> 01:05:59,880
The first person I called was Phyllis,
who came straight over.
1186
01:06:00,440 --> 01:06:02,720
We took all my stuff to the car.
1187
01:06:02,800 --> 01:06:06,960
Then I thought, "Good God, Kath,
what the hell are you doing?
1188
01:06:07,040 --> 01:06:08,720
No more sneaking around.
1189
01:06:08,800 --> 01:06:12,560
You can't deny your life
of nearly 30 years together."
1190
01:06:12,640 --> 01:06:16,680
So I carried everything back to the house
and put it back the way it had been.
1191
01:06:17,480 --> 01:06:21,880
Then I called Spencer's wife
and she arrived soon after
1192
01:06:21,960 --> 01:06:24,240
with their children, Susie and John.
1193
01:06:28,040 --> 01:06:32,240
[Bonnie] All of Hollywood goes
to his funeral and she doesn't go.
1194
01:06:32,320 --> 01:06:35,600
And she gives the funeral
to his wife and his family.
1195
01:06:35,680 --> 01:06:40,400
It's massive, because everybody knew
what they were to each other.
1196
01:06:40,480 --> 01:06:43,760
She's devastated and she can't grieve.
1197
01:06:43,840 --> 01:06:45,920
She can't show anybody the grief.
1198
01:06:55,880 --> 01:06:57,920
[Katharine] After the press died down,
1199
01:06:58,000 --> 01:07:02,400
I reached out to Louise and
said, "Why not be friends?"
1200
01:07:02,480 --> 01:07:06,960
But she said, "You see,
I thought you were nothing but a rumor."
1201
01:07:07,720 --> 01:07:11,200
A rumor for 30 years?
1202
01:07:11,800 --> 01:07:13,680
I couldn't believe it.
1203
01:07:23,480 --> 01:07:25,320
These are her pictures with him.
1204
01:07:29,280 --> 01:07:31,040
Spencer's funeral.
1205
01:07:32,640 --> 01:07:35,560
Joe was 12 when his grandpa
passed away, you know.
1206
01:07:37,520 --> 01:07:40,960
[Joe] I think he worked hard and he became
one of the best in the world.
1207
01:07:41,040 --> 01:07:43,640
And what's great is
he didn't even love it.
1208
01:07:43,720 --> 01:07:47,080
He didn't go out and try the publicity
and all the little angles.
1209
01:07:47,160 --> 01:07:50,360
He stayed behind the scenes.
He didn't fight for the big contract.
1210
01:07:50,440 --> 01:07:52,480
He took the salary, you know?
1211
01:07:52,560 --> 01:07:55,760
After he passed, actors still study him
1212
01:07:55,840 --> 01:07:58,280
and respect him for his work.
1213
01:07:59,680 --> 01:08:04,200
[Sean] As talented as he was, he suffered
a lot more than he had to.
1214
01:08:05,120 --> 01:08:07,240
In his own life, I feel
like he didn't know
1215
01:08:07,320 --> 01:08:09,680
how to be himself as easily as he knew
1216
01:08:09,760 --> 01:08:12,120
how to be all of the other
characters he played.
1217
01:08:12,200 --> 01:08:14,880
And that was almost
the relief of the guilt
1218
01:08:14,960 --> 01:08:19,120
of living this double life,
of really being with Katharine,
1219
01:08:19,200 --> 01:08:21,960
but also having the mother
to your children and John.
1220
01:08:22,040 --> 01:08:25,560
And he was, like, split in two,
1221
01:08:25,640 --> 01:08:27,160
and there's no resolution.
1222
01:08:27,240 --> 01:08:30,120
But if we're trying to learn lessons now,
1223
01:08:30,200 --> 01:08:32,920
I feel like the lesson is
figure out what you really want
1224
01:08:33,000 --> 01:08:34,120
and just be honest.
1225
01:08:34,200 --> 01:08:37,319
Communicate, live in integrity and truth.
1226
01:08:37,399 --> 01:08:40,000
Don't be crushed by guilt.
1227
01:08:52,800 --> 01:08:54,600
[woman] "My darling, Brimsl,
1228
01:08:54,680 --> 01:08:57,640
words can only skim the surface.
1229
01:08:57,720 --> 01:09:00,640
The whole world must seem
so odd and so strange.
1230
01:09:01,680 --> 01:09:04,279
No one could have loved
as much or half as much
1231
01:09:04,359 --> 01:09:06,240
as you and Spence.
1232
01:09:06,319 --> 01:09:10,040
God bless you. I love you so. Laura."
1233
01:09:12,640 --> 01:09:15,080
[Bonnie] After his death,
she keeps working.
1234
01:09:15,160 --> 01:09:17,200
She's working with Olivier,
she's doing all that.
1235
01:09:17,279 --> 01:09:20,800
She's working with Cukor again,
and then The Lion in Winter,
1236
01:09:20,880 --> 01:09:23,800
the great movie she makes
with Peter O'Toole, Anthony Hopkins.
1237
01:09:23,880 --> 01:09:25,720
She never had any children,
1238
01:09:25,800 --> 01:09:29,520
but she knew what a mother
was and she shows it.
1239
01:09:30,880 --> 01:09:33,240
[Anthony Hopkins] It was the first film
I'd ever been involved in.
1240
01:09:33,319 --> 01:09:37,040
And the first day on set with her,
I did everything wrong.
1241
01:09:37,120 --> 01:09:39,680
And she asked me if I was
frightened of the camera
1242
01:09:39,760 --> 01:09:42,000
or if I liked the camera.
I said, "Well, yes, I suppose so."
1243
01:09:42,080 --> 01:09:45,120
She said, "Why'd you play the whole scene
with the back of your head to it?"
1244
01:09:45,200 --> 01:09:46,800
And then she proceeded to help me.
1245
01:09:46,880 --> 01:09:50,200
No, she was wonderful,
very demanding of herself.
1246
01:09:50,279 --> 01:09:54,480
She would turn up at 6:30 in the morning,
speak off camera lines for us, you know.
1247
01:09:54,560 --> 01:09:56,080
Many actors don't do that.
1248
01:09:57,240 --> 01:09:59,360
[Anthony Harvey] She won an Oscar.
I accepted it for her.
1249
01:09:59,440 --> 01:10:00,680
And I called her up in New York.
1250
01:10:00,760 --> 01:10:03,800
I said, "You've won the Oscar."
"Oh, for God's sake," she said.
1251
01:10:03,880 --> 01:10:07,000
"Put it in a bag somewhere,"
and that's what she thought of it.
1252
01:10:07,920 --> 01:10:09,680
[interviewer] Have you ever
picked up an Oscar in person?
1253
01:10:09,760 --> 01:10:13,080
[Katharine] No. No. Too gutless.
-[interviewer] You don't score an award--
1254
01:10:13,160 --> 01:10:14,440
[Katharine]
No, I'm afraid I wouldn't win it.
1255
01:10:14,520 --> 01:10:16,400
It must be that. [crowd laughs]
1256
01:10:16,480 --> 01:10:20,560
My father said about his children,
when they go to a party,
1257
01:10:20,640 --> 01:10:24,040
they're afraid they're going to be
neither the bride nor the corpse.
1258
01:10:24,120 --> 01:10:25,520
[gentle wistful music]
1259
01:10:29,840 --> 01:10:33,280
For a long time I was too
egotistical, I suppose,
1260
01:10:33,360 --> 01:10:35,760
and too frightened to accept the fact
1261
01:10:35,840 --> 01:10:38,240
that the audience after all these years,
1262
01:10:38,320 --> 01:10:43,320
had given me their friendship.
Not until "Coco" did I really understand.
1263
01:10:43,400 --> 01:10:46,720
I thought they were my natural enemy
and waiting for me to fall down
1264
01:10:46,800 --> 01:10:49,600
or break my neck or be a flop.
1265
01:10:49,680 --> 01:10:53,160
And I think that's what we all think.
Don't let 'em trip you up.
1266
01:10:53,240 --> 01:10:56,200
You know? Get there, do it.
I don't think that's true.
1267
01:10:56,280 --> 01:10:59,440
It certainly hasn't been true with me
from the time of that little girl.
1268
01:10:59,520 --> 01:11:01,880
-[Dick Cavett] They meant well.
-[Katharine] They tried to help me.
1269
01:11:01,960 --> 01:11:03,280
They've tried to help me.
1270
01:11:11,280 --> 01:11:13,120
[Robin] Everyone knows her
for On Golden Pond,
1271
01:11:13,200 --> 01:11:15,960
the film for which she won
her fourth Academy Award.
1272
01:11:17,080 --> 01:11:19,880
It was a real partnership
to produce that film
1273
01:11:19,960 --> 01:11:23,040
with Jane Fonda,
and Jane Fonda used it as a vehicle
1274
01:11:23,120 --> 01:11:25,000
to get closer to her father.
1275
01:11:25,080 --> 01:11:27,840
-Oh, look at you.
-Happy birthday.
1276
01:11:27,920 --> 01:11:30,800
Look at this little fat girl now.
1277
01:11:31,280 --> 01:11:35,160
Oh, no, honey. You're as thin as a rail.
1278
01:11:35,240 --> 01:11:37,640
[Jane Fonda] Ms. Hepburn
didn't like me very much.
1279
01:11:37,720 --> 01:11:41,000
-She was so competitive.
-I'm so glad you're home.
1280
01:11:41,080 --> 01:11:44,520
[Jane Fonda] I was younger
and I was more of a box office star
1281
01:11:44,600 --> 01:11:47,760
at that particular point in time,
and he was always making sure
1282
01:11:47,840 --> 01:11:49,960
that I was being put in my place.
1283
01:11:50,040 --> 01:11:51,840
There's also though, this part of her,
1284
01:11:51,920 --> 01:11:57,160
she wanted me to have stories
that I could tell about her
1285
01:11:57,240 --> 01:12:00,160
after she died, and she made sure I did.
1286
01:12:01,080 --> 01:12:04,120
I was producing the movie for my father.
1287
01:12:04,200 --> 01:12:07,160
You know, I'd mentioned earlier my dad
made tremendous fun of me.
1288
01:12:07,240 --> 01:12:08,240
I just felt awful.
1289
01:12:08,920 --> 01:12:10,200
But I was sitting on the couch,
1290
01:12:10,280 --> 01:12:12,600
and suddenly I felt these
arms going around me.
1291
01:12:12,680 --> 01:12:14,280
It was Kate.
1292
01:12:14,360 --> 01:12:18,760
She sat down next to me and she said,
"Don't let him get to you."
1293
01:12:19,880 --> 01:12:22,440
She says, "I know just how you feel."
1294
01:12:22,520 --> 01:12:25,000
She said, "Spencer used
to do that to me all the time.
1295
01:12:25,080 --> 01:12:28,200
They have no idea."
She said, "They don't know
1296
01:12:28,280 --> 01:12:30,800
how much those words can hurt you.
1297
01:12:32,240 --> 01:12:33,680
Don't let it hurt you."
1298
01:12:34,640 --> 01:12:38,160
And the fact that she
had witnessed my pain
1299
01:12:38,880 --> 01:12:43,000
and was acknowledging it,
meant the world to me.
1300
01:12:55,640 --> 01:13:00,000
[Mundy] When I was quite young,
Kate moved in over at Fenwick.
1301
01:13:01,560 --> 01:13:04,000
She kicked us out for, like, six weeks,
1302
01:13:04,080 --> 01:13:08,160
then she threw out all the old,
crappy furniture and stuff,
1303
01:13:08,240 --> 01:13:11,520
and she brought stuff
from California and New York,
1304
01:13:11,600 --> 01:13:15,280
and she would just collect whatever odds
and ends there were
1305
01:13:16,080 --> 01:13:17,640
and arranged them.
1306
01:13:18,320 --> 01:13:23,160
Now this lamp would give you
a terrible shock if you had bare feet
1307
01:13:23,240 --> 01:13:26,920
and you touched the leading on the edge.
It was really fun.
1308
01:13:27,000 --> 01:13:28,440
[chuckling]
1309
01:13:29,480 --> 01:13:32,960
Ah, this is the shot
that I was looking for.
1310
01:13:33,040 --> 01:13:35,640
"Dick reports the windchill
is 20 below zero.
1311
01:13:35,720 --> 01:13:37,880
She's been making these
swims since she was five."
1312
01:13:37,960 --> 01:13:39,680
Absolute bullshit.
1313
01:13:39,760 --> 01:13:41,720
She would do it occasionally.
1314
01:13:43,240 --> 01:13:46,640
Kate was always an intense person
1315
01:13:46,720 --> 01:13:53,120
in that old style Victorian way of,
you get enough sleep, you exercise.
1316
01:13:53,200 --> 01:13:55,200
You don't want to? Do it anyway.
1317
01:13:56,160 --> 01:13:57,960
As my father would say,
1318
01:13:58,040 --> 01:14:01,640
"Take care of the body
and it will take care of you."
1319
01:14:02,400 --> 01:14:04,480
[Glenn, on tape] You say you
can still stand on your head.
1320
01:14:04,560 --> 01:14:06,680
[Katharine, on tape]
Yeah. I tried it the other day.
1321
01:14:06,760 --> 01:14:09,200
I thought, "Can you still
stand on your head?" And I can.
1322
01:14:09,280 --> 01:14:10,480
-[Glenn] Can you?
-[Katharine] Yes, I can.
1323
01:14:10,560 --> 01:14:12,560
[Glenn]
I mean, what's it good for?
1324
01:14:12,640 --> 01:14:15,840
[Katharine] One's self respect. [chuckles]
1325
01:14:18,240 --> 01:14:22,000
[Toyah] I met Katharine Hepburn
just before I turned 20.
1326
01:14:22,720 --> 01:14:26,200
She was producing this
movie with George Cukor,
1327
01:14:26,280 --> 01:14:28,720
The Corn is Green, by Emlyn Williams.
1328
01:14:28,800 --> 01:14:32,840
We were filming all the internal shots,
and one day I caught a taxi,
1329
01:14:32,920 --> 01:14:36,240
just absolutely panicking
that I was gonna be late.
1330
01:14:36,320 --> 01:14:38,880
And I passed her on a bicycle,
1331
01:14:38,960 --> 01:14:42,400
and she was cycling
into the studio through the traffic
1332
01:14:42,480 --> 01:14:44,440
in trousers, in a blouse.
1333
01:14:44,520 --> 01:14:47,840
It was summer and there she was cycling.
1334
01:14:49,160 --> 01:14:52,160
One day I walked into her
dressing room and she said,
1335
01:14:52,240 --> 01:14:55,920
"Toyah, come and smell this jumper."
1336
01:14:56,000 --> 01:14:59,800
So I walked up and I sniffed it
and it just smelled like a teddy bear.
1337
01:14:59,880 --> 01:15:01,440
It's just really lovely.
1338
01:15:01,520 --> 01:15:05,000
"Spencer Tracy. I can still smell him."
1339
01:15:05,920 --> 01:15:11,200
And it was just profoundly
moving and incredibly,
1340
01:15:11,280 --> 01:15:16,280
spiritually awakening for me
that he had been dead all this time,
1341
01:15:16,840 --> 01:15:19,520
and she was still wearing his jumpers,
1342
01:15:19,600 --> 01:15:25,880
would not wash them, and she smelt them
to keep him there with her.
1343
01:15:26,200 --> 01:15:31,280
And I just didn't question it.
She still was in love with him.
1344
01:15:32,360 --> 01:15:34,440
[Glenn]
What would you like to do next?
1345
01:15:34,520 --> 01:15:36,080
[Katharine, on tape] I don't know.
1346
01:15:36,160 --> 01:15:39,200
-[Glenn] They send you things.
-[Katharine] Well, a lot of lousy things.
1347
01:15:39,280 --> 01:15:43,080
And I've been lucky enough
to do what interested me.
1348
01:15:43,160 --> 01:15:44,400
[Glenn] You don't
have to do anything.
1349
01:15:44,480 --> 01:15:47,120
[Katharine] Well, the ultimate solution
was "Grace Quigley."
1350
01:15:47,200 --> 01:15:48,640
[Glenn, on tape]
That was a flop, wasn't it?
1351
01:15:48,720 --> 01:15:50,280
[Katharine] I thought
that was very interesting.
1352
01:15:50,360 --> 01:15:53,520
People couldn't stand it. They hated it.
1353
01:15:53,600 --> 01:15:54,680
[Glenn] Was it the death angle?
1354
01:15:54,760 --> 01:15:58,200
[Katharine] I think people
are very sentimental about life and death.
1355
01:15:58,280 --> 01:16:01,600
See, I look forward to life.
I look forward to death.
1356
01:16:02,160 --> 01:16:06,040
-So I've got 'em fooled.
-[laughter]
1357
01:16:06,640 --> 01:16:09,000
-[Glenn] You're not--
-[Katharine] You should go.
1358
01:16:09,080 --> 01:16:11,720
-[Glenn] I'm going in a sec.
-[Katharine] Yes, you should go now.
1359
01:16:11,800 --> 01:16:13,520
-[Glenn] I'm going.
-[Katharine] Yes. [laughs]
1360
01:16:13,600 --> 01:16:15,160
-[Glenn] Thank you.
-[Katharine laughs]
1361
01:16:15,240 --> 01:16:16,960
Is it still turning?
1362
01:16:17,040 --> 01:16:18,960
[tape machine clattering]
1363
01:16:19,040 --> 01:16:21,360
I'm supposed to send my--
1364
01:16:23,360 --> 01:16:26,000
[gentle wistful music]
1365
01:16:45,040 --> 01:16:47,120
[Mundy] You know,
as the decades passed,
1366
01:16:47,200 --> 01:16:50,000
she got jobs here and there
and she'd go back and forth
1367
01:16:50,080 --> 01:16:54,480
to New York a lot in Luddy's old house,
244 East 49th Street.
1368
01:16:55,520 --> 01:16:58,440
Whoever wasn't doing well,
she would go and visit.
1369
01:16:58,520 --> 01:16:59,840
So that would be
1370
01:16:59,920 --> 01:17:02,040
[imitating Katharine] "Laura Harding"
as she would call her.
1371
01:17:02,120 --> 01:17:04,120
And Luddy.
1372
01:17:05,280 --> 01:17:09,080
"If you're feeling sad,
do something for someone else
1373
01:17:09,160 --> 01:17:11,680
and that will help both of you."
1374
01:17:13,720 --> 01:17:17,120
After she retired,
I think it frustrated her
1375
01:17:17,200 --> 01:17:19,160
to not be able to work.
1376
01:17:19,240 --> 01:17:23,400
Fame is a very addictive drug,
very addictive.
1377
01:17:23,480 --> 01:17:24,920
[bell dinging]
1378
01:17:25,000 --> 01:17:27,720
That's the Cornfield Point
buoy over there, dinging.
1379
01:17:30,560 --> 01:17:34,720
She stayed at Fenwick.
She had Phyllis and my father.
1380
01:17:34,800 --> 01:17:36,840
He was a strange guy.
1381
01:17:36,920 --> 01:17:39,320
He stayed home and wrote his plays,
1382
01:17:39,400 --> 01:17:43,480
and she had another helper
called Howard Hildebrand,
1383
01:17:43,880 --> 01:17:46,160
and they grew old as companions together.
1384
01:17:46,240 --> 01:17:49,360
But Phyllis was so polite
and so deferential,
1385
01:17:49,440 --> 01:17:53,080
and I will never forget, Kate is ancient.
1386
01:17:53,160 --> 01:17:58,600
Phyllis is ancient plus four,
and Hilly is slowly dying of aids.
1387
01:17:58,680 --> 01:18:02,080
So he's kind of tottering
around in his mid-50s or so.
1388
01:18:02,880 --> 01:18:06,280
Kate, "Phyllis, go get me another drink."
1389
01:18:06,920 --> 01:18:11,320
And Hilly gets up and Kate
says, "No, Hilly, sit.
1390
01:18:11,400 --> 01:18:13,440
Phyllis, go get me another drink."
1391
01:18:13,520 --> 01:18:18,880
"Oh, I don't... I, I suppose."
And she can barely walk.
1392
01:18:18,960 --> 01:18:23,120
And finally Kate said,
"Phyllis." [grumbles]
1393
01:18:23,200 --> 01:18:26,480
And I remember standing
in the kitchen and hearing,
1394
01:18:26,560 --> 01:18:30,560
[in a British accent]
"I won't, I won't."
1395
01:18:30,640 --> 01:18:35,160
And I walked in there
and I was like, "Yeah, Phil.
1396
01:18:35,240 --> 01:18:36,960
Don't take any crap from her."
1397
01:18:37,040 --> 01:18:39,480
And Kate was horrified,
1398
01:18:39,560 --> 01:18:42,680
because that was a complete change
1399
01:18:42,760 --> 01:18:46,440
of the entire course
of her life up to that moment
1400
01:18:46,520 --> 01:18:49,440
when Ms. Wilburn said, "I won't."
1401
01:18:50,320 --> 01:18:52,480
I love... I say it still.
1402
01:18:52,560 --> 01:18:55,040
I won't. [chuckles]
1403
01:18:55,120 --> 01:18:59,080
[gentle ethereal music]
1404
01:19:14,000 --> 01:19:15,840
[Katharine Houghton]
A lot of people ask me,
1405
01:19:15,920 --> 01:19:18,880
"Does she have Parkinson's?
Does she have Alzheimer's?"
1406
01:19:18,960 --> 01:19:20,280
You know, all that sort of thing.
1407
01:19:20,360 --> 01:19:24,360
She doesn't. The shaking
is a familial tremor.
1408
01:19:24,440 --> 01:19:27,120
In fact, I would say if anything,
her shaking is better
1409
01:19:27,200 --> 01:19:29,840
now that she's leading
a very relaxed life.
1410
01:19:29,920 --> 01:19:36,040
And as many people in their mid-90s,
there's a certain degree of old age,
1411
01:19:36,120 --> 01:19:39,480
but she's very much who she is.
[laughs]
1412
01:19:39,560 --> 01:19:42,800
Is she still fun to be around?
1413
01:19:45,160 --> 01:19:46,880
It depends on her mood.
1414
01:19:48,360 --> 01:19:51,680
[gentle serene music]
1415
01:19:56,080 --> 01:19:59,120
[Katharine]
I rather enjoy my quiet life now.
1416
01:19:59,200 --> 01:20:01,920
I swim, I garden.
1417
01:20:02,000 --> 01:20:03,360
I still like to paint.
1418
01:20:04,320 --> 01:20:06,760
Me and Phyllis even wrote a play together.
1419
01:20:07,920 --> 01:20:09,720
I keep myself busy.
1420
01:20:10,920 --> 01:20:13,680
[waves lapping]
1421
01:20:16,120 --> 01:20:18,200
[gentle wistful music]
1422
01:20:18,280 --> 01:20:19,960
[woman] Thank you, Kate.
1423
01:20:20,040 --> 01:20:22,920
[crowd applauding]
1424
01:20:30,400 --> 01:20:33,320
[Katharine] I think the reason people have
an affection for me now
1425
01:20:33,400 --> 01:20:35,240
is that in a kind of a way,
1426
01:20:35,320 --> 01:20:38,600
I must have lived
a life that a lot of women
1427
01:20:38,680 --> 01:20:40,840
think would be a nice life to have lived.
1428
01:20:41,560 --> 01:20:44,240
They think it's dignified,
but they think it's free.
1429
01:20:44,320 --> 01:20:46,600
They think I've done what I wanted to.
1430
01:20:46,680 --> 01:20:50,520
They don't bother to think that they
may have five children that I haven't.
1431
01:20:51,080 --> 01:20:53,640
Do you have a lot of fear though?
Does it scare you to stop doing movies?
1432
01:20:53,720 --> 01:20:57,520
Yes, I think it terrifies anybody
who's intelligent to do anything.
1433
01:20:57,600 --> 01:21:00,680
I'm a good cover upper.
[laughs]
1434
01:21:02,920 --> 01:21:05,680
[Claudia] Maybe the great
lesson of a 60 year career
1435
01:21:05,760 --> 01:21:09,400
when everyone loves you
one year and hates you the next,
1436
01:21:09,480 --> 01:21:11,160
is that you keep on going.
1437
01:21:11,240 --> 01:21:14,320
You compromise when
you absolutely have to.
1438
01:21:14,400 --> 01:21:17,320
But even then, you push as hard as you can
1439
01:21:17,400 --> 01:21:19,520
for the best material you can,
1440
01:21:19,600 --> 01:21:21,320
and you never quit.
1441
01:21:21,400 --> 01:21:24,600
You make some stinkers, you make mistakes,
1442
01:21:24,680 --> 01:21:27,000
but you keep on going.
1443
01:21:27,080 --> 01:21:30,800
When you find something good,
something you really believe in,
1444
01:21:30,880 --> 01:21:34,480
you put your heart and your soul
and your money into it.
1445
01:21:34,560 --> 01:21:35,880
From Philadelphia Story
1446
01:21:35,960 --> 01:21:38,520
to Guess who's Coming to Dinner
decades later.
1447
01:21:38,600 --> 01:21:40,880
Romeo, Romeo.
1448
01:21:40,960 --> 01:21:44,040
[Claudia] When you win an Academy Award
when you're in your 20s,
1449
01:21:44,120 --> 01:21:46,600
and then not another one for decades,
1450
01:21:46,680 --> 01:21:50,120
you don't show discouragement,
and you win three more
1451
01:21:50,200 --> 01:21:52,760
when you're in your 60s and 70s.
1452
01:21:52,840 --> 01:21:55,600
The years when it's supposed
to be all over for actresses,
1453
01:21:55,680 --> 01:21:57,760
but not for you.
1454
01:21:58,720 --> 01:22:00,840
You do work you're proud of.
1455
01:22:00,920 --> 01:22:04,160
Whether it's for 350 a week
at the Shakespeare Festival
1456
01:22:04,240 --> 01:22:07,400
in Connecticut
or for millions in Hollywood.
1457
01:22:07,480 --> 01:22:11,960
You hold up your standards as best you can
in an ensemble system.
1458
01:22:12,360 --> 01:22:14,800
You buy the whole system
when you can afford it,
1459
01:22:14,880 --> 01:22:17,240
and you keep on going.
1460
01:22:17,320 --> 01:22:21,480
It is such a simple lesson.
It's amazing there were not more like her
1461
01:22:21,560 --> 01:22:25,040
with her longevity,
her multiple lives on film,
1462
01:22:25,120 --> 01:22:27,400
her emphatic character.
1463
01:22:28,400 --> 01:22:30,880
But there was only one Katharine Hepburn.
1464
01:22:32,760 --> 01:22:35,840
[Mundy]
Her thing is, come on, get up, do it,
1465
01:22:35,920 --> 01:22:39,800
be, try, make something of yourself, live.
1466
01:22:39,880 --> 01:22:42,880
[gentle wistful music]
1467
01:22:48,320 --> 01:22:49,600
So...
1468
01:22:51,120 --> 01:22:53,240
"Life, life."
That's what Kate used to say.
1469
01:22:53,320 --> 01:22:55,640
"Ah, life, life."
1470
01:22:57,920 --> 01:23:02,680
In other words, you got now. Cherish it.
1471
01:23:04,920 --> 01:23:06,040
Cherish it.
1472
01:23:08,080 --> 01:23:12,440
[Katharine] I told you,
life goes by like...
1473
01:23:12,520 --> 01:23:15,760
-[fingers snap]
-[gentle wistful music]
1474
01:23:29,080 --> 01:23:31,560
[Robin] As a young girl
growing up in Los Angeles,
1475
01:23:31,640 --> 01:23:36,640
these Hollywood starlets really came to me
at a young age when I was just so enamored
1476
01:23:36,720 --> 01:23:40,840
by not only their beauty,
but this magic about their essence.
1477
01:23:40,920 --> 01:23:42,800
But the reality is a lot of these people
1478
01:23:42,880 --> 01:23:45,880
were very, very mistreated
and died very young.
1479
01:23:45,960 --> 01:23:49,120
And so I found myself
being so inspired by Katharine.
1480
01:23:49,200 --> 01:23:52,720
She's such a powerful icon for women
1481
01:23:52,800 --> 01:23:54,960
surviving in the entertainment industry.
1482
01:23:57,120 --> 01:23:59,800
[Glenn] I remember once I asked her,
"What's the secret to happiness?"
1483
01:23:59,880 --> 01:24:01,120
And she said to me,
1484
01:24:01,200 --> 01:24:04,200
"You're always going
to be lonely and depressed
1485
01:24:04,280 --> 01:24:07,280
if you think about how you look,
where you're going,
1486
01:24:07,360 --> 01:24:09,040
how you're feeling.
1487
01:24:09,120 --> 01:24:11,960
That's because the self is a dead end.
1488
01:24:12,040 --> 01:24:15,760
If you concentrate on that,"
she said, "God help you."
1489
01:24:17,040 --> 01:24:19,320
[Mundy] There they are. All the kids.
1490
01:24:19,400 --> 01:24:22,520
Kate, Dick, Bob, Marion, Peg.
1491
01:24:22,600 --> 01:24:25,000
Tom too. Everybody's there.
1492
01:24:26,240 --> 01:24:28,320
The most interesting thing I think
1493
01:24:28,400 --> 01:24:32,880
is that she made her own being
her own work of art.
1494
01:24:32,960 --> 01:24:37,200
She created a screen persona
performed for you.
1495
01:24:37,280 --> 01:24:42,600
And here we are decades later going,
"Wow, Katharine Hepburn. She was cool."
1496
01:24:42,680 --> 01:24:45,480
[Toyah] We're floating on a rock
in the middle of nowhere,
1497
01:24:45,560 --> 01:24:47,800
in a universe we know nothing about.
1498
01:24:47,880 --> 01:24:53,640
Every single individual on this planet
is not only just a miracle,
1499
01:24:53,720 --> 01:24:56,280
but you are exactly that.
1500
01:24:56,360 --> 01:24:58,880
You are an individual.
1501
01:24:58,960 --> 01:25:01,320
Live that individual life.
1502
01:25:02,200 --> 01:25:05,600
[gentle wistful music]
1503
01:25:36,760 --> 01:25:40,800
[gentle wistful music continues]
120392
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