Product Description

In 1983, Katharine Hepburn met Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer A. Scott Berg. Over the next twenty years he became her confidant, recording for posterity her thoughts and feelings on a remarkable life and career. Here are the candid and surprising stories from those intimate conversations.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #120116 in Books
• Published on: 2004-09-07
• Released on: 2004-09-07
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 384 pages

Amazon.com Review
Published a mere 13 days after the death of Katharine Hepburn, Kate Remembered is best appreciated as a valentine of devoted friendship. It's a moving study of mutual trust and admiration between Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer A. Scott Berg and legendary Hollywood icon Hepburn, who'd established an instant rapport in 1983, beginning a 20-year conversation that blossomed into this enchanting "biographical memoir." As a casual but authoritative survey of Hepburn's career, Berg's book offers little new information to anyone who's read previous Hepburn biographies or Me: Stories of My Life, Hepburn's bestselling 1991 memoir. But the duality of Berg's title reinforces his purpose: "More than my remembrances," writes Berg in his author's note, "this book intends to convey hers." As such, Kate Remembered offers a rare, unvarnished portrait of one of the 20th century's most influential women, achieving a personal intimacy while making the reader feel welcomed in Hepburn's private world of privilege.

Although Berg (the acclaimed biographer of legendary editor Max Perkins, producer/mogul Samuel Goldwyn, and aviator Charles Lindbergh) had written all but the final paragraphs by 2001, Hepburn insisted this book remain unpublished until after her death, which came, in quiet dignity at age 96, on June 29, 2003. Given the book's pre-publication secrecy, it's hardly tabloid-worthy, serving instead to correct or clarify details from Hepburn's glory days--especially her long-term affair with Spencer Tracy--while offering choice bits of Hollywood gossip, Hepburn's frequently scathing assessments of other actors, and amusing encounters with such luminaries as Michael Jackson and Warren Beatty (both of whom appear as mock suitors with selfish motivations). It's a brisk read but a substantial one, richly emotional and as dignified as Hepburn herself, whose faults and foibles make her even more appealing than her beloved public persona. --Jeff Shannon

From Publishers Weekly
Even those who've read many Hepburn biographies will find Berg's immersion in the actor's world engrossing, full of crisply-voiced takes on old Hollywood and intimate looks at her everyday life. As a longtime friend and ardent fan, Berg (Lindbergh; Max Perkins; etc.) does not attempt an objective biography; instead, he aims to convey Hepburn's thoughts and memories. Framed by Berg and Hepburn's 20-year friendship, the book charts the inescapable subjects of Hepburn's life, such as her romance with Spencer Tracy and her assessment of her own performances. She considered Tracy the greatest American screen actor and her last years with him (in the 1960s) the happiest of her life. Among her movies, she spoke warmly of her films with George Cukor. As to Hepburn's sexual orientation, Berg notes that in the 1930s she lived with actress Laura Harding and decades later was rumored to have exceptionally close relations with a woman, but Hepburn reported nothing. Most interesting is Berg's depiction of Hepburn's early acting days: how she moved from Broadway to Hollywood, negotiated an outsized salary, and, after becoming box-office poison, fought her way back with The Philadelphia Story. Throughout those years, she was befriended personally and professionally by her husband Ludlow Ogden Smith and by industrialist Howard Hughes. Berg is true to his subject and lets her voice come through in every quote, whether she's pooh-poohing him for thinking the 50-ish-degree water near her Connecticut house is cold ("Only for the first few seconds. And then you're numb") or explaining why she never tried to marry Spencer Tracy: "I never wanted to marry Spencer Tracy." Photos.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From AudioFile
Through recollections of his 20-year friendship with Katharine Hepburn, Berg tells the great actress's life story. Narrator Tony Goldwyn's vocal characterization of Hepburn is uncanny. He also portrays a respectable Michael Jackson, an unlikely Hepburn dinner guest, but largely he reads in his own clear, steady tone, which carries the story well. Although Hepburn requested that Berg publish his warm tribute after her death, few secrets are revealed. Her relationships with several men are examined, but little light is shed upon the mysterious years spent caring for an ailing Spencer Tracy. It's clear, however, that Tracy and the silver screen held the top spots in Hepburn's heart. J.J.B. © AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Customer Reviews

Disappointed
I wanted to like this book because it was supposed to be the personal rememberances of a close friend of the great Katharine Hepburn in her final days.

But this memoir disturbed me. Scott Berg mentioned briefly that he felt like the guy taking care of Norma Desmond and that's when it clicked. In these memoirs, Berg was recreating Sunset Boulevard and the sad, lonely, delusional decline of a fading film star who desperately misses her public in his retelling of the final years of Katharine Hepburn.

The way he described he took care of her made him look more important and big and it made Katharine Hepburn look more insignficant and small. She really looked like a sad, faded, deluded film star who misses her public by the end of the book and this wasn't a pleasant image. I'm not even sure whether it was an accurate one. Kate seemed to have more independence even in her final days.

He does seem to emphasize how he defends his 'Miss Hepburn' mostly against the editors of Esquire and then the smarmy Warren Beatty who wanted to use her for one of his films but to be honest, almost everyone in the book other than himself and Katharine Hepburn come out looking a little sleazy and that doesn't make for pleasant reading. (It also makes you question his accuracy.)

The result of the Norma Desmond comparisons and the lack of any really sympathetic character other than the author and Katharine Hepburn herself made for a slightly sleazy aftertaste and ultimately a supremely disappointing read.

Kate Remembered
Wonderful insights into the life of this fascinating woman! Highly recommended for anyone who is interested in the "Golden Age" of Hollywood.

Mixed feelings
I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this book.

As several people have already stated, the book is often more about Berg and his reaction to Hepburn, rather than a biography of Hepburn herself. It is often very touching and humorous in certain places, and is well-written enough to sustain interest.

However -- something just didn't feel right about the book. Berg was hardly the first or only person to interview her, so how exactly how did this relationship develop? I couldn't help feeling that Berg was exaggerating the extent of their friendship.

Additionally, I found his description of Kate's final years both depressing and exploitative. Berg seems to believe that he's describing her with respect and dignity, but I just found myself thinking - oh, sure, Hepburn would be THRILLED that all this would be in print. I certainly hope my "friend" would not write about my death that way.

All in all, this book contains interesting tidbits, but you can't help feeling that Berg is either a bit phony or opportunistic.