The men in Katharine's life

[smith]

Which would you have liked to meet and why?

[Cate]

I think Luddy would have been a great guy to talk to. He looked like he laughed easily... and he was sweet. So, yeah, Luddy.

[Shaun]

Her father. He seemed like fun.

[Shaun]

That was a lame post I just made..let me expand on that. Kate's father seemed like an awesome guy who was intellectually stimulating and who encouraged his kids to speak for themselves. He got involved in his kid's lives and was just an all around great guy and an awesome father.

[Richard]

Spencer. To be able to talk to a man of his caliber, and he got Kate afterall.

[karina]

Leland - to ask the real reason he married Margaret Sullavan and whether it's true that he never stopped loving Kate.

Cary Grant - to ask the secret of their great on-screen chemistry

[Sherry]

George Cukor because he met her in 1932 when she was 25 and was friends with her until he died in the 1980's when she was in her 70's. Plus he directed her in 10 films between 1932 and 1979. Plus he was a totally discreet, intelligent, classy, elegant man who was close to her and Spencer Tracy and helped them maintain their privacy by renting Spencer the cottage on his property where Kate and Spencer could have a life together away from the public eye. The cottage was the home in which Kate lived with Spencer over the last 5 years of his life.

Plus I'd want to meet Cukor based solely on the fac that he was one of the finest directors ever -- a man for whom the words in the script were paramount and a director who allowed the actor to play the role as opposed to dictating the playing to the actor. He loved and respected talent; he loved and respected Kate and her talent.

SS

[Cate]

Well geez! I guess I automatically assumed we meant the men she was romantically involved with. So if we mean all the men, yeah her father definitely and George Cukor (for all the reasons Sherry mentioned).

[smith]

Karina

I guess you know that Margaret was pregnant at the time he married her so he really had no choice

It only mentions Katharine a couple of times but Leland's daughter wrote a memoir about her parents - they had a very troubled marriage and their children suffered as a result . There are two mentions of Katharine - one where Leland told his children that Katharine was the classiest woman he had ever known and when he was dying they asked him about beautiful women he had known and he said among other things that Katharine was the absolute best .

No body who was ever involved with Katharine ever forgot her - Leland and Katharine remained friends .

[smith]

I would have wanted to meet both Spencer and Luddy but more about Spencer in another post

I used to think I would like to meet Luddy to ask him what he was thinking . I mean he is married to Katharine - his wife is young and beautiful and he "allows" her to go to Hollywood alone for months at a time - didn't he worry about what would happen to her and the relationship.

And recently I saw an interview with him and it made me realise that yes he did know but he took a gamble and he lost . Still a smart man who fortunately for us didn't stand in her way .

[karina]

Smith - I assume you're referring to Haywire? I actually had that very chapter in mind when I posted and suppose I just wondered whether he really was remembering her like that on his death bed. You're right though - no-one who knew Katharine ever forgot her. How could they?

And Sherry, you're 100% right. George Cukor would have been one of the most fascinating of her male acquaintances to meet.

[smith]

I actually think that Katharine in many ways was a realist - Katharine and Leland lived together for about 3 years - they were young, they enjoyed themselves and they had few responsibilities . There are different types of love - I think Katharine recognized that . There are a couple of other books which mention Katharine and Leland's relationship - he did remember her fondly