Acts of kindness

[karina]

Katharine had great empathy and often peformed acts of extreme kindness & generosity, both in her professional and personal life.

Re-reading the Prideaux book, I've just been reminded of how on every holiday when in LA, she and Phyllis would visit John Ford's former script supervisor, now blind, and Kate would read to her.

How wrong to describe herself as a selfish pig - I can't think of a more selfless act.

[Shaun]

I'm not sure about other times during her career, but in the 1930's Kate would bring food each day to the set for the cast and crew.

During a time when both her father and Spencer were sick, she stayed with one for one week and then flew across country to be with the other for another week.

[HollywoodHepcat]

shaun said:

During a time when both her father and Spencer were sick, she stayed with one for one week and then flew across country to be with the other for another week.

Now that is devotion, right there. I think if there was anyone in the world who came the closest to being in two places at once, it was Kate.

We all know this, but what she did for Judy Holliday and giving her that whole scene in AR, when Amanda questions her to use as a dummy screen test was brilliant. Of course, there were lots of times that Kate would willingly suggest close-ups be done of her co-stars. Totally unselfish and not egocentric at all.

And if you were her friend-she had your back. Like when she took care of Vivien Leigh when her TB was getting the best of her.

[Shaun]

Vivien Leigh...*sigh*

[dreamer]

Well, she helped a lot of people on her/their way – she never forgot the people who helped her when she started out. That is among one of the tings that I admire her for – not forgetting.

Using the part for Judy Holliday in Adam’s Rib as a screen test

Sally Lapiduss was the assistant Stage Manager at "West Side Waltz" and later became Kate’s assistance and the unit publicist at "Grace Quigley" – she is one of the writers of "Rosanne" and "Ellen"

Judy Garland – but sadly didn’t succeed. In Lion of Hollywood: "That Mayer thought that since the doctors and pscychiatrists weren't helping her, maybe a god talk with a sensible person, someone who commanded respect, might have some impact. Mayer thought of the most sensible person on the lot: Katharine Hepburn."

In "Me" she refers to William Rose, the girl on the road with the punctured tire and the girl who gave her her custume for "The Czarina". She even remembered it at Cavett.

Sarah Standing – a teenager in love-struggle

Spencer Tracy in reassuring him all along - that can be a great deal of work even if you love someone

As well as many, many others

Making films she didn't have the star thing she semed greatfull to be there (she knew who she was) the importent thing for her was the movie that they were about to make and that if the others would shine then she would as well. It was important to her that everybody got along on the set - does anybody understand what I trying to say - mean the Sidney Portier thing were he couldn't act infront of Spencer, who he admired so much

Find the ending of the chapter with the punctured tire just wonderfull - the one about the gentleman

And that said by someone who called herself selfish

[dreamer]

As I posted in the thread Kate as a narrator - in the book "The Films of Spencer Tracy" by Donald Deschner it is mentioned that Spencer and Kate made a short trailer for the Cancer Society in 1946.

Kate did do things for the Red Cross in the 40's and also some for the ill children for example the little boy Glenn on the photo below



Have some of you heard/read about more or do know more about this?

I find it fascinating that she her self never mentioned it - a real mensch

[dreamer]

Visited the Judy Holliday homepage today and found following, which I would like to share with you:

From "Hollywood Studio" magazine October, 1981

Judy Holliday was able to become a movie star almost instantly, largely thanks to Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy, who conspired to have her hired to play the blonde accused of murder in their Adam's Rib, in which Kate played a lawyer defending a female client. It took a lot of convincing, but it paid off, for Harry Cohn then cast Judy in the lead in Born Yesterday, even though she wasn't a box-office name. Yet. The rest is history.

----by George Haddad-Garcia
www.wtv-zone.com/lumina/articles/studio.html

About the film...(Born Yesterday)

Over at MGM Studios, George Cukor and Garson Kanin were set to start production on the courtroom comedy Adam's Rib, starring Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn. All four were big fans of Judy's work in Born Yesterday and felt that they needed to do something to open Cohn's eyes to the obvious. Kanin expanded the supporting character of Doris Attinger, a housewife and mother accused of attempting to murder her philandering husband, Warren. Cukor tried to entice Judy to accept the role, but she declined because Doris was supposed to be portrayed as dowdy and frumpy, everything Cohn thought Judy Holliday was in real life. Despite Cukor's assurances that by the end of the film, the character would have a very flattering look and a big scene for her to display her comedic talents, Judy remained unconvinced. It took a personal visit from Hepburn and Tracy to get Judy to change her mind and accept the role. From that moment on, Katharine Hepburn became Judy Holliday's ambassador and advocate. She insisted that Judy be shot from the more flattering angle in one scene and she played their big courtroom scene mostly with her back to the camera to give Judy more face time. It was a lesson in generosity that Judy never forgot and kindly did likewise for others later in her career. Hepburn was not even close to being done though. She instructed the MGM press agents to plant gossip items in the press about how great Judy was doing and how she was "stealing" the picture from both Hepburn and Tracy. Hepburn knew Cohn would see these glowing reports and that he might relent, but she went one step further just to be sure. She sent word to Cohn that if he had ever hoped to use her services in a Columbia film someday, he'd better give serious consideration to Judy Holliday for the part of Billie Dawn.

As Judy was preparing to leave California, she received word that Cohn had hurriedly arranged a screen test for her. Judy arrived at Columbia's studios wearing a dress that she had borrowed from Katharine Hepburn.

----by Glenn McMahon
www.wtv-zone.com/lumina/films/born.html

"NO DUMB BLONDE"
An Elaborate Screen Test

It seemed that Harry Cohn was just about the only person in Hollywood who couldn't picture Judy in the role, but a plan was in the works to change that. Director George Cukor had already been signed to direct Born Yesterday, but first he was scheduled to direct Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy in the MGM film Adam's Rib. With the help of the two stars and writers Garson Kanin and Ruth Gordon, they built up a supporting part in the film just for Judy. This role was to serve as an elaborate screen test, a test that MGM rival Cohn could not ignore. With a little coaxing from the star couple, Judy accepted the supporting role of "Doris Attinger" in the film. Doris is a New York housewife who is put on trial for shooting her philandering husband (played by Tom Ewell). As the film's production continued, the press was being spoon-fed reports about Judy's incredible performance and her ability to hold her own with big screen heavyweights like Hepburn and Tracy. Before Adam's Rib was even completed, Harry Cohn acquiesced and announced that Judy Holliday would play Billie Dawn in the film version of Born Yesterday.

---- by Glenn McMahon
www.wtv-zone.com/lumina/judy/ndb.html

From "The Saturday Evening Post" December 31, 1955

Judy Holliday was still in a low frame of mind when Garson Kanin, George Cukor and Katharine Hepburn suggested that she appear in Adam's Rib, a film story Kanin had written as a co-starring vehicle for Hepburn and Spencer Tracy.

This part of the Holliday story I got from Katharine Hepburn in her New York home. She made me strong hot tea, handed me a cup and told me, "Gar wrote the part of the canny but thickheaded Hausfrau in Adam's Rib for Judy, hoping she would do it. But at first she thought the part was too small. She had been a big, big star in Born Yesterday."

Hepburn is reluctant to take credit for persuading Judy to take the Adam's Rib role, but I heard elsewhere that she, Tracy and Kanin had sold Judy on the notion. During the shooting of the picture rumors of the phenomenal nature of Judy's work began to "leak" out. The source of the leak became apparent when Miss Hepburn allowed herself to be interviewed by the press. "This Holliday girl is stealing the picture," she announced. "She is running away with my scenes." Harry Cohn, Columbia's president, hadn't thought Judy photogenic enough for Born Yesterday, but presently he asked if he could see some of the shots Cukor was making of her. Many of the scenes in Adam's Rib were filmed with stark newsreel reality, but there were also shots that glamorized Judy. Katharine Hepburn saw to it that Cohn was only shown this glamourous footage.

-----by Virginia Bird
www.wtv-zone.com/lumina/judy/ndb.html

Quotes:

Katharine Hepburn: "She looked like a Renoir."

Katharine Hepburn: "Judy is one of the people I miss the most, of all my friends who have passed away in the near or distant past. Her death affected me deeply; I felt as though she was a sister to me, though we weren't terribly close. But when we talked, it was so comfortable, so amusing in a lovely sort of way - I just loved her. I'm sorry we didn't work together another time."

www.wtv-zone.com/lumina/judy/quotes.html

[Miss Retro]

she was a wonderful person

[dreamer]

This letter to Marlene Dietrich I think also tells a lot about how Kate was as a person.



Not a all that competetive as some say

Found it here www.marlenedietrich.org/pdf/News86.pdf while searching if some kind soul had posted the brochure somewhere online!

[CrazyForKate]

Not to mention the letter she wrote Lauren Bacall after the Tonys (when Bacall won and KH was nominated), along with a gift of a self-portrait. It can be found in "By Myself and Then Some", I believe. So sweet.