Biographies - good and bad

[smith]

In Katharine's autobiography she said that Luddy had a fantastic ear for music and he used to fix up his friend's houses so that the classical music sounded fantastic . So I imagine that she was exposed to a lot of music at one time in her life

[HollywoodHepcat]

Yeah, I'm sure she was knowledgable in music (as she was in all things). Oh well. But Catherine, she learned to play a tune on the piano in TAQ (even after John smashed the record!) and in SOL (which is le awesome!). Just another thing to put on her long list of talents. So, I guess she had a good ear for it, otherwise she wouldn't have been able to perform these pieces.

Also, I think the only two perfumes that Kate could stand were 'Femme' and 'Jungle Gardenia'. I don't even think that they make 'Femme' anymore. I'm going to ask for JG for X-Mas, though. Yayness.

PS LOL-it probably would have been fun times having her as a neighbor. ;D

[Cate]

Amber! So full of info. Where did you read about the perfumes? I have to find Jungle Gardenia -- especially since gardenia is one of my favorite scents My favorite perfume EVER is Merge by Xan Kim which I can't find ANYwhere now (of course!). I used to find it at Sephora... then my mom found one for me on eBay... now it's practically non-existent. I hope they didn't stop making it. It's supposed to be unisex but I can't see a guy wearing it.

[Richard]

I ordered the Prideaux book. I can't wait.

I beat you Shaun.

[Shaun]

Dang!

[HollywoodHepcat]

;DShaun, you and I are neck-and-neck now! Unfortunately, I have this huge, gaping whole in my pockets and lack the Yankee dollah in which to buy it with. Boooo.

Catherine, I think I read the perfume thing in the "Kate" book by Charles H, but I really don't know for sure. I've sucked up so many random facts I confuse myself sometimes. Oh! I've smelled Merge, it's very pretty. My favorite perfume is Lucky You, it's so youthful....Chanel no. 5...um and I wear Puma too! Hehe, it's funny, I was wearing Puma the first time I saw Summertime, and now I can't watch that movie without wearing it

[Cate]

Chanel No. 5! I used to have that until it was stolen along with my camera and make-up when I went to Florida a year ago. I loved that perfume. My friends always teased me for wearing it saying I smelled like an old lady. Now I just have a little vial of it with samples of Coco, No. 22, No. 19... Oh! Chanel Chance is awesome. You should try that if you haven't. It's more youthful than the others. Now I'm liking Chanel Allure... which I've had for the past five years but never wore it much -- and it still smells wonderful! I'll have to smell Lucky You... It's funny how scents remind you of certain things.

[Sherry]

In regard to the perfume/cologne conversation: Kate used to "douse herself" with 4711 when she was doing Cleopatra at the American Shakespeare Festival in Stratford, CT. This info comes from the book
"Hamlet's Dresser" by Robert Smith. He was a teenager at the time in love with the theatre and working backstage. He tells about Kate performing there. He writes very lovingly of her. Talks about her professionalism, her kindness, her financial generosity to the company, etc. and he includes the fact that she would apply 4711. She obviously wore it because, naturally, in the course of a performance under hot lights, she would perspire and she wore the cologne as a protection and probably for the cooling, astringent affect that 4711 has. So obviously, at some points in her life, Kate wasn't averse to using perfume or cologne.
Plus people change over the years -- perhaps she developed allergies to scents as she grew older or they just no longer appealed to her as our sense of smell changes as we age.
I always thought that 4711 was a very "cool" choice on her part because it is a very old scent first manufactured in Germany in 1772.
It is unisex and I would make a fair assumption there is a good chance that her mother or dad or both wore it at one time or another.

Hope this provides another little glimpse of Kate.

Sherry

[smith]

Katharine's mother used to wear 4711

[Shaun]

I thought that she didn't like using things like perfume and deodorant because she thought that it was "just junk to make somebody else rich," and that that is why she took so many showers.

[Cate]

The Prideaux book is the only time I've read that she didn't like perfumes/colognes. Perhaps she just didn't like Hilly's cologne ;D I also had never heard of Hilly before this book. How could I have possibly missed out on him? Poor guy -- should have remembered the eye drops!

[Cate]

Forgot to mention that I have finished the Prideaux book -- gotta have this book! It's ::fascinating:: ;D Even though Prideaux practically seems unphased by working with Hepburn. There is a part in the book where I feel sorry for him when he walks up to Kate with a bleeding eye, wanting advice (the logical solution, in my mind anyway, would be to see a doctor) but she's all worked up about the movie she's filming and completely rips him a new one for interrupting (?) her. Embarrassing him in front of the cast and crew. Anyway, I think I'm going to re-read Me now until I get a new Hepburn book.

[gypsygem81]

I'm really looking forward to reading that one, I think I'll order it after Christmas. I got a wonderful gift in the post yesterday from a friend in the states - it was two Kate books - one was the Life commemorative and the other was a quote book of things Kate had said. They're really lovely hardbacks and have some fabulous pictures in them.

Love Gem

[Cate]

Yeah I've seen both of those at the bookstore but the Life Commemorative had a tear on the cover (Just couldn't do it -- it would have bugged me) and the Quote book I just have never gotten around to buying (but I do want it!). The Life book does have a lot of fabulous pictures.

[Shaun]

About the quote book, does it just list the great lines she said, or does it go into detail about them, like when she said them and what she meant by them?