Post by dreamer on May 3, 2007 1:44:11 GMT -5
Theater Groundbreaking, Coming Auction Spark Memories Of Star
May 2, 2007
By ARIELLE LEVIN BECKER, Courant Staff Writer
OLD SAYBROOK -- It seems just about every longtime resident has a story about Katharine Hepburn, the iconic actress who found refuge in the town's Fenwick borough.
They would hear her distinctive voice while shopping at Walt's Food Market on Main Street, see her pedaling on a bicycle, or pass by as she played a tennis match. They can recall the encounters vividly. She once donated money for a firetruck, which the firefighters called "Miss Kate."
But, residents rarely fail to add, they never treated her like a celebrity. She was Kate, and she was left alone.
"We protected her in life and we protect her in death," said Linanne Lee, president of the Old Saybrook Chamber of Commerce, whose Hepburn encounters came in Fenwick as a teenager. "It was important for us to do that."
Hepburn would have turned 100 this month, and now Old Saybrook, where people take pride in having never made a fuss over her, is celebrating.
Tuesday brought the ceremonial groundbreaking for the Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center and Theatre, a $4.7 million renovation and expansion project that will make over the old town hall and onetime theater into an arts center named for the actress, who died in 2003 at age 96.
And on May 12, Hepburn's birthday, more than 100 items, including some that belonged to the actress, will be up for bid in a celebrity auction to raise money for the Hepburn Center.
Hepburn's estate gave the town permission to name the theater after her, giving her perhaps a more public presence in town than she had in her lifetime. It has also given the town a chance to celebrate its most famous resident.
During the groundbreaking Tuesday, WTNH Channel 8 anchor Ann Nyberg, one of the celebrity auction hosts, said Hepburn may have been responsible for the sunny weather, before adding, "I would think that she would give us lightning and rain."
Other officials described the theater as a new way to keep Main Street vibrant and to preserve a piece of the town's history.
Building committee chairman Wally Hirsch thanked the state and local officials who helped gain funding for the project, and the professionals and volunteers involved in it. Then, alluding to the $2.98 million bond issue voters approved in March, Hirsh added, "I need to make sure that the big spender of this event is acknowledged today, and that is the people of Old Saybrook."
Organizers hope to supplement the grant and taxpayer money with a capital campaign that has a target of $2.5 million. So far, they have raised $350,000, including a recent $10,000 donation from Essex Savings Bank, and hope the celebrity auction will add more.
The auction, to be held at the Saybrook Point Inn, will showcase items representing a mix of Hepburn's contemporaries and Main Street Old Saybrook. There are the five leather handbags from Shirley MacLaine, a signed silk Armani blouse from Bette Midler, and a poster print of Marilyn Monroe taken by silent-film star and photographer Harold Lloyd.
Hepburn's niece, Katharine Houghton, donated a bracelet Hepburn wore in "The Lion in Winter," and Eileen Considine Meara, whose mother was Hepburn's cook, housekeeper and friend and who recently published a book about growing up in the Hepburn house, donated more than a dozen items from the actress's collection, including a recipe for "Hepburn brownies," a typewritten letter Hepburn wrote to a personal care nurse, and the citation from a People's Choice award, when she was voted America's favorite motion picture actress.
Movie stars have donated items - there are signed photographs from John Travolta and Robin Williams - as have local residents and businesses, including a Hepburn-inspired, 8.06-carat salmon tourmaline and diamond necklace called "Saybrook Sunset," designed by Main Street jeweler Peter Indorf.
Resident Bill McLaughlin, who will serve as the auctioneer, attended the groundbreaking with his wife, Rosemary. The couple has traveled the country in an RV, and said they have met many strangers in Arizona or California who recognize their hometown because of the actress.
"A lot of people know Old Saybrook because of Katharine Hepburn," Rosemary McLaughlin said.
Of course, she has her own Hepburn stories. She told of the time two decades ago when Kate visited the Christmas fair at the Old Saybrook Congregational Church. Rosemary had not had time to bake, so Bill made rosette cookies. Hepburn bought some - and later returned for more.
"He's made them ever since," Rosemary McLaughlin said.
Contact Arielle Levin Becker at alevin-becker@courant.com.
The Celebrity Auction to Benefit The Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center and Theatre will be held Saturday, May 12, at the Saybrook Point Inn. A private cocktail reception will begin at 6 p.m., with a silent and live auction at 7. Tickets for the cocktail reception are $100; tickets for the auction are $35, and can be purchased at Maximus Antiques, Saybrook Seafood, Central Gallery and town hall. For more information, visit www.katharinehepburntheater.org.
www.courant.com/news/local/hc-cthepburn0502.artmay02,0,5827140.story
Sorry guys can't get the link to work but do go www.courant.com and search Katharine Hepburn
May 2, 2007
By ARIELLE LEVIN BECKER, Courant Staff Writer
OLD SAYBROOK -- It seems just about every longtime resident has a story about Katharine Hepburn, the iconic actress who found refuge in the town's Fenwick borough.
They would hear her distinctive voice while shopping at Walt's Food Market on Main Street, see her pedaling on a bicycle, or pass by as she played a tennis match. They can recall the encounters vividly. She once donated money for a firetruck, which the firefighters called "Miss Kate."
But, residents rarely fail to add, they never treated her like a celebrity. She was Kate, and she was left alone.
"We protected her in life and we protect her in death," said Linanne Lee, president of the Old Saybrook Chamber of Commerce, whose Hepburn encounters came in Fenwick as a teenager. "It was important for us to do that."
Hepburn would have turned 100 this month, and now Old Saybrook, where people take pride in having never made a fuss over her, is celebrating.
Tuesday brought the ceremonial groundbreaking for the Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center and Theatre, a $4.7 million renovation and expansion project that will make over the old town hall and onetime theater into an arts center named for the actress, who died in 2003 at age 96.
And on May 12, Hepburn's birthday, more than 100 items, including some that belonged to the actress, will be up for bid in a celebrity auction to raise money for the Hepburn Center.
Hepburn's estate gave the town permission to name the theater after her, giving her perhaps a more public presence in town than she had in her lifetime. It has also given the town a chance to celebrate its most famous resident.
During the groundbreaking Tuesday, WTNH Channel 8 anchor Ann Nyberg, one of the celebrity auction hosts, said Hepburn may have been responsible for the sunny weather, before adding, "I would think that she would give us lightning and rain."
Other officials described the theater as a new way to keep Main Street vibrant and to preserve a piece of the town's history.
Building committee chairman Wally Hirsch thanked the state and local officials who helped gain funding for the project, and the professionals and volunteers involved in it. Then, alluding to the $2.98 million bond issue voters approved in March, Hirsh added, "I need to make sure that the big spender of this event is acknowledged today, and that is the people of Old Saybrook."
Organizers hope to supplement the grant and taxpayer money with a capital campaign that has a target of $2.5 million. So far, they have raised $350,000, including a recent $10,000 donation from Essex Savings Bank, and hope the celebrity auction will add more.
The auction, to be held at the Saybrook Point Inn, will showcase items representing a mix of Hepburn's contemporaries and Main Street Old Saybrook. There are the five leather handbags from Shirley MacLaine, a signed silk Armani blouse from Bette Midler, and a poster print of Marilyn Monroe taken by silent-film star and photographer Harold Lloyd.
Hepburn's niece, Katharine Houghton, donated a bracelet Hepburn wore in "The Lion in Winter," and Eileen Considine Meara, whose mother was Hepburn's cook, housekeeper and friend and who recently published a book about growing up in the Hepburn house, donated more than a dozen items from the actress's collection, including a recipe for "Hepburn brownies," a typewritten letter Hepburn wrote to a personal care nurse, and the citation from a People's Choice award, when she was voted America's favorite motion picture actress.
Movie stars have donated items - there are signed photographs from John Travolta and Robin Williams - as have local residents and businesses, including a Hepburn-inspired, 8.06-carat salmon tourmaline and diamond necklace called "Saybrook Sunset," designed by Main Street jeweler Peter Indorf.
Resident Bill McLaughlin, who will serve as the auctioneer, attended the groundbreaking with his wife, Rosemary. The couple has traveled the country in an RV, and said they have met many strangers in Arizona or California who recognize their hometown because of the actress.
"A lot of people know Old Saybrook because of Katharine Hepburn," Rosemary McLaughlin said.
Of course, she has her own Hepburn stories. She told of the time two decades ago when Kate visited the Christmas fair at the Old Saybrook Congregational Church. Rosemary had not had time to bake, so Bill made rosette cookies. Hepburn bought some - and later returned for more.
"He's made them ever since," Rosemary McLaughlin said.
Contact Arielle Levin Becker at alevin-becker@courant.com.
The Celebrity Auction to Benefit The Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center and Theatre will be held Saturday, May 12, at the Saybrook Point Inn. A private cocktail reception will begin at 6 p.m., with a silent and live auction at 7. Tickets for the cocktail reception are $100; tickets for the auction are $35, and can be purchased at Maximus Antiques, Saybrook Seafood, Central Gallery and town hall. For more information, visit www.katharinehepburntheater.org.
www.courant.com/news/local/hc-cthepburn0502.artmay02,0,5827140.story
Sorry guys can't get the link to work but do go www.courant.com and search Katharine Hepburn