Katherine Hepburn

I have ordered two books from Barnes and Noble which I expect to come in the mail any day now. I very rarely settle down with a good book anymore, and while school is in session, the only reading I do is out of textbooks. Since I received the gift certificate from my Uncle, I decided to purchase two books I have been interested in reading, both dealing with the gay social scene in America from the turn of the 20th century up through the 1940's. These books would come under the category of research for me, as I am unofficially doing my own study and "research" into the now growing field of homosexual social history. While I am eager and interested in reading these works, they are not exactly "easy reads".

While at Walmart I passed by the bargin display of books, and came across a biography of Katherine Hepburn. It is titled, Kate Remembered by author A. Scott Berg. I remember seeing it about four years ago when K. Hepburn died, and was interested in reading it, but never picked it up. Now on sale for about $5, I thought it was time to take it home.

I have always loved Katherine Hepburn, though I have only seen a handful of her movies. I love Desk Set, The Lion in Winter, On Golden Pond, and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner. I have yet to see Philadelphia Story from start to finish, but from the clips I have seen, it looks like an enjoyable movie.

Biographies of people make for fascinating reads, but as with all books, I have to be really interested in the subject matter to want to even read past the forward of the book. So far, I have not been able to put this book down. The author tells the story of her life so informally, it's almost as if Miss. Hepburn is telling it to me herself over dinner. Her personality really shines through the pages of this work, and it is already well worth the $5 I have spent on it.

There have been a lot of rumors (especially since her death) that Miss. Hepburn was a lesbian. At first, I dismissed it thinking they label any man or woman homosexual who doesn't end up marrying, but listening to the references she makes in this book, I now wonder. I was struck by a comment she made about her older brother who committed suicide when she was only thirteen, "He might of had a break up with some girl, or even some boy for that matter." Odd, she hints her brother might even be gay. She even uses the term lesbian to jokingly refer to her housemate, who quickly denies the accusation as Miss. Hepburn sits in laughter. Supposedly there is some new book out that deals with the possibility of her being a lesbian, and perhaps some day I will pick up that work. So far, her sexual encounters mentioned in this work were not out of lust, but out of a showing of affection... a "lustless love" I believe was the term.

Whether she was indeed a lesbian or not, I have always found Katherine Hepburn to be a fascinating human being, and am currently enjoying reading about her most unique life and outlook.