Katharine Hepburn: 1907-2003 It was only two weeks ago I sat in my Modern Drama class watching the film adaptation of Eugene O'Neill's Long Day's Journey Into Night. Onto the screen stumbles a frail looking woman, frail but for her chin, which thrust outward as if decreeing by sheer will the nobility of this frozen, fractured woman. The character of course, is Mary Tyrone, a dope fiend. The woman playing her- Katharine Hepburn. Just say the name and you're likely to give a small, almost imperceptible wobbly twitch to your head, your mouth curving upward with a knowing, almost confrontational smile. My first encounter with Katharine Hepburn was watching Desk Set with my mother. It's, I believe, the only film that both she and I agree is universally brilliant. You see, Hepburn plays the head of an Information Department and Spencer Tracy plays an efficiency expert who comes into install the Eniac 5000- a big vacuum tube computer. Hepburn and her gals are convinced "Enny" (as Tracy calls the computer) is there to replace them- and of course...Well, you'll just have to see it yourself. As many of you know, one of my favorite genre's of film is the screwball comedy, which has been lost to the ages. Two of the best, The Philadelphia Story and Bringing up Baby were made by Hepburn's shrewd, wickedly funny performances. It's funny that she's passed away on Gay Pride Day, which commemorates the anniversary of the Stonewall riots, which were set off by the death of another screen legend, Judy Garland. I've always thought that Hepburn was, if anyone should be at all, a far better female icon for the gay movement than Judy. Judy dreamed of going over the rainbow, but wound up in loveless marriages ringed with booze and pills. Katharine, on the other hand, famously wore pants and for years claimed her brother's birthday as her own. Tom Hepburn died at 16, having hung himself by a rope. Katherine was the one who found him. She had her tragedies, she too was caught in a love that could not be public (with the married Spencer Tracy) and yet, this woman- no- this Woman, throughout it all remained dignified, witty and never left a soul without a doubt that she was the one in control. While Judy was a diva, Katharine Hepburn, on screen and in real life, was one of the most talented, socially challenging, rule-breaking, ball-busting, dignified women of all time. Her movies include Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?, Rooster Cogburn, The Glass Menagerie, The African Queen, Woman of The Year, On Golden Pond and The Lion in Winter. Her persona and her characters have been the inspiration for easily a half-dozen characters I've written, but I doubt I will ever come close to matching on pulp, the rich, bold and amazingly vibrant ribbon that was the life of Ms. Katharine Hepburn.

posted by Japhy at 6/29/2003 09:28:00 PM || #