Customer Reviews

Kate Remembered

5 star:		(60)
4 star:		(31)
3 star:		(17)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(19)

 

 

Anyone who wants to believe that Katharine Hepburn was as fascinating in life as she was on the screen - and put me on that list - will love this book. A. Scott Berg's memoir, Kate Remembered - and please note that the author informs at the onset that this is a memoir, not an official biography - captures a Hepburn who is always on, always ready with a pithy one-liner, always capable of a grand gesture, but who never seems fake or dishonest. It was impossible for me to read this without hearing her distinctive voice every time Berg quoted her.

Although this does repeat some of the material in Miss Hepburn's own two forays into writing, and perhaps they have more of an authoritative voice since they came from her pen, it is worth reading for the gaps it fills and for Berg's tender treatment of his subject.

To be honest, it is worth the entire cover price just to read about the surreal dinner party the evening that Michael Jackson came to dinner. Hepburn's one-liners interspersed with Jackson's silence and the other guests' continually failing attempts to make conversation is laugh-out-loud funny. When it became obvious that Jackson had never even seen a Hepburn movie (but said how much he loved them), I was laughing so hard, I dropped the book.

Berg grabbed me on page one, and held my interest through the end.

Read it. By the time you reach the end, you will probably want to go out and rent several of Hepburn's movies, if you don't have them already.

Easily the best biography I've ever read. It truly captures the essence of the legendary woman in an intimate and honest light. Berg does an excellent job of capturing the details of what made Katharine Hepburn who she was and chronicles a life that defines a century. The book includes moments of genuine hilarity (such as Michael Jackson coming to dinner) and heartbreak (the death of her beloved Spencer and her own failing health). If you're looking for titillating details or long-buried-secrets this isn't the place to look (sure, there are some small surprises and her personality is more clearly defined, but there's nothing truly shocking) but if you want to get a better understanding and new respect for one of America's most influential and groundbreaking women, Berg's portrait of a lady will be a joy to read.

Having read Hepburn's autobiography (which the author shamelessly tells of acting as her informal editor for) and another book that tells her story behind the making of the African Queen, Kate Remembered is one of those "gotta run out and buy" books we closet Hepburn fans love to read.

Once the reader gets beyond the story of the relationship between Berg and Hepburn and Berg and his other interview subjects (which I am strongly averse to, and think most people will find rather boring - after all, we didn't pay to hear Berg's professional conquests), there are some real gems in this book. My favorites are the times when Hepburn confesses her humanity and admits her mistakes. This is truly Berg's sole victory - revealing the human side of one of America's most private and cherished celebrities.

Obviously Berg had his foot in the door early, born to a father inside the industry. True, the whole thing smacks of elitism, yet Berg can't resist telling on the people who used Hepburn and others to step over to reach another star (including Michael Jackson). Was he not much the same?

Another thing that sticks in one's mind is how Berg plays up Spencer Tracy's alcoholism but downplays the fact Hepburn constantly reminded him at her house, "drinks are at 6, dinner is at 7." Need I say more?

All in all, an enjoyable read. The dialogue is cleverly written and does make one feel as if they're an onlooker. But the relationship between Berg and Hepburn, and choosing to include it in the book is, well, rather messy.

One quickly gets the sense that this timely biography of the inimitable Hepburn was written by someone she knew and trusted, someone who would do a good and honest job of getting her life, thoughts, loves, friends, and history recorded in a way that did them kindly justice. Much has already, of course, been written by this icon, but Kate (the book) is full of fresh and intimate looks at her life with more emphasis on her thoughts and memories than other more straightforward biographies. It becomes something of a cross between the introspection of a memoir blended with the fact-based details of a biography. Katherine Hepburn's own voice comes through clearly in the many quotes with which author Berg seasons his book.
Wonderful. Highest recommendation for those who can't get enough about this very special woman.

This book is interesting and valuable because it provides a glimpse of Miss Hepburn in her later years vouchsafed to few.

As is so often the case however, the media coverage of this book promises far more than the book delivers. Moreover, there is far too much of the author here, and not enough of the subject. With the exception of glimpses of the history of the author's relationship with the subject,and the story of Miss Hepburn's last years as seen by the author there is very little here that is new to anyone who has read Miss Hepburn's autobiography. In addition, someone whose image of Spencer Tracy consisted solely of what this book purports to tell us would be hard-pressed to figure out why anyone would like- much less love him. He was a far more intelligent and likeable person than Mr Berg tells us, and he is done an injustice here, as he has been in most of what has been written of him, which has been mainly concerned with his alcohol problem.

This book would have been far more interesting had Mr Berg chosen to interpose himself less between his subject and his audience. For example, Irene Mayer Selznick was clearly a significant figure in the life of Katharine Hepburn,but the amount of space given to her and her opinions in this book is excessive. Having said that, I must also say that she is the only person in Miss Hepburn's life who is presented in this book with any degree of depth.

In short, this book is interesting and valuable not because it tells us any "secrets" of any significance, or refutes much of significance written by others. It is a warm memoir which gives us snapshots of a remarkable human being, whose ability to cope in the sunset of her life makes her even more remarkable, as years of theory were put into practice.

Scott had the honor of being allowed into Katharine Hepburn's inner circle, and we are fortunate that he shared her life story with us. The bond they developed was genuine and the author did not exploit it, in my opinion.

The writing is superb -- readers are able to visualize each scene as though it is happening before our eyes. The dialogue is engaging. When Kate provided Scott with his own set of keys to her home and involved him in the ritual of pressing the car horn at Fenwick, you can't help but applaud him for being accepted as a member of her family.

The book flows very smoothly. The details regarding Hollywood and its actors provide great insight. The disclosures about Spencer Tracy, including his death were moving. The author's keen observations and personal comments add color to the biography. Whether you're a fan of Hepburn or not, "Kate Remembered" is an uplifting story about an amazing woman and the writer who considered himself her greatest fan.

I was thrilled a few days after the sad passing of Katharine Hepburn to hear of this new book. Wow, I thought. A great Pulitzer prize winning author wrote the long awaited full length biography of Katharine Hepburn. It seemed too good to be true. As it turned out, it was too good to be true. This book is a sad, sad travesty. When Garson Kanin wrote what so far is the definitive book on Tracy and Hepburn, he was accused of intruding himself too much into his book. Some people said it should have been called Tracy, Hepburn and Kanin. Well, Garson Kanin had nothing on A. Scott Berg. Berg should have called this book Me and Kate or simply Me. I am stunned at how little space is actually devoted to Katharine Hepburn in this book. Berg said he spent hours and hours talking to Kate. If he did, where is the result? Certainly not in this book.

There is a skimpy bit of biography awkwardly interspersed throughout the book. However, it is quickly apparent that Mr. Berg simply cribbed the biographical materials, errors and all, from the Katharine Hepburn biographies by Anne Edwards and Barbara Leaming. These books are simply loaded with errors in fact that Mr. Berg accepted, apparently, without any effort to verify their accuracy. One of my favorites is Mr. Berg's quite elegant observation that Hepburn after the end of her tour of Australia with the Old Vic in 1955 "having climbed her own personal summit, she went on location with Tracy to the French Alps, where he filmed The Mountain. . . ." Didn't happen. Spencer Tracy filmed The Mountain in the French Alps in August and September of 1955. Katharine Hepburn was in Australia with the Old Vic from May to mid November of 1955. She was 10,000 miles from the French Alps and certainly not at the location of the filming of The Mountain. Mr. Berg has stated that Hepburn chose him as her official biographer. I, of course, cannot speak for Katharine Hepburn but wouldn't she consider this book a real betrayal of her trust?

For some inexplicable reason, Mr. Berg joins Barbara Leaming and other in painting a completely inaccurate and negative picture of Spencer Tracy. I'm never sure why this is done other than to introduce a false drama to these rather feeble efforts. Mr. Tracy was, of course, a very distinguished actor; one of a handful of the greatest actors who ever appeared on film. He was also a very close and admired friend to many actors and directors of his day. Stanley Kramer simply idolized Tracy and, as he said, went into each new film project after he met Spencer Tracy with the intention of finding a part in the film for him. Robert Wagner credits Tracy with starting his career as do other actors. Katharine Houghton, Katharine Hepburn's niece, who appeared with Tracy in Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, recently spoke of him on Larry King Live. It was clear that she adored him. How is it that all these people who knew Tracy had so many good things to say about him while people like Berg, who never met him, have nothing good to say? Does Berg think that Katharine Hepburn was so stupid as to love a man who was unworthy of her?

This book is a cheap bit of exploitation. I would have expected more from Mr. Berg.

Scott Berg makes no bones about the fact that his latest book "Kate Remembered" is not an objective look at Ms. Hepburn's life but a personal recollection of his many meetings, dinners, breakfasts and lunches with the Hollywood legend.
Hepburn's place in Hollywood lore is forever set and cannot, nor will probably ever be challenged: she was an original, never to be duplicated but often copied.
Hepburn's screen persona was often brittle, a shade uppity and her voice, as she comments in this book, too patrician for many roles. But when all the stars were right in the heavens (i.e. script, director, co-actors) no one could make as great an impression as did Hepburn, particularly in "The Philadelphia Story" or "Bringing Up Baby." She had enough on screen spunk to let herself be made fun of and that is why she is so beloved.
Most of us reading this book were probably looking for the lowdown on Hepburn's relationship with Spencer Tracy and she does give more information here than she does in her 1991 "Me." Her asking Berg about the nature and meaning of co-dependency is touching. Being a woman of the mid 20th century, Hepburn of course would not have the enlightenment that we now have about such a subject and that it dug deeply to the core of her relationship with Tracy makes it all the more tragic. Nonetheless Tracy was the great love of her life and it is a blessing that she had Berg as a confidant. As her assistant Phyllis Welbourn confided to Berg: (paraphrase) "she needs someone to open up and confide in before she dies."

I agree with the reviewers who have expressed feelings of disappointment. This book gives very little insight into the Katharine Hepburn, and too much insight into Scott Berg. I had hoped to learn some of what Katharine Hepburn thought and felt about so many things she experienced in her very full and interesting life. Not much of that is revealed here, and very little else is covered here that was not in Hepburn's autobiography "Me," which I heartily recommend instead of this book. The author met Hepburn in her later, lonely years, and describes the deterioration of her body and mind in great detail. I doubt this is what Hepburn had in mind when she told him her story, and this is not what a true friend does.

While I was very excited to read 'Kate Remembered,' I couldn't help but feel disappointed because it was more about Scott Berg's reaction to Kate than about Kate herself. I understand that they had been great friends and of course, should mention things like their first meeting and things they did together, but that should be it.

This book was supposed to be about her, not him. Berg spent almost half the book talking about his research for his Goldwyn and Lindbergh bio's and talking to Irene Selznick than about Kate herself. I was expecting some of what he gave, but more of what should have been there.

I was expecting there to be recounts and memories of Kate, but I thought it would be more Berg talking with others about their favorite "Kate experiences." While I expected him to interject some of his views and times with her, I wasn't expecting him to talk about himself throughout the entire book.

I was also disappointed in the lack of pictures. They were only at the beginning of each chapter and were not on gloss pages. I was hoping that there would be pictures of Fenwick and Old Saybrook and many of the other things, places, and people he was talking about.

The only reason I gave this book 3 stars was because it was about her. While I suggest that you read it as a completor to other books about Kate, stick with "Me" or the biography that Barbara Lemming did about her. Even the Garsin Kanin book that she absolutely hated would be better.