This Is Dedicated to the Ones We Love

[movieman1957]

She may have done that in some fashion to honor him. If I remember correctly it it was very difficult to get over.

[jdb1]

She may have done that in some fashion to honor him. If I remember correctly it it was very difficult to get over.

Yes, Hepburn has said as much, and keeping his birthday as hers was a sort of tribute to him.

In several interviews I've seen where she talked about her brother's death she was always very evasive and nebulous in explaining what happened. From descriptions and news reports I've read I get the impression that he may have been doing one of those masturbation/asphyxiation things. Not something the family would care to discuss, I'm sure.

From Hepburn's description in her book "Me," it sounds like she had some sort of nervous breakdown at her brother's death, and was taken out of school and tutored at home for some years. She was only a kid, after all, and she worshipped her older brother.

[charliechaplinfan]

If that was the cause of his death no wonder it was covered up.

[myrnaloyisdope]

In William Mann's excellent biography Kate: The Woman Who Was Hepburn, her brother's death is shown to be a likely suicide. No one can say for certain, but the information the book provides makes a lot more sense than any of the other explanations posited.

The book also makes it clear that she was very close to her brother given their closeness in age.

On a lighter note I was little disappointed that TCM didn't show Stage Door on her birthday.

[jdb1]

In William Mann's excellent biography Kate: The Woman Who Was Hepburn, her brother's death is shown to be a likely suicide. No one can say for certain, but the information the book provides makes a lot more sense than any of the other explanations posited.

The book also makes it clear that she was very close to her brother given their closeness in age.

On a lighter note I was little disappointed that TCM didn't show Stage Door on her birthday.

Hello, Justin, and welcome to SSO.

As far as your readings on Hepburn, I think you'll find there are more books about her, by more writers, than you can read in a year, so I'd caution you to take everything you read with several grains of salt. (And that applies to the bios of any celebrity.) Every writer has his own version of her life, including Hepburn herself, whose version changed a few times over the years. Hepburn is not just my favorite actor, she is one my favorite people, and I have never looked to her life story as a source of sensationalism, but rather as a source of inspiration.

I've been reading and learning about this lady for over 50 years, and my impression about Tom's death is that it was not a deliberate suicide, it was something else. Remember that we are talking about something that happened a very long time ago. The fact that the circustances of the boy's death seem to have been so hushed up and unrevealed is a clue that we may be talking about something more than a teen's hanging. (For example, see if you can find out anything about the death of actor Albert Dekker.)

In dealing with the past, it always helps to be aware of what other things were going on during that time - the customs, the politics, the art and literature, the morality. That is one of the reasons we here love classic movies -- because they hold up a mirror to another era and show us what was important then, and what was not; how we as a society have grown, and how we have stood still. There is so much more to classic film than just the glamorous stars we love to watch. That's what keeps us coming back for more.

I'm looking forward to reading your views and opinions.
Judith

[jdb1]

Today is a big day, since it's the centenary of James Stewart's birth.

There's another star who needs to be remembered -- blonde, pretty, sexy, ingenuous, funny and smart; an early talkies precursor of Marilyn Monroe. Our birthday star had heart trouble and passed away at barely 31:

Miss Lyda Roberti

No pictures, please.

[jdb1]

A bright and venerable star with a birthday today:
Christopher Lee

Oh, well. I have a good mental image of him.

[jdb1]

Happy Birthday, Secret Crush (giggle)

[jdb1]

One of Hollywood's very best has a birthday today:

Guess who?

[jdb1]

I'd also like to wish my baby brother Jeremy a happy birthday. This brother and sister isn't us (I don't know who it is), but it's a fair representation of what we looked like in the Olden Days. I don't actually have any digital photos of my brother, but picture (if you can) a laid-back Howie Mandell. Poor Jeremy never got over the moving of Memorial Day from May 30th to a Monday holiday. Previously, he could always count on having a day off from school on his birthday.


Photo: brunette teen and dark-haired little boy in swimming pool. Cute.

[jdb1]

A June 3 birthday

[charliechaplinfan]

Have you seen his new look, he's been over here promoting something and he's completely bald, good for him. He sounds like he's been a bit of a scoundrel in his day but he's a good raconteur

[moira finnie]

CCfan, I'm so glad to hear that Mr. Curtis gave up that preposterous looking pompadour toupee. I just learned that one of the few movies of his that I liked as a kid is being issued on dvd today: Houdini (1953) with Tony Curtis, Janet Leigh and the great Torin Thatcher.

It's such fun and perfect entertainment for Halloween.

[mrsl]

I can't imagine Tony without his pompadour, that's his trademark for heavens sake!!!!! I'm not a big fan because he was miscast in so many things - why didn't the studio ever get him together with a speech coach! As in any charicature, the pompadour is what points it out as being Tony.

Anne

[charliechaplinfan]

I've seen a few of his films, he was a revelation in The Boston Strangler definetly playing against type there.

Apart from that I liked him in Some Like it Hot and The Sweet Smell of Success.