Robyn Karney - Audrey Hepburn: A Charmed Life

ROBYN KARNEY

ARCADE PUBLISHING NEW YORK

Copyright 1993, 2012 by Robyn Karney

All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without the express written consent of the publisher, except in the case of brief excerpts in critical reviews or articles. All inquiries should be addressed to Arcade Publishing, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018.

PICTURE SOURCES

Advertising Archives: pages 45, 165

Aquarius: pages 27, 51, 56, 69, 82 top, 87 bottom, 98, 118, 134, 138 left, 148, 155, 156, 163, 169, 171, 182, 183

Richard Avedon, Inc., New York: pages 8-9

Camera Press: page 140 bottom

Camera Press/Cecil Beaton: page 11

Camera Press/Henry Gris: page 167

Camera Press/Terry ONeill: pages 151, 152, 153, 154, 157

Camera Press/Norman Parkinson: page 10

Eileen Darby: pages 42, 45

E.T. Archive: page 14

Joel Finler: pages 64, 70 top, 132 bottom, 133 top, 138 right

Gamma/Frank Spooner Pictures: pages 13, 166, 177, 180, 184, 185

Ronald Grant Collection: pages 32, 36 top, 37, 38 bottom, 40, 70 bottom, 71, 78, 79, 87 top, 99, 112, 114, 131, 139, 161

Hulton Deutsch Collection: pages 29, 73, 174

Katz Pictures/Peter Charlesworth: pages 181, 192

Kobal Collection: pages 38 top, 41, 46, 54, 56, 68, 74, 76, 77, 80, 81, 82 bottom, 84, 85, 86, 90, 94, 101, 115, 120, 121, 132 top, 133 bottom, 176

Moviestore Collection: pages 89, 97, 160, 172-3

New York Public Library: page 63

Popperfoto: pages 12, 20, 21, 25, 31, 36 bottom, 49, 117, 164

Rex Features: pages 22, 24, 26, 52, 158, 159, 179

Tiffany and Co.: page 187

Warner Brothers Pictures Inc.: pages 956

Bob Willoughby: pages 53, 102-10, 122-130, 136-7, 140 top, 141-6

Grateful acknowledgement is made to Hodder and Stoughton Limited for permission to quote from Audrey by Charles Higham (New English Library), and to Ian Woodward, Rupert Crew Limited and Virgin for permission to quote from Audrey Hepburn: Fair Lady of the Screen, copyright Ian Woodward 1984, 1993 (Virgin).

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

ISBN: 978-1-61145-515-1

Printed in China

For Helen Bourne

This book was commissioned by Bloomsbury while Audrey Hepburn was still alive. Alas, her tragic and premature death rendered an exciting project both sad and difficult, since it denied me access not only to the subject herself, but to many people for whom her death was too close.

None the less, I have tried to give as accurate an account as possible of her extraordinary life and qualities and have, at least, been able to view again the films which are her lasting testament.

I owe a debt of gratitude to several people. My researcher, David Oppedisano, attended to the unglamorous aspects of the work with his customary good humour; Bernard Hrusa-Marlow and Tom Vallance gave invaluable assistance in numerous ways, including making the films available to me. Clive Hirschhorn once again allowed me access to his library, and Tim Wilson in New York sent filmed and printed material.

A special thank you to Fred Zinnemann who generously gave of his time, and to John McCallum who wrote from Australia; to Andrew Thomas of the Avedon Studio in New York and to Avedon himself for the privilege of using his portrait. Marion Hume, fashion editor of the Independent, Tasha Hudson at Caroline Neville Associates (representing Hubert de Givenchy), Jane Pritchard at the Ballet Rambert and Terry Charman at the Imperial War Museum were very helpful, as were Sue Sharp who translated French interviews, Robin Cross, Angie Errigo, Trevor Willsmer, Patrick Palmer and Vivien Heilbron.

My copy editor, Delayne Aarons, dedicated herself to cleaning up the manuscript way beyond the call of duty, picture researcher Anne-Marie Ehrlich was a pleasure to work with, and my agent Tony Peake was a source of strength.

Special appreciation is due to David Reynolds at Bloomsbury for his encouragement, support and practical help, and to Penny Phillips.

Robyn Karney
London 1993

A Charmed Life is a sumptuously designed celebration of Audrey Hepburns life, containing 150 superb photographs. It tells the story of her life, from her childhood in Nazi-occupied Holland, through her early aspirations to become a ballet dancer, her debut on screen to instant and universal acclaim and her years as one of Hollywoods most sought-after stars, to her later life working among the poorest children of the Third World.

After a series of minor revue and film roles in London, Hepburn was spotted by Colette, who immediately cast her in the central role of a Broadway adaptation of her last novel, Gigi. Soon afterwards she was offered a role alongside Gregory Peck in Roman Holiday, for which she collected the Best Actress Oscar. More successful parts followed: she won the Tony Award for Best Actress for Ondine, captivated audiences as Natasha in War and Peace, and was highly praised for her brilliance in a serious role in The Nuns Story.

Hepburns dress sense was close to perfection and her clothes many of them by Givenchy, who dressed her for Funny Face in 1957 placed her on the worlds twelve Best Dressed Women list for several years. Her personality and sensuous yet untouchable beauty made her irresistible to the public. On Hepburns death, Liz Taylor said, God has a most beautiful new angel now, that will know just what to do in heaven.

Robyn Kearneys work in film includes writing and editing, film criticism and film story consultancy. She is the editor of Whos Who in Hollywood and the co-author with Ronald Bergan of Bloomsburys highly acclaimed Foreign Film Guide.

... but then there was a star danced, and under that was I born.

MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING ACT II, SCENE I

...?

My own life has been much more than a fairy tale. Ive had my share of difficult moments, but... whatever difficulties Ive gone through, Ive always gotten a prize at the end

AUDREY HEPBURN

I am, and forever will be, devastated by the gift of Audrey Hepburn before my camera. I cannot lift her to greater heights. She is already there, I can only record, I cannot interpret her. There is no going further than who she is. She has achieved in herself her ultimate portrait

RICHARD AVEDON

Like Margot Fonteyn, her counterpart in the world of ballet, Audrey Hepburn trailed a cloud of magic wherever she went, both on screen and off.

Hepburn in the words of Rex Reed as rare as a blue giraffe was an original. There have been others more immediately and obviously beautiful, and many of superior acting ability; but her personality a blend of frail girl and elegant woman, of wit, poetry, vulnerability and class was unique.

One of the most famous film stars in the world, she was certainly the best-loved (and earned astronomical fees equalled only by Elizabeth Taylor). Yet her film career came about more by accident than by design. Her progress from relative obscurity to first-time-out Academy Award-winner reads, fittingly for the girl dubbed the Princess by Frank Sinatra, like a fairy tale.