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CNN Live At Daybreak
Fans Remembering Legendary Actress Katherine Hepburn
Aired June 30, 2003 - 05:31 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: From Hollywood to where you live, fans are remembering legendary actress Katherine Hepburn this morning. She died at the age of 96. During her nearly 70 year career, she made more than 40 movies and won a record four Academy Awards.
CNN's Daryn Kagan looks at the actress and the woman.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DARYN KAGAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Katherine Hepburn is one of our most enduring screen legends. Her career spanned nearly 70 years, with her first and last Oscars 48 years apart. The last three were awarded after age 60. Katherine Hepburn broke the mold for aging actresses, growing stronger as her contemporaries were retiring.
A needed challenge in mid life prompted Hepburn to take on Shakespeare. She delivered popular performances as the male impersonating Rosalind in "As You Like It" and Portia in "The Merchant of Venice." And though the critics were not always kind, Hepburn said she loved the experience.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "MR. COGBURN")
KATHERINE HEPBURN: I will look after myself...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: It was in her nature to be constantly moving, like this robust performance in "Rooster Cogburn," her first western, at age 68. She worked late into her '80s before retiring, her last performance, at age 87 as Cornelia Beaumont in a television adaptation of Truman Capote's short story, "One Christmas."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "ONE CHRISTMAS")
HEPBURN: Fun and pleasure. Is it one of your boys?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: Hepburn attributed this longevity to the many people who touched her life, her friend and director George Cukor, her family, and especially her parents. She said in her autobiography, "My backers, my saviors, they gave me courage. This is what you have to have to come out on top."
(END VIDEOTAPE) COSTELLO: And after her death, Hepburn's family issued a statement. And a long time neighbor in Old Saybrook, Connecticut remembers Hepburn as an unassuming person.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CYNTHIA MCFADDEN, FAMILY SPOKESWOMAN: Those of us who knew her well and loved her will miss her terribly. But through her films, generations to come will discover her humor and grace, her keen intelligence and her soaring independence. She was and always will be an American original and she died as she lived, with dignity and grace.
BARBARA MAYNARD, FORMER FIRST SELECTMAN: Katherine was prepared for it and if you've read any of her books or heard any of her interviews, she wasn't afraid of it at all. I don't think Katherine was afraid of anything. She was a feisty, independent, glowing woman and she was a friend to everybody.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: She was something. A spokesman says the family will honor Hepburn's wishes and there will be no public memorial service.
For more on Hepburn's screen and stage career, log onto our Web site at cnn.com, AOL keyword: CNN.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired June 30, 2003 - 05:31 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: From Hollywood to where you live, fans are remembering legendary actress Katherine Hepburn this morning. She died at the age of 96. During her nearly 70 year career, she made more than 40 movies and won a record four Academy Awards.
CNN's Daryn Kagan looks at the actress and the woman.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DARYN KAGAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Katherine Hepburn is one of our most enduring screen legends. Her career spanned nearly 70 years, with her first and last Oscars 48 years apart. The last three were awarded after age 60. Katherine Hepburn broke the mold for aging actresses, growing stronger as her contemporaries were retiring.
A needed challenge in mid life prompted Hepburn to take on Shakespeare. She delivered popular performances as the male impersonating Rosalind in "As You Like It" and Portia in "The Merchant of Venice." And though the critics were not always kind, Hepburn said she loved the experience.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "MR. COGBURN")
KATHERINE HEPBURN: I will look after myself...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: It was in her nature to be constantly moving, like this robust performance in "Rooster Cogburn," her first western, at age 68. She worked late into her '80s before retiring, her last performance, at age 87 as Cornelia Beaumont in a television adaptation of Truman Capote's short story, "One Christmas."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "ONE CHRISTMAS")
HEPBURN: Fun and pleasure. Is it one of your boys?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: Hepburn attributed this longevity to the many people who touched her life, her friend and director George Cukor, her family, and especially her parents. She said in her autobiography, "My backers, my saviors, they gave me courage. This is what you have to have to come out on top."
(END VIDEOTAPE) COSTELLO: And after her death, Hepburn's family issued a statement. And a long time neighbor in Old Saybrook, Connecticut remembers Hepburn as an unassuming person.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CYNTHIA MCFADDEN, FAMILY SPOKESWOMAN: Those of us who knew her well and loved her will miss her terribly. But through her films, generations to come will discover her humor and grace, her keen intelligence and her soaring independence. She was and always will be an American original and she died as she lived, with dignity and grace.
BARBARA MAYNARD, FORMER FIRST SELECTMAN: Katherine was prepared for it and if you've read any of her books or heard any of her interviews, she wasn't afraid of it at all. I don't think Katherine was afraid of anything. She was a feisty, independent, glowing woman and she was a friend to everybody.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: She was something. A spokesman says the family will honor Hepburn's wishes and there will be no public memorial service.
For more on Hepburn's screen and stage career, log onto our Web site at cnn.com, AOL keyword: CNN.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
