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CNN Live Today

Interview With Carole Baron

Aired July 11, 2003 - 11:33   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.


LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: A new biography of legendary actress Katharine Hepburn is on book shelves this morning. Author Scott Berg spent the last 20 years with Hepburn collecting stories of her unforgetable life. And he started writing "Kate Remembered" back in 1999 but he did so with the understanding that nothing could be published until her death.
Carole Barron is president of the publishing house G.P. Putnam's Sons. She joins us now on the telephone from Long Island this morning. Carole, as I understand it you were one of only ten people who actually knew the book existed?

CAROLE BARON, PRES., G.P. PUTNAM'S SONS: That's absolutely true. There were ten of us. Once we had the book locked in the draw we all forget who each other were.

HARRIS: Did you read it?

BARON: I absolutely did.

HARRIS: And?

BARON: It's a moving intimate, portrait. You smile, laugh. You feel like you're at dinner with Katherine Hepburn.

HARRIS: Did you learn anything about her that you didn't know before? What could you tell us that's in this that would surprise someone who thought they knew her well?

BARON: You know, it's more of an overall feeling of being at dinner with her. You get to know her as a person. I always knew her as a screen star and read her autobiography. In this book I felt I was in dinner with Scott Berg and Katharine Hepburn and the other friends of hers.

HARRIS: All right, so give us a sample of what a dinner conversation then would be like with this group.

BARON: She often reminisced about the men in her life, Spencer Tracy, Howard Hughes, Leland Hayward. She also had a relationship with Scott Berg, who is the Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer who has written the book and was very involved in giving him advice about his life as well.

HARRIS: I read one little snippet, or at least a little blurb about something that was in here something about Spencer Tracy, as we are seeing this screen kiss on our screen right now. There's something about him getting violent with her at one time? Do you know anything about that?

BARON: The only thing I know is perhaps, as everybody knows, and as Scott has said there was a drinking problem with Spencer. And in an attempt perhaps to deal with this, he may have struck out at her. But there's nothing to believe it was an ongoing thing.

HARRIS: Was it true she was good buddies with Michael Jackson?

BARON: There's a wonderful, wonderful scene in the book about dinner with Michael Jackson. I don't know if it was about good buddies. But it was an incredible dinner evening at her house.

HARRIS: Really. I also heard -- you have to tell me this one, I think it's for most people who have been following her career for a long time, they might be shocked to hear whether or not this was true. She took nude photos at one point?

BARON: Oh, I don't remember that part. You'll have to read the book again.

HARRIS: I read something about there being an admission in there about her having photos of her taken in college, back when she was in college that she was afraid of popping up later in her career and maybe ruining her.

BARON: I don't remember that part. As a matter of fact, I'm going to go back to the book and read it. I have a copy here.

HARRIS: What struck you as the most interesting part of her life? And for you, as someone who knew her...

BARON: I didn't know her. Scott Berg knew her. He was the interviewer, I'm the publisher, I'm the broker. I'm the one who Scott, when we heard about the book and Scott had written the book, we knew we had to publish the book at the time of her death, that was the provision that she made with Scott. And that all the -- we had to organize this so we could go on sale as quickly as possible so it could be a major tribute.

HARRIS: Scott Berg talked to her until how late in her life? Did he talk to her...

BARON: I believe he saw her shortly before her death.

HARRIS: Really?

BARON: Yes. And in fact the last paragraphs of the book were written only very recently.

HARRIS: That's interesting. That's fascinating.

Tell me something, as a publisher is there any part of this book that makes you say this is the reason why I put up all this money?

BARON: The whole reading experience from the beginning to the end. HARRIS: How did you all keep this a secret for so long? Listen, if two people find out about anything in this newsroom, the whole world will know. How did ten people keep a secret that long?

BARON: I think once the book was locked in the drawer we forget about it. It wasn't on any piece of paper or any overall list of things. We all forget about it.

HARRIS: That makes me wonder what else you have hidden in your drawers now.

BARON: Not going to tell.

HARRIS: Obviously not. Carole Baron, thank you very much. We appreciate it.

BARON: Thanks very much.

HARRIS: Good luck on this book. No doubt it will do quite well as she was beloved by so many. And no doubt the sale for this will be quite strong.

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 July 11, 2003 - 11:33   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: A new biography of legendary actress Katharine Hepburn is on book shelves this morning. Author Scott Berg spent the last 20 years with Hepburn collecting stories of her unforgetable life. And he started writing "Kate Remembered" back in 1999 but he did so with the understanding that nothing could be published until her death.
Carole Barron is president of the publishing house G.P. Putnam's Sons. She joins us now on the telephone from Long Island this morning. Carole, as I understand it you were one of only ten people who actually knew the book existed?

CAROLE BARON, PRES., G.P. PUTNAM'S SONS: That's absolutely true. There were ten of us. Once we had the book locked in the draw we all forget who each other were.

HARRIS: Did you read it?

BARON: I absolutely did.

HARRIS: And?

BARON: It's a moving intimate, portrait. You smile, laugh. You feel like you're at dinner with Katherine Hepburn.

HARRIS: Did you learn anything about her that you didn't know before? What could you tell us that's in this that would surprise someone who thought they knew her well?

BARON: You know, it's more of an overall feeling of being at dinner with her. You get to know her as a person. I always knew her as a screen star and read her autobiography. In this book I felt I was in dinner with Scott Berg and Katharine Hepburn and the other friends of hers.

HARRIS: All right, so give us a sample of what a dinner conversation then would be like with this group.

BARON: She often reminisced about the men in her life, Spencer Tracy, Howard Hughes, Leland Hayward. She also had a relationship with Scott Berg, who is the Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer who has written the book and was very involved in giving him advice about his life as well.

HARRIS: I read one little snippet, or at least a little blurb about something that was in here something about Spencer Tracy, as we are seeing this screen kiss on our screen right now. There's something about him getting violent with her at one time? Do you know anything about that?

BARON: The only thing I know is perhaps, as everybody knows, and as Scott has said there was a drinking problem with Spencer. And in an attempt perhaps to deal with this, he may have struck out at her. But there's nothing to believe it was an ongoing thing.

HARRIS: Was it true she was good buddies with Michael Jackson?

BARON: There's a wonderful, wonderful scene in the book about dinner with Michael Jackson. I don't know if it was about good buddies. But it was an incredible dinner evening at her house.

HARRIS: Really. I also heard -- you have to tell me this one, I think it's for most people who have been following her career for a long time, they might be shocked to hear whether or not this was true. She took nude photos at one point?

BARON: Oh, I don't remember that part. You'll have to read the book again.

HARRIS: I read something about there being an admission in there about her having photos of her taken in college, back when she was in college that she was afraid of popping up later in her career and maybe ruining her.

BARON: I don't remember that part. As a matter of fact, I'm going to go back to the book and read it. I have a copy here.

HARRIS: What struck you as the most interesting part of her life? And for you, as someone who knew her...

BARON: I didn't know her. Scott Berg knew her. He was the interviewer, I'm the publisher, I'm the broker. I'm the one who Scott, when we heard about the book and Scott had written the book, we knew we had to publish the book at the time of her death, that was the provision that she made with Scott. And that all the -- we had to organize this so we could go on sale as quickly as possible so it could be a major tribute.

HARRIS: Scott Berg talked to her until how late in her life? Did he talk to her...

BARON: I believe he saw her shortly before her death.

HARRIS: Really?

BARON: Yes. And in fact the last paragraphs of the book were written only very recently.

HARRIS: That's interesting. That's fascinating.

Tell me something, as a publisher is there any part of this book that makes you say this is the reason why I put up all this money?

BARON: The whole reading experience from the beginning to the end. HARRIS: How did you all keep this a secret for so long? Listen, if two people find out about anything in this newsroom, the whole world will know. How did ten people keep a secret that long?

BARON: I think once the book was locked in the drawer we forget about it. It wasn't on any piece of paper or any overall list of things. We all forget about it.

HARRIS: That makes me wonder what else you have hidden in your drawers now.

BARON: Not going to tell.

HARRIS: Obviously not. Carole Baron, thank you very much. We appreciate it.

BARON: Thanks very much.

HARRIS: Good luck on this book. No doubt it will do quite well as she was beloved by so many. And no doubt the sale for this will be quite strong.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com