Katharine the Great: Hepburn: Secrets of a Life Revealed

by Darwin Porter

Katharine Hepburn was the world's greatest screen diva--the most famous actress in American history. But until the appearance of this biography, no one had ever published the intimate details of her complicated and ferociously secretive private life. Thanks to the deferential and obsequious whitewashes which followed in the immediate wake of her death, readers probably know WHAT KATE REMEMBERED. Here, however, is an unvarnished account of what Katharine Hepburn desperately wanted to forget.

Genres: Biography

569 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 1, 2001

About the author

Darwin Porter (1937-) is an American travel writer, producing numerous titles, mostly for the Frommer guidebook series, over a 50-year career span.

Reviews

[Amy Andrews · Rating 1 out of 5]

Something I do believe - that Katharine Hepburn was, at the very least, bisexual.

Something I don’t believe - about 97% of what is written in this book.

As a Hepburn idolising queer person myself, it’s a hell of a ride to let yourself be swept up in this juicy, page turning account of the first half of her life, but as much as I would love to believe some of it, it just feels like increasingly bonkers fan fiction.

The bones of the story are true, and can be traced to more reputable sources, but Darwin Porter has taken the most extreme creative license in filling in the blanks, and in some very unappealingly vulgar ways at that.

Funnily enough, this quote in the book pretty much sums everything up; “what a quaint little story … if only a word of it was true”.

[Matthew Watson · Rating 1 out of 5]

How anyone can believe this crap is beyond me. Darwin Porter has made a career of indulging his own fantasies rather than presenting facts. You read one Porter book and you've read them all. Without exception, his books are full of contradictions, statements without sources to back them up and an obsession with labeling every Golden Age star as homosexual, bisexual or lesbian.

Although this review concerns his book on Katharine Hepburn, this review could easily be about Humphrey Bogart, Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh and Paul Newman and the others Porter has smeared with his deluded fantasies because they are all the same nonsense. Porter will claim someone was gay or bisexual and then make up a story that will contradict itself when retold later in the book. Not only will he confuse places but he will also confuse dates, years and even insert a deceased person into an event.

Way too many books have been written by this creep.

[Jodie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Buyer beware. This book mainly focuses on the sex lives of Hollywood actors in the 20's, 30's and 40's who allegedly are all bisexual or homosexual, in particular Katharine Hepbburn. I have no problem with anyone's sexuality, but as the people are dead and most of the so-called sources for this book are too, it just seems tawdry and to be honest repetitive - how many times do we need to be told than Spencer Tracy liked handsome young men? If gossip is your thing, this may suit. I mistakenly thought I was getting more of an in depth biography not a recounting of too many sexual liaisons to keep track of.

[Grania]

This biography has no footnotes, no sources other than the authors journals, and the journals of this acquaintances. Conversations are quoted verbatim and the author always knows what Katharine is thinking. And everyone is gay. Everyone. It's so bad, I actually stopped looking for the dirty bits and haven't finished it.

[Cecile Goldenberg · Rating 1 out of 5]

Absolute rubbish. I am less than 100 pages in and it's a total waste of time. I will not be finishing this one.