Tracy and Hepburn: An Intimate Memoir Signed to George Cukor with His Bookplate
[Signed Presentation to George Cukor with His Bookplate] Kanin, Garson. Tracy and Hepburn: An Intimate Memoir. First Edition. 1970. Book is very good minus condition, and dust jacket is in very good condition—book shows discoloration to front boards. This copy is ex libris the film director George Cukor, with his famous Paul Landacre-designed bookplate attached to the front endpaper. Book is warmly inscribed, “16 NOV 71, This one is for George—partner and friend—who, beyond anyone, is a member of the cast—with (among other things) gratitude and admiration and affection—Gar, Beverly Hills.”
When asked about Hollywood nightlife, Katharine Hepburn coolly replied, “I don't know anything about it. I never went out. I never went out anywhere ever except to George Cukor's house.” Spencer Tracy could arguably have made this claim as well. From the late 1940s to his death, he resided in a cottage on the Cukor estate, where Hepburn, when visiting the West Coast, could also be found. Tracy, Hepburn, and Cukor were the closest of friends, (making this a one-of-kind association copy). Rounding out their group were Garson Kanin, the author of this book, and his wife and screenwriting partner, Ruth Gordon. Among their credits were two Tracy and Hepburn films, Adam’s Rib and Pat and Mike. In this memoir, Kanin recalls his times with Tracy and Hepburn through the course of their twenty-six-year relationship, from 1942’s Woman of the Year through 1967’s Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner. This book hints at the real-life romantic connection between Tracy and Hepburn, and though positive, it infuriated the notoriously private Hepburn. A decade later, when Hepburn at last went public, all was forgiven, and Kanin was among those advising her on the 1986 documentary, The Spencer Tracy Legacy: A Tribute by Katharine Hepburn.
“After the success of Adam’s Rib, the studio was eager to have another picture from the same team: Spencer, Kate, George, Ruth, and me.”
--Garson Kanin