Cole Porter

Among these shows and songs were "Fifty Million Frenchmen" in 1929 ("You Do Something To Me"); "Wake Up and Dream," also 1929 ("What Is This Thing Called Love"); "The New Yorkers" in 1930 ("Love for Sale"); "Gay Divorce" in 1932 with Fred Astaire ("Night and Day"); "Anything Goes" with Ethel Merman, Victor Moore and William Gaxton in 1934 ("You're the Top," "I Get a Kick Out of You"); "Jubilee" in 1935 ("Begin the Beguine," "Just One of Those Things"); "Red, Hot and Blue" with Miss Merman, Jimmy Durante and Bob Hope in 1936 ("It's De-lovely," "Down in the Depths of the '0th Floor"). Also, "Leave It to Me" in 1938 in which Mary Martin made her Broadway debut singing "My Heart Belongs to Daddy"; "Dubarry Was a Lady" with Miss Merman and Bert Lahr in 1939 ("Friendship"); "Panama Hattie" with Miss Merman in 1940 ("Make It Another Old Fashioned, Please"), "Let's Face It" in which Danny Kaye sang "Melody in 4F" in 1941; "Something for the Boys" with Miss Merman in 1943 and "Mexican Hayride" with Bobby Clark in 1944. While Mr. Porter was horseback riding in the summer of 1937, his horse slipped, threw him and fell on top of him, breaking both his legs and damaging his nervous system. One result of Mr. Porter's accident was chronic osteomyelitis, a bone disease. In attempts to alleviate this, he was subjected to more than 30 operations during the next 20 years but, despite this, his right leg had to be amputated in 1958. For the rest of his life, Mr. Porter lived under the constant pressure of pain and, reversing his previously gay social life, became a virtual recluse. Worked in Wheel Chair Still he continued to turn out his songs. The score for "Leave It to Me," written shortly after his accident, was composed while he was almost completely bedridden. In order to continue his work, he had his piano placed on blocks so that he could roll up to the keyboard in his wheel chair. At the end of World War II, Mr. Porter hit what seemed to be a dry period. Two successive shows-- "Seven Lively Arts" in 1944 and "Around the World in 80 Days" in 1946--were failures. But in 1948 he came back with his biggest artistic and commercial success, "Kiss Me Kate," a musical treatment of "The Taming of the Shrew." In this score, Mr. Porter was not only at his Porterian best with such songs as "Too Darn Hot," "Always True to You in My Fashion" and "So in Love," but he also revealed a remarkable talent for blending the idioms of both Porter and Shakespeare in "I've Come to Wive It Wealthily in Padua," "I Am Ashamed that Women Are So Simple," "I Hate Men" (which Brooks Atkinson called "the perfect musical sublimation of Shakespeare's evil-tempered Kate") and the kind of grammatical challenge that Mr. Porter relished, a song written entirely in the subjunctive, "Were Thine That Special Face." Other Musicals Mr. Porter's later Broadway scores included "Out of This World" (1950), "Can-Can" (1953) and "Silk Stockings" (1955). For films he wrote "I've Got You Under My Skin" and "Easy to Love" for "Born to Dance" in 1936; "Rosalie" and "In the Still of the Night" for "Rosalie" in 1937; "I Concentrate on You" for "Broadway Melody" in 1940 and "You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To" for "Something to Shout About" in 1943. Mr. Porter's wife died in 1954. During his last years he lived in a nine-room, memorabilia-filled apartment in the Waldorf Towers. On weekends he was driven to a 350-acre estate in the Berkshires and in the summers he lived in California. He rarely saw anyone except intimate friends. A 90-minute television program honoring him was presented in 1960, and a party celebrating his 70th birthday was given in 1962, but he was unwilling to attend either event. When Yale University wished to confer an honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters on him in 1960, Mr. Porter accepted on condition that the presentation be made in his apartment.

AUDREY HEPBURN Born May 4, 1929 in Ixelles, Brussels, Belgium Died January 20, 1993 in Tolochenaz, Vaud, Switzerland [Age 64] Birth Name Audrey Kathleen Ruston Height 5' 7" Audrey Hepburn was born on May 4, 1929 in Ixelles, Brussels, Belgium. She was a blue-blood and a cosmopolitan from birth. Her mother, Baroness Ella Van Heemstra, was of a Dutch descent, and her father, Joseph Victor Anthony Hepburn-Ruston, was born in Úzice, Bohemia, and of an English and Austrian ancestry. After her parents divorced, Audrey went to London with her mother where she went to a private girls school. Later, when her mother moved back to the Netherlands, she attended private schools as well. While she vacationed with her mother in Arnhem, Netherlands, Hitler's army took over the town. It was here that she fell on hard times during the Nazi occupation. Audrey suffered from depression and malnutrition. After the liberation, she went to a ballet school in London on a scholarship and later began a modeling career. As a model, she was graceful and, it seemed, she had found her niche in life--until the film producers came calling. In 1948, after being spotted modeling by a producer, she was signed to a bit part in the European film Dutch in Seven Lessons (1948). Later, she had a speaking role in the 1951 film, Young Wives' Tale (1951) as Eve Lester. The part still wasn't much, so she headed to America to try her luck there. Audrey gained immediate prominence in the US with her role in Roman Holiday (1953). This film turned out to be a smashing success, and she won an Oscar as Best Actress. On September 25, 1954, she married actor Mel Ferrer. She also starred in Sabrina (1954), for which she received another Academy Award nomination. She starred in the films Funny Face (1957) and Love in the Afternoon (1957). She received yet another Academy Award nomination for her role in The Nun's Story (1959). On July 17, 1960, she gave birth to her first son, Sean Hepburn Ferrer. Audrey reached the pinnacle of her career when she played Holly Golightly in the legendary film Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961), for which she received another Oscar nomination. She scored commercial success again playing Regina Lampert in the espionage caper Charade (1963). One of Audrey's most radiant roles was in the fine production of My Fair Lady (1964). After a couple of other movies, most notably Two for the Road (1967), she hit pay dirt and another nomination in Wait Until Dark (1967). In 1967, Audrey decided to retire from acting while she was on top. She divorced from Mel Ferrer in 1968. On January 19, 1969, she married Dr. Andrea Dotti. On February 8, 1970, she gave birth to her second son, Luca Dotti in Lausanne, Vaud, Switzerland. From time to time, she would appear on the silver screen. In 1988, Audrey became a special ambassador to the United Nations UNICEF fund helping children in Latin America and Africa, a position she retained until 1993. She was named to People's magazine as one of the 50 most beautiful people in the world. Her last film was Always (1989) in 1989. Audrey Hepburn died on January 20, 1993 in Tolochnaz, Vaud, Switzerland, from appendicular cancer. She had made a total of 31 high quality movies. Her elegance and style will always be remembered in film history as evidenced by her being named in Empire magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time." - IMDb Mini Biography By: Denny Jackson and Volker Boehm Spouse (2) Andrea Dotti (18 January 1969 - 21 September 1982) ( divorced) ( 1 child) Mel Ferrer (25 September 1954 - 5 December 1968) ( divorced) ( 1 child) Often cast opposite leading men who were considerably older than she was. Often played classy High Society women. Charming characters who try to wear their troubles lightly. Delicate thin frame. Was first choice for the lead in A Taste of Honey (1961). Ranked #50 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list. [October 1997] Mother of Sean Hepburn Ferrer, with first husband, Mel Ferrer. Son, Luca Dotti (b. 8 February 1970), with second husband, Dr. Andrea Dotti. Chosen by People magazine as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the world. [1990] After Wait Until Dark (1967) was offered the leads in Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1969), 40 Carats (1973), Nicholas and Alexandra (1971), The Exorcist (1973), One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), A Bridge Too Far (1977) and The Turning Point (1977) but decided to stay in retirement and raise her sons. Interred in Tolochenaz, Vaud, Switzerland.