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Katharine Hepburn Collection

The First Lady of Cinema was known for her athletic build and her strong outspoken personality.

Katharine Hepburn

10 old time radio show recordings
(total playtime 6 hours, 3581 min)
available in the following formats:

1 MP3 CD
or
8 Audio CDs


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Play a sample episode from April 19, 1943:

"Woman of the Year"



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Text on OTRCAT.com ©2001-2024 OTRCAT INC All Rights Reserved. Reproduction is prohibited.

Katharine Hepburn
(1907 – 2003)

Making it in the Hollywood Star system called for a good deal of luck, but it also required a no small measure of determination. Quite often, that determination came from the Star's humble origins; once they had a taste of the good life they became willing to endure whatever the studio demanded to avoid failure. Usually, this meant conforming to the studio's and the public's image of the Star. Once in a while, an actor comes along who doesn't need the accolades of the Star system to affirm their success. Katherine Hepburn exemplifies this phenomenon.

Katherine's parents were a New England urologist who campaigned to educate the public about venereal disease and a suffragette who worked with Margaret Sanger to promote birth control. In this progressive environment, Kate grew up as a self-confident and athletic tomboy who insisted on being called Jimmy. Her view of the world changed during what was supposed to be a fun visit with friends to Greenwich Village at the age of 14. She innocently went into her dear brother Tom’s room to discover his body hanging by a knotted bedsheet. The family insisted that the death was the result of an experiment gone wrong and not a suicide, but Katherine became distrustful and withdrew from her companions.

While attending Bryn Mawr College, Katherine discovered the joy of acting. Since Tom’s death, she had been a poor student, only sliding by with the help of private tutors. She had been in danger of being thrown out of Bryn Mawr after getting caught smoking in her room, but she realized that the only way she would be allowed to work in the school’s plays was if her grades (and behavior) were raised to meet standards.

Katherine Hepburn and Cary GrantAfter graduating in 1928, Katherine was determined to succeed as an actress, and travelled to Baltimore in order to join Edwin H. Knopf’s stock company. Knopf was perhaps more impressed with her eagerness than her abilities, and he cast her in his current productions. She got favorable reviews, but the next week was criticized for her shrill voice. A move to New York to study with a voice tutor began a cycle of setbacks and minor successes until she won the lead role in The Warrior’s Husband in 1932. The role called for an aggressive and athletic actress, and Kate was perfect. It also brought her to the attention of RKO talent scouts and director George Cukor.

Ms. Hepburn arrived in Hollywood in July of 1932, and stood toe to toe with the well-established John Barrymore in Bill of Divorcement. She was so successful in the early part of her movie career that she won the Academy Award for Best Actress in just her third picture, Morning Glory (1933). Even with success in Hollywood, Katherine still wanted to make a splash on Broadway. She was offered a role in The Lake which she accepted for relatively low pay, but the effort was badly directed and doomed to failure. Hepburn bought her contract out rather than stay with the show.

Katherine’s efforts with RKO over the next few years won generally good reviews, but were disappointing at the box office. In fact, theater owners labeled her "box office poison" because her pictures failed to bring in customers. She did make a series of screwball comedies with Cary Grant which are considered classics today but were less than successful at the time of their release.

Katherane Hepburn and Howard HughesGrant introduced Katherine to his friend, aviation magnate Howard Hughes, and Hughes and Hepburn became a couple from 1936 to 1938. To rebound from her "box office poison" career slump, Katherine began seeking a stage project, and Philip Barry wrote The Philadelphia Story with her in mind. Hughes sensed that the show was going to be a hit, and bought the film rights as a gift for Katherine. The play was in fact a success, and studios began lining up to create a movie version. Hepburn eventually cut a deal with MGM with the provision that she would star in the picture and she would have the director of her choice, George Cukor.

The Philadelphia Story was one of the biggest hits of 1940, and put Kate in position for her next project, Woman of the Year (1942). The film was the first on screen pairing of Hepburn and Spencer Tracy, and lead to a relationship that lasted the rest of Tracy’s life. Tracy was married to another woman, although separated, throughout his relationship with Hepburn, but Katherine understood his reasons for not ending the marriage. She was living in Tracy’s house and was with him when he passed away on June 10, 1967, and followed the hearse in her car but chose not to attend the funeral out of respect for the Tracy family.

Katherine rapidly returned to work after Tracy’s death as a means to cope with the grief. In many ways it was the golden period of her career, with notable performances in A Lion In Winter (1968), Rooster Cogburn (1975) with John Wayne, and On Golden Pond (1981). Miss Hepburn was fiercely protective of her privacy throughout her life, and had a difficult relationship with the press and studio public relations departments. She had enough of a personal fortune that she could have walked away from acting at any time, but always felt that you were not an actor unless you were actually acting. A cancer was discovered growing on Katherine’s neck in May, 2003. She refused medical intervention, and passed away on June 29. On July 1, 2003, the lights on Broadway were dimmed in her memory. A Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6284 Hollywood Blvd honors Katherine Hepburn’s contributions to Motion Pictures.

Text on OTRCAT.com ©2001-2024 OTRCAT INC All Rights Reserved. Reproduction is prohibited.

These classic recordings are available in the following formats:

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  • MP3 CDs are delivered by mail. These archival quality MP3 CDs are playable in your computer and many MP3 player devices.



    10 recordings on 1 MP3 CD for just $5.00. Total playtime 6 hours, 3581 min
    10 recordings on 1 MP3 CD for just $5.00
    total playtime 6 hours, 3581 min
    Add MP3 CD Collection to Cart

    1. 10 shows – total playtime 6 hours, 59 minutes
    2. Arthur Hopkins Playhouse 440510 04 B Philadelphia Story.mp3
    3. Biography In Sound 550320 10 Ethel Barrymore.mp3
    4. Command Performance 430731 077 Ed Gardner, Ted Lewis.mp3
    5. Lux Radio Theater 420720 00x Philadelphia Story.mp3
    6. Lux Radio Theater 471006 584 Undercurrent.mp3
    7. Same Time, Same Station 720430 19 Arch Oboler 3.mp3
    8. Screen Guild Theater 430419 140 Woman Of Year.mp3
    9. Screen Guild Theater 470317 339 Philadelphia Story.mp3
    10. Stage Struck 540418 Major Studios Anniversary.mp3
    11. Theater Guild On Air 451223 016 Little Women.mp3
  • MP3 downloads are available instantly after purchase!



    10 recordings on 1 MP3 Collection Download for just $5.00. Total playtime 6 hours, 3581 min
    10 recordings on 1 MP3 Collection Download for just $5.00
    192 MB – total playtime 6 hours, 59 min
    Add Instant Download Collection to Cart

    1. 10 shows – 192 MB – total playtime 6 hours, 59 minutes
    2. Arthur Hopkins Playhouse 440510 04 B Philadelphia Story.mp3
    3. Biography In Sound 550320 10 Ethel Barrymore.mp3
    4. Command Performance 430731 077 Ed Gardner, Ted Lewis.mp3
    5. Lux Radio Theater 420720 00x Philadelphia Story.mp3
    6. Lux Radio Theater 471006 584 Undercurrent.mp3
    7. Same Time, Same Station 720430 19 Arch Oboler 3.mp3
    8. Screen Guild Theater 430419 140 Woman Of Year.mp3
    9. Screen Guild Theater 470317 339 Philadelphia Story.mp3
    10. Stage Struck 540418 Major Studios Anniversary.mp3
    11. Theater Guild On Air 451223 016 Little Women.mp3
  • Standard Audio CDs are delivered by mail on archival quality media with up to 60 minutes on each CD and play in all CD players



    10 recordings on 8 Audio CDs. Total playtime 6 hours, 59 min
    10 recordings on 8 Audio CDs
    total playtime 6 hours, 59 min

    Katharine Hepburn Disc A001

    1. Lux Radio Theater 420720 00x Philadelphia Story

    Add Audio CD to Cart - $5.00
    Katharine Hepburn Disc A002

    1. Screen Guild Theater 430419 140 Woman Of Year
    2. Command Performance 430731 077 Ed Gardner, Ted Lewis
    3. Arthur Hopkins Playhouse 440510 04 B Philadelphia Story

    Add Audio CD to Cart - $5.00
    Katharine Hepburn Disc A003

    1. Theater Guild On Air 451223 016 Little Women

    Add Audio CD to Cart - $5.00
    Katharine Hepburn Disc A004

    1. Screen Guild Theater 470317 339 Philadelphia Story

    Add Audio CD to Cart - $5.00
    Katharine Hepburn Disc A005

    1. Lux Radio Theater 471006 584 Undercurrent

    Add Audio CD to Cart - $5.00
    Katharine Hepburn Disc A006

    1. Stage Struck 540418 Major Studios Anniversary

    Add Audio CD to Cart - $5.00
    Katharine Hepburn Disc A007

    1. Biography In Sound 550320 10 Ethel Barrymore

    Add Audio CD to Cart - $5.00
    Katharine Hepburn Disc A008

    1. Same Time, Same Station 720430 19 Arch Oboler 3

    Add Audio CD to Cart - $5.00

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