Friday, November 14, 2008

Audrey!

Audrey Hepburn

Have I ever told you guys how much I LOVE Audrey Hepburn? I've always thought she was just so gorgeous.

This was a woman who knew what it meant to be lovely and elegant.
She had talent, and even though I know her songs were dubbed over (at her protest actually), I adored her in My Fair Lady - my favorite musical of all time.

At a young age, this Belgian-born child was a proficient ballerina and danced for audiences to raise money for the Dutch resistance against the Germans. Her father had already abandoned her and her family as a Nazi sympathizer, and she endured the slaughter of some of her remaining family in front of her own eyes. Her childhood experience moved her to become deeply involved in UNICEF later in life.

After the war, she moved to London to continue her dance study while modeling for fashion designers to pay for her lessons. After being advised that she would not be a prima ballerina because of her height and malnutrition during the war, she began pursuing acting.

Her first American film was Roman Holiday, which my roommate and I just watched this past week. It was a fun film. Very funny and loving, and Hepburn is lovely in it, of course. Apparently, the producers of the film had wanted Elizabeth Taylor for the part, but they became enamored with Hepburn during her screen tests.

She was so well-loved, that upon hearing of her bout with cancer, the designer that had fallen so in love with her, Hubert de Givenchy, paid for an internationally known florist to send his private jet full of flowers to pick up Hepburn and whisk her away to her home in Switzerland where she later succumbed to her illness.

I haven't always loved Audrey Hepburn. I'm still not sure why everyone is always referring to Breakfast at Tiffany's. It was kind of a weird movie, although it did give us some of her most memorable pictures (like the one above).

I wish we could return to those ideals, those standards of beauty and grace. And while searching for information for this post, I ran over this picture:

...which really just makes me want to well, run it over. And then back up and run it over again. I HATE Paris Hilton. She is the epitome of all that is wrong in the world today.

What happened?
When did sexy become equated with slutty, trashy, and mean?
Where did the humanitarians go?
The people who share their wealth and talent (no, no, REAL talent - not synthesized and airbrushed talent) with the world?
The people who are worthy of our admiration?

*sigh* I only hope this isn't a startling picture of where our future is going.

Note to Self: And yes, I can sing all the songs from My Fair Lady. I have some of them on my iPod even. Yes, I know that sounds kind of sad, lol. "C'mon, Dover! Move your bloomin' ahhss!!!" :)

16 comments:

Cary McNeal said...

YES x 100,000. Yes to all.

Love Audrey.

Love Roman Holiday (my fave Audrey film). She and G. Peck are like two gods sharing the screen.

Don't love Breakfast at Tiffany's - I get why it's a classic, but it's a bit odd and dark for my taste.

Class is nearly extinct in Hollywood.

As for PH, she is the antithesis of Audrey: classless, talentless garbage.

MJ said...

Cary - I knew I loved you.

Anonymous social worker said...

Wtf! Paris has nowhere near audrey!
really!
how dare she

Rachel said...

I don't get it either...I don't even think she is hot...her body is way to thin and without a figure or any curves...ughhh and then everyone remaking the marilyn monroe pics ugggh

Anonymous said...

Geez, MJ, go easy on the scum sucking skank ho... I mean, Paris (yeah right). Just about everything in your post about Audry Hepburn was news to me. A very nice and informative post that makes some good points, while pointing out some scum sucking skank... er, um, other downsides of the day. ;)

Maki said...

WTF!!! Seriously, Paris needs to get over herself - she has no class. I don't know why, but she's always rubbed me in a wrong way. I am glad to know that I'm not the only one who feels this way about her...

Audrey Hepburn was true Hollywood star... So beautiful and graceful:)

Anonymous said...

Oh you so hit the nail on the head that Audrey was the epitome of style and grace and that Paris epitomizes all that is wrong with this country. YAY! Glad I am not alone in thinking this. I don't know about Breakfast at Tiffany's either as far as the movie but maybe it was because she was so beautiful in it and the fashions looked great on her. Anyway - ha! We did that play in high school. I had forgotten that line until you said it. Now it's all rushing back to me. "Oh, ho ho, Henry Higgins, just you wait!"

pure evyl said...

Audrey Hepburn was a consummate professional and a great lady. My favorite movie was 'The Unforgiven.' Although, I suppose that is because I like westerns.

merc3069 said...

LOVE LOVE LOVE Audrey. Loved this post.

colbymarshall said...

MUst. Run. Over. Paris. Picture.

Mitzi said...

Yikes, that makes me throw up in my mouth a little. I also have the My Fair Lady soundtrack - love it!

KarenElizabeth said...

I too know all the songs from My Fair Lady. There is nothing sad about that lol. And I also hate PH. She's a moron. And I'm angered by that picture.

MJ said...

All - Well I'm glad we all agree! Audrey was a lovely and talented woman, and Paris is nothing but white trash with money. Awesome!

Anonymous said...

Unfortunately, Paris is the perfect example of a spoiled rich kid who has never had to work or be accountable for anything. If she didn't carry things so far maybe people could at least pity her, but she ruins that for people as well.

AES said...

Urgh. There's no real talent left in the film industry.

I miss James Stuart, Humphrey Bogart, Audrey Hepburn and Bette Davis. : /

happyian said...

lolburn