Katharine Hepburn rearranges the furniture on Dick Cavett

Hepburn rarely granted interviews, and when she did, she wanted them under her terms. When she agreed to appear on the Dick Cavett Show they went in the studio a day early so she could get the feel of things. They ended up doing the interview right then and there, without an audience.

In this clip she tells Cavett and his crew what she thinks of the set.

This was recorded on September 14, 1973 and appears as an extra on this Dick Cavett Show DVD: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000...

Cavett talks a bit about this moment in this 2011 interview: http://www.maximumfun.org/sound-young...

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  Entertainment

[ParkerAllen2]

It never ceases to amaze me what some people have in their personal archives. I don't know where someone would get a piece of footage like this but it's great. As close as you can get to a couple minutes with the real Katharine Hepburn. Thanks for posting.

[charlexington]

Fascinating! I've never seen a clip that really showed Kate as she really was. If she weren't who she is I think I'd find her rude and boring. But she could do anything she wanted as long as I could watch and listen.

[Dan North]

Oh, she's just teasing. If you watch the actual interview, you'll see that they haven't actually changed the set for her.

But hey, she's Katharine F*****g Hepburn. Give her what she f*****g wants.

[MrAnthropophagy]

I don't think she's being an ass here. Just an example of a strong, slightly eccentric attitude laced with a bit of humour. It's not like she is throwing a big tantrum over nothing like some stars do. Reminds my of my much missed gran.

[JudgeJulieLit]

Likely he was in Katherine Hepburn's palm ... as a few years after this interview, he told an interviewer interviewing him that he "fell madly in love with" her. Katherine here is just being a perfectionist artist, as Dick himself is.

[Terri Varela]

Kate was just plain terrified of the interview model, and her offensive/defensive behavior is no surprise given her background and generation. Watch the entire interview with all of the out takes. She is just so great and yet hates the "transparency" of "talk-shows". incidentially there is no studio audience there either. This is part of the agreement for the interview. Very different than the Betty Davis interview on Dic Cavett show where there is a live audience. Different ego's. Love em

[Eyesdontblush]

I bet he is irritated. Cavett is professional. I know he would never start throwing bitchy remarks about it, never in public. If he didn't know how to handle hard people, he wouldn't risk inviting all the stars he had. And I think it's interesting for him too to see who these people really are.

I feel disappointed with Hepburn. Such a great actress, she could had been more cool or at least more humorous if she really felt like rearranging everything.

[nolegirl97]

My band teacher used to tell me "when you make your living playing the saxophone, you can hold it however you want." I think that that applies here. Katharine has deserved her right to be an ass. And she has earned it quite well.

[Ari Hoptman]

Everyone here keeps saying, "Yes, she knew how to stand her ground and get what she wanted" and "Good for her." However great an artist she may have been, her behavior here is simply terrible. Whether or not she cared about doing the interview, she was a guest and should have acted as such.

[Filmdude0]

@makeitrocklikeitrolz I don't think he is in the palm of her hand....he is sucking up to appease her and to make her feel important and comfortable.

[BarbraLovesYou]

I think she is just wonderful!

And this kind of attention to detail is very similar to Barbra Streisand's notorious reputation for adjusting lighting, cam, colors and furniture too! These are of the most talented women in entertainment history - legends in their own time - and they know how to present themselves.

I respect people like Katharine Hepburn and Barbra Streisand... for they do not make these "adjustments" to be annoying, but, to create the best possible quality of work! Love it!

[jb0579]

I don't get whu people think this is "cute" or "funny". I find it rude and condescending. If I were Cavett, I would have been irritated. Look at Letterman - could you imagine HIM re-arranging his set for ANYONE? Not in a million years.He'd tell them to piss off. You don't go as a guest of someone and then dismantle the set and bitch about it. You act cordial and do your 10-15 minutes and leave. I just find it utterly rediculous that she'd come on and act a fool like this. Am i wrong?