TIMELINE

1960

January

8th – In Rome, the Ferrers attended the funeral service of pianist and fashion editor Lenore Evelyn Kipp Cotten, the wife of British actor Joseph Cotten, who passed away on January 7th from acute leukemia at 56. 🕊️

A note from a press photo:
"Her body was cremated and the ashes are to be placed in an urn in the English cemetery in Rome."

_{Source: Audrey Hepburn in Black and White; Find a Grave; Historic Images.}

23rd – At the 25th New York Film Critics Circle Awards, Audrey won Best Actress for her role as Sister Luke in The Nun’s Story—the film also won Best Director for Fred Zinnemann. Unable to attend the presentation reception, her friend Elizabeth Taylor accepts the award on her behalf and reads her cable of thanks.

_{Source: Wanda Hale, How Awful About Audrey!, Motion Picture May 1964; Wikipedia.}

April

22nd – Audrey is announced as the “definite” star of Breakfast at Tiffany’s with Blake Edwards boarded as the film's director.

_{Source: AFI Catalog.}

May

A pregnant Audrey taking a stroll in Antibes, France. She and her husband, Mel Ferrer, stay at the Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Roc.

_{Source: Rare Audrey Hepburn.}

Pregnant Audrey arrives at the Cointrin airport (currently known as the Genève Aéroport) in Switzerland.

_{Source: Rare Audrey Hepburn.}

July

17th – On Sunday morning, Audrey gave birth to her first child at the Municipal Maternity Clinic in Lucerne, Switzerland. They named him Sean, a Christian name that is the Irish version of Audrey’s brother’s name, Ian, which means Gift of God. Swiss gynecologist Professor Willy Merz helps deliver her son, who weighs nine and a half pounds.“Let me see the baby, let me see it at once,” Audrey cries with tears streaming down her face. “Is it all right? "Is it really all right?” She kisses Mel after being reassured that Sean was born perfect.“I’m the happiest man on this earth at the moment,” says Mel, wearing a long white doctor’s coat over a collarless shirt. "We both so much wanted a baby, whether a boy or a girl. It happens to be a boy, so we’re just that much happier.”Mel gifts Audrey with an original handmade Italian earring, composed of white and yellow gold encrusted with diamonds. “My father brought it to the hospital in Lausanne where I was born," Sean shared the details of his father's thoughtful, bespoke gift.In 1961, almost a year after Sean’s birth, a reporter complimented her diamond earrings. “From Mel,” Audrey responded. “He’s so darling. He gave me a son. I don’t know why he gave me these as well. I have all I want now.”

_{Source: July 18th, 1960, New York Times, pg. 15., Ian Woodward, 1984, Audrey Hepburn, St Martins Press; "Audrey Hepburn Collection 'Snowflake' Pendant." YouTube, uploaded by HSNtv, 16th October 2014; Three Precious Jewels, 1961 clipping.}

19th – Press photographers awaited in the hospital lobby; the Ferrers permitted one at random to take the pictures to be shared by all.

_{Source: The Bettmann Collection via Getty Images. Warren G. Harris, Audrey Hepburn: A Biography, August 1, 1994, Simon & Schuster.}

23rd – Author Truman Capote's handwritten letter congratulating Audrey on playing the title role of his Holly Golightly from Breakfast at Tiffany's."AZ-ZAHARA"
PLAYA DE ARO
COSTA BRAVA,
Spain
23 July 1960Dearest Audrey,With two such parents, I'm sure it must be a most beautiful little boy, wicked-eyed but kindly natured. My life-long blessings on the three of you—May I say, too, how pleased I am that you are doing "B.ATT." I have no opinion of the film script, never having had the opportunity to read it. But since Audrey and Holly are both such wonderful girls, I feel nothing can defeat either of them.I am spending the summer here (until end of Oct.), and then going somewhere in Switzerland—the point being that I am working on a new book, and plan to stay abroad until I've finished it.Please give my love to Mel.
Mille Tendresse
Truman

Truman Capote was diplomatically in his letter, but later in life revealed that he had someone else in mind for the part:"Marilyn Monroe was my first choice. Holly had to have something touching about her, unfinished. Marilyn had that. At that age she was exactly right for the part. But Paramount double-crossed me and gave the part to Audrey Hepburn—although she did a terrific job. The book was really rather bitter. Holly Golightly was real—a tough character—not an Audrey Hepburn character at all."

_{Source: Christie's; Rebecca Cope, Intimate new documentary explores parallel lives and friendship of Truman Capote and Tennessee Williams, April 30, 2021, Tatler.}

27th – On a Wednesday, the Ferrers return to the chalet in Bürgenstock, where Mel surprises Audrey with the nursery decorated in the color light blue—to match the color of Sean’s eyes.

_{Source: Ian Woodward, 1984, Audrey Hepburn, St Martins Press.}

August

1st – Audrey is officially cast as Karen Wright for the film The Children's Hour.

_{Source: AFI Catalog.}

17th – On this day, Audrey wrote to actor Felix Aylmer, who was her acting coach and mentor when she was a chorus girl in London.August 17, 1960Dearest Felix,Loving thanks for your wonderful warm telegram.Sean is truly a dream and I find it hard to believe he is really ours to keep. I long to show him to you.We all three send all our love,And kisses
Audrey

_{Source: Bonhams; Express UK.}

September

Sean was baptised by Pastor Endiguer, who had married his parents six years earlier.

_{Source: Barry Paris, Audrey Hepburn, 1996, Penguin Publishing Group., Alexander Walker, Audrey: Her Real Story, December 15, 1997, St. Martin's Griffin.}

Audrey and Mel decided to leave their baby, Sean, in Switzerland with his nanny, Gina, and grandmother, Ella Van Heemstra, while filming Breakfast at Tiffany’s.

_{Source: Warren G. Harris, Audrey Hepburn: A Biography, August 1, 1994, Simon & Schuster.}

14th – Flying from Switzerland, Audrey arrives in Los Angeles.

_{Source: AFI Catalog.}

15th – Visits the Paramount Studio for costume fittings.

_{Source: AFI Catalog.}

October

2nd – The first day of Breakfast at Tiffany’s begins—the budget for the first eight days of shooting is around $2 million in New York City. The location includes Tiffany’s store on Fifth Avenue, the Mall in Central Park, the New York Women’s House of Detention on Tenth Street, a brownstone on the Upper East Side, and the exterior of the New York Public Library.

_{Source: AFI Catalog.}

5th – Hotel Pierre, New York letterhead addressed to Mike Connolly of The Hollywood Reporter providing an update on Breakfast at Tiffany's star, Audrey Hepburn, at Schraft's."Audrey is living it up: goes out with me and eats pie at Schraft's. Meantime, showing pix of new son, Sean (which means 'John' and is pronounced 'Shawn')."

_{Source: Heritage Auctions.}

From Warren G. Harris' biography:Blake Edwards also took advantage of Tiffany's Sunday closure to film the only scene set in the interior, filling the main floor with actors and dress extras posing as sales clerks and customers. The store hired twenty additional security guards to keep an eye on the $25 million worth of gems and jewelry that were within reach on the counters and in the display cases.

_{Source: Warren G. Harris, Audrey Hepburn: A Biography, August 1, 1994, Simon & Schuster.}

"Audrey and I specifically never had a disagreement that I can remember. People would advise Audrey, and we would rehearse one night, and she'd come back the next day and do something totally different, and I finally took her aside and said, 'Hey, there's only one director. He may not be the best, but that's what you got. And you either go along with what we agree on together, or you gotta get another director.' And that changed right then. And she relied on me from that moment on. It was easy to spot what she was doing. She was... sheww... some kind of spectacular lady."- Blake Edwards, director of Breakfast at Tiffany's

_{Source: Breakfast at Tiffany's: The Making of a Classic, February 7, 2006.}

26th – After years of avoiding to learn how to drive, Audrey finally received her license in 1958. On July 14th of the same year, Audrey made a left turn in Beverly Hills to avoid a car driven at rapid speed and then rammed into a car inside actress Joan Lora. She sued Audrey for $50,000 due to back and neck injuries in the collision. Two years later, on October 26th, 1960, Audrey testified in court and used a diagram to show how she avoided the fast car.

_{Source: Barry Paris, Audrey Hepburn, 1996, Penguin Publishing Group., Actress Audrey Hepburn, defendant, TESSA.}

27th – The case reached a settlement, and Lora was awarded $6,250. Ever since then, Audrey no longer drove in any kind of vehicle unless it was required for her in film.

_{Source: Barry Paris, Audrey Hepburn, 1996, Penguin Publishing Group.}

"I had only one scene with Audrey, but she was quite friendly and even invited me to her house for supper. Mel was very strict with her during production, so it was one drink, a light meal and good night. I don't think the sun had set by the time I got home. I'd never seen anything so fast in my life. But I sure knew how she kept her looks."
- Patricia Neal, co-star of Breakfast at Tiffany's

_{Source: Barry Paris, Audrey Hepburn, 1996, Penguin Publishing Group.}

November

10th – Transcript found in Audrey's Own Words:At midday in Manhattan, Miss Hepburn, with blonde curls pinned down, pops into a drugstore for a quick snack between shots. Somehow she looks different from the elfin, waifish Hepburn of the past."I suppose it's the baby," she said. "Sean has made a vast difference to my life; whereas work was everything, I now find my mind wandering frequently to that little boy.""I suppose it is true that no woman finds complete fulfillment until she has had a child.""I feel that to be a really good actress equipped to play the widest variety of parts, it is essential to have experienced childbirth. I didn't realize it before. Now I know."

_{Source: Audrey's Own Words; Audrey Hepburn in Black and White.}

After completing the scenes in New York, Audrey and her husband Mel flew to California to shoot the rest of Breakfast at Tiffany’s. They rented a house with a swimming pool in Coldwater Canyon.

_{Source: Warren G. Harris, Audrey Hepburn: A Biography, August 1, 1994, Simon & Schuster.}

December

7th – In a film studio in between shooting with Breakfast at Tiffany’s co-star George Peppard in Hollywood, California.

_{Source: Kathryn Bubien, 30 years since the death of Audrey Hepburn, January 13th, 2023, AP.org.}

Sean and his Italian nanny Gina flew to California for Christmas. “At last, I have my two men together,” Audrey told her Breakfast at Tiffany’s director, Blake Edwards.

_{Source: Warren G. Harris, Audrey Hepburn: A Biography, August 1, 1994, Simon & Schuster.}

TIMELINE

1961

February

3rd – The last day of filming for Breakfast at Tiffany's.

_{Source: AFI Catalog.}

22nd – Photograph caption dated February 22, 1961 reads, "Audrey Hepburn Ferrer leaves for Rome today via an SAS polar jet. She eventually will join husband Mel Ferrer in Yugoslavia where he is directing 'The Law of Wars.'"https://tessa2.lapl.org/digital/collection/photos/id/34442/rec/15

5th – Los Angeles Times reported that over 300 felines were brought to Breakfast at Tiffany’s open casting call. Putney won the role of the “Cat” and appeared in location scenes shot in New York City, while the “movie feline” was used for scenes shot in Hollywood, California.

_{Source: AFI Catalog.}

March

30th – Audrey arrives in Los Angeles to prepare the filming of The Children's Hour.

_{Source: AFI Catalog.}

April

17th – Audrey presented the Oscar for Best Picture at the 33rd Academy Awards. Billy Wilder, who directed her in Sabrina and Love in the Afternoon, won the coveted award for The Apartment.

_{Source: IMDB.}

May

13th – Actor Gary Cooper died in Los Angeles, California. He passed from terminal cancer that spread to this lungs and bones.🕊️Cooper starred with Audrey in Billy Wilder's Love in the Afternoon.

18th – The Ferrers attended Gary Cooper's funeral at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Beverly Hills, California. Attendees included James Stewart, John Wayne, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Marlene Dietrich. The pallbearers were Jack Benny and James Stewart.

_{Source: LIFE.}

June

5th – The first day of filming The Children's Hour.

_{Source: AFI Catalog.}

August

16th – Audrey and co-star Shirley MacLaine hosts a luncheon for cast and crew, catered by Romanoff’s Restaurant, as a “pre-pic windup” celebration.

_{Source: AFI Catalog.}

December

13th – Graumans Chinese Theatre made a colourful setting for the opening night in Hollywood of the film "West Side Story", December 13.https://www.britishpathe.com/asset/162427/

TIMELINE

1962

"I was at a screening—this year is the 50th anniversary of Roman Holiday. They restored the film, and I went with the Peck family to a screening. And this woman approached me at the end of the screening and said, 'I was a young actress from Nebraska, I think she said, 'and I was invited to a dinner party at Jack Warner's house. And the dinner party had been put together by your parents to convince him to give Julie the role. And I didn't realize then what that meant. And she starts to cry as she's telling me this story. That was her. She didn't leave a stone unturned until she did what she thought was right, just like she did her work for UNICEF."
- Sean Hepburn Ferrer, her son

_{Source: CNN Larry King Live, December 24, 2003.}

May

Warner Bros. President Jack Warner signs Audrey Hepburn to play Eliza Doolittle in the film rendition of My Fair Lady. He agrees to her fee of $1.1million.
_{Source: AFI Catalog.}

June

18th – The production of Paris When It Sizzles begins.
_{Source: AFI Catalog.}

July

29th – Stars at Taormina International Film Festival, including Marlene Dietrich and Audrey Hepburn.https://www.tumblr.com/audreyhepburnforever/133259758708/audrey-with-anthony-perkins-at-the-taormina-filmhttps://www.britishpathe.com/asset/98099/

August

29th – It is reported that director of photography, Claude Renoir, quits Paris When It Sizzles after Audrey hires Charles Lang Jr. to supervise his work since she finds Renoir's scenes "somewhat lacking in polish." When Lang replaces him, some of the crew wanted to leave in solidarity, but Renoir convinces them to stay. Despite the disagreement of his departure, Audrey's assessment is actually correct, the result of Lang's work is extraordinary and captures her beautifully.
_{Source: AFI Catalog.}

When Audrey first met Cary Grant at a bistro in Paris, she accidentally tipped over a red wine bottle, spilling it all over Grant's cream-colored suit. She profusely apologized, but Grant simply removed his jacket and continued where they left off in conversation.

_{Source: Pamela Fiori, Forever Audrey, May 2003, Town & Country.}

October

22nd – The first day of production of Charade begins in Paris, France.

_{Source: AFI Catalog.}

TIMELINE

1963

February

The filming of Charade is completed.

_{Source: Warren G. Harris, Audrey Hepburn: A Biography, August 1, 1994, Simon & Schuster.}

The Ferrers flew back to Switzerland for the remaining winter season.

_{Source: Warren G. Harris, Audrey Hepburn: A Biography, August 1, 1994, Simon & Schuster.}

May

16th – Photograph caption dated May 16, 1963 reads, "Home Again After Two Years - Audrey Hepburn arrives in Los Angeles with her husband, Mel Ferrer, and son Sean, 2, from Paris to star in Broadway musical hit, "My Fair Lady" which will be filmed soon by Warner Bros."
https://tessa2.lapl.org/digital/collection/photos/id/32860/rec/5

18th – Ladies Home Journal 1964_Feb

23rd – Audrey sang "Happy Birthday, dear Jack" for President John F. Kennedy at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City.

_{Source: The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum}

29th – Ladies Home Journal 1964_Feb

June

3rd – Ladies Home Journal 1964_Feb

5th – Ladies Home Journal 1964_Feb

11th – Ladies Home Journal 1964_Feb

18th – President John F. Kennedy wrote a letter thanking Audrey for performing at his private birthday event. Learn more about his connection with Audrey.

_{Source: The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum}

July

2nd – Ladies Home Journal 1964_Feb

3rd – Ladies Home Journal 1964_Feb

29th – Ladies Home Journal 1964_Feb

August

13th – Ladies Home Journal 1964_Feb - First Day of shooting My Fair Lady.

15th – Press photographers shoot pictures of Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison, in front of London's St. Paul's Church on the Warner Bros. set of 'My Fair Lady' in Burbank. Actress Isobel Elsom can be seen seated in background. Photograph dated August 15, 1963.; See images #00138295 through #00138297 for all photos in this series.https://tessa2.lapl.org/digital/collection/photos/id/67884/rec/19

November

22nd – JFK.

"My Fair Lady director George Cukor was unrelenting, demanding something more in Audrey's performance. The two had different images of how Eliza should be played."
- Bob Willoughby, photographer

_{Source: Bob Willoughby, Remembering Audrey, June 2002, InStyle}

Her son Sean caught a nasty flu with a high fever.

_{Source: Warren G. Harris, Audrey Hepburn: A Biography, August 1, 1994, Simon & Schuster.}

December

Late Winter – My Fair Lady's filming production ends a few days before Christmas.

_{Source: AFI Catalog; Warren G. Harris, Audrey Hepburn: A Biography, August 1, 1994, Simon & Schuster.}

Her brother, Ian, and his family went on business trips to multiple locations: from Indonesia to Holland, then Tehran, then Bangkok, then Sweden, and so forth. They made a stop at Bürgenstock, Switzerland, for Christmas with Audrey, Mel, and little Sean.

_{Source: Robert Matzen, Ian Quarles van Ufford Audrey Hepburn, April 2021.}

31st – For New Year’s Eve, Audrey and her husband Mel hosted a dinner party at their rented château in France. Attendance: Director Stanley Donen and his wife, Adelle O'Connor Beatty, Screenwriter Peter Stone and his wife, Mary Hanley Stone, Actor Cary Grant and his girlfriend, Dyan Cannon. More details here.

_{Source: Barry Paris, Audrey Hepburn, 1996, Penguin Publishing Group.}

TIMELINE

1964

February

20th – Playwright Harry Kurnitz completed a script that was written with Audrey Hepburn in mind. The working title was Venus Rising, which would eventually be renamed to How to Steal a Million.

_{Source: AFI Catalog.}

May

7th – Blake Edwards, the director of Breakfast at Tiffany's, wrote to Audrey, which is addressed to her home in Spain.7 May, 1964Dearest Audrey:I have neglected writing you before this because I have felt unable to fully express myself in describing your brilliant and moving Liza Dolittle.I find that I am still at a loss for the proper words. So just let me say it is everything that I could want as an audience, as a friend, and as a director.Love,
BlakeMrs. Mel Ferrer
Hoyos del Espino, 5
Puerta de Hierro
Madrid, Spain

Fun Fact: In 1967, Blake Edwards attended a party, and there was a discussion about whether Julie Andrews won the Oscar for her talent or as a conciliatory prize for losing the My Fair Lady role. "I know why she won," he said. "She has lilacs for pubic hair." Everyone erupted in laughter, and someone joked, "With your luck, you'll probably meet the lady and end up marrying her!" A couple weeks later, Edwards started dating Andrews. After he purchased a new house, Andrews gifted him three lilac bushes for his garden without the faintest idea of the story.Blake: "Oh... you know, don't you?"Julie: "Know what?"Blake: "Don't do that to me! Who told you?"Julie: "Honestly, I have no idea what you're talking about!"He proceeded to tell her about the event of the joke.Blake: (sheepishly) I'm sorry.Julie: (smiled) "That's all right. But—how did you know?"Ever since then, lilacs have been a theme at every birthday and anniversary.

_{Source: Julie Andrews, Home Work: A Memoir of My Hollywood Years, October 15, 2019, W&N.}

15th – The Ferrers attend a bullfight in Málaga, Spain.

Original Transcript:Famosos En Las Ventas: Mel Ferrer, que actualmente rueda una película en Madrid, asistió ayer a la segunda corrida de toros de la feria isidril de Las Ventas. Aquí le vemos junto a su esposa, Audrey Hepburn, durante la breve pausa que media entre la lidia de un toro y otro.

Translation:Celebrities in Las Ventas: Mel Ferrer, who is currently filming a movie in Madrid, attended the second bullfight of the Las Ventas bullfighting fair yesterday. Here we see him with his wife, Audrey Hepburn, during the brief pause between bullfights.

_{Source: Gregorio Belinchón, Audrey Hepburn: The myth of the modern woman was born in 'Breakfast at Tiffany’s', April 11, 2023, EL PAÍS; Album Online; Audrey Hepburn y Mel Ferrer: Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas, March 16, 1964, Spain, Pueblo.}

April

A photo session in New York with Cecil Beaton for an editorial for Vogue’s June 1964 issue.

October

10th – Lectures D’hui, October 10th, 1964.

22nd – THE WORLD PREMIERE IN NEW YORK OF A PICTURE THAT HAS COST GBP6 MILLION TO MAKE - "MY FAIR LADY".https://www.britishpathe.com/asset/206657/

28th – Producer Jack L. Warner and the two stars of the picture, actors Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison are shown at the premiere of "My Fair Lady" at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood. Photograph dated October 28, 1964.https://tessa2.lapl.org/digital/collection/photos/id/32862/rec/7

December

2nd – On December 2, 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson broke ground on the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. This groundbreaking ceremony marked the official beginning of construction for the center, which was dedicated to the memory of President John F. Kennedy.https://www.kennedy-center.org/our-story/blog?p=on-this-day-in-1964-construction-on-the-kennedy-center-beganhttps://www.britishpathe.com/asset/191998/

TIMELINE

1965

March

30th – Audrey won Best British Actress for her role in Charade at the British Academy Film Awards, otherwise known as the BAFTAs. She poses with actor Richard Attenborough, who won Best British Actor for his performance in Guns at Batasi. The event is hosted by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

_{Source: Kathryn Bubien, 30 years since the death of Audrey Hepburn, January 13th, 2023, AP.org.}

April

5th – During the award campaign for My Fair Lady, critics accused Audrey of stealing Julie Andrews' role upon learning that her singing was entirely dubbed by Marni Nixon—in fact, it may have cost her a Best Actress nomination for the Oscars. Despite the media’s unfair assessment, Audrey attended the 37th Academy Awards ceremony with her mother, Ella van Heemstra.

Audrey presented the Best Actor award to her My Fair Lady co-star, Rex Harrison. She appeared nervous throughout his speech, and Harrison defused the situation by thanking "two fair ladies." The camera then focused on Julie Andrews, who clapped agreeingly.

"At the end of the ceremony, all the winners and presented were asked to pose for photographs together. I stood next to Audrey, who looked absolutely gorgeous. She quietly said to me, 'Julie, you really should have done My Fair Lady... but I didn't have the guts to turn it down.' I told her that I completely understood, and in the years that followed, we became good friends."
- Julie Andrews

_{Source: Julie Andrews, Home Work: A Memoir of My Hollywood Years, October 15, 2019, W&N.}

Upon reading the Two for the Road script, she told Mel that she wasn't sure if the project is right for her due to infidelity content that may conflict with her image.“Audrey usually makes up her own mind about what she’s going to do. But when I read the script of Two for the Road, I told her to make it—right away. I knew it would be good for her.”
- Mel Ferrer, her first husband

_{Source: Donald Spoto, Enchantment: The Life of Audrey Hepburn, October 9, 2007, Crown.}

12th – Audrey Hepburn and Rock Hudson sign to co-star in Two for the Road, and it will be directed by Stanley Donen.

_{Source: AFI Catalog.}

June

30th – Audrey shopping with husband Mel in Geneva, Switzerland.

_{Source: Bridgeman Images.}

August

23rd – The official day of filming How to Steal a Million Dollars and Live Happily Ever After, and Audrey arrives in France at the Orly airport in time to start working.

_{Source: AFI Catalog.}

25th – Albert Finney replaces Rock Hudson as the lead male in Two for the Road.

_{Source: AFI Catalog.}

September

Audrey took driving lessons for her role as Nicole Bonnet–she learned how to drive a sports car for a Paris traffic chase scene. The costume budget for her was $30,000, and was designed by her friend, Hubert de Givenchy. There were color screen tests made for Audrey in each outfit, after which “a number of changes were made.” It may seem that Audrey would be allowed to keep her wardrobe.

_{Source: AFI Catalog.}

December

30th – Following the completion of the film, it is announced that the official title is How to Steal a Million.

_{Source: AFI Catalog.}

TIMELINE

1966

January

7th – Audrey reportedly had a miscarriage. 🕊️

_{Source: AFI Catalog.}

February

23rd – Warner Bros. Pictures purchased the film rights to Frederick Knott's play Wait Until Dark before its debut at the Ethel Barrymore Theater on Broadway. Intended for Audrey to star in and for her husband, Mel Ferrer, to produce.

_{Source: AFI Catalog.}

"... We drove to Bürgenstock where she [Audrey] was living with her then husband Mel... what was his name? Yes, she was living with Mel Ferrer – not all that happily actually. I could tell, because when Mel came into the room when we were talking she said in a very strange voice, 'Here comes Melchior', and I thought, that doesn't sound quite right...""Mel was, of course, a very conceited man. All he wanted to do was to show us the stills from the film that he was preparing about El Greco, and the only thing that Audrey said to me about the script was, 'I'm not going to say anything about the script because I don't want Frederic to be too pleased with himself'. Those were indeed the days.""Audrey was divine, and I had a great moment with Audrey, a very chastening moment actually when we were shooting in the south of France, and I read the scene we were going to do that day, and I rewrote it because I didn't like it, and I said to Audrey at lunch, 'Audrey, I think we should do this scene this way tomorrow if you don't mind, this is much better'. And after we'd finished she said, 'I like the first scene'. So I said, 'I promise you actually, the second one is much better. The first one didn't actually make any sense; this is, you know, makes sense'. So she said, 'Well, would you read them with me?' Yes. I consented to read it with her, so we went into her caravan and she said, 'Which one should we do first?' So I said, 'Do the first, the old one first because I think you'll see when you do it...' I don't know what the first line in the old script was – it was something like, 'Hello'. I said, 'You're quite right, Audrey, it's fine'. She was terrific."- Frederic Raphael, screenwriter of Two for the Road

_{Source: WebOfStories. "Frederic Raphael - Meeting Audrey Hepburn (85/144)." YouTube, Sept 15, 2017; WebOfStories. "Frederic Raphael - Audrey Hepburn works her charm (97/144)." YouTube, Sept 15, 2017.}

March

18th – The Ferrers were having a small vacation at an alpine resort in Megève, France.

_{Source: The Fashion of Audrey.}

Late March – Audrey wrote to her father from the Alpine resort.Having at last a real rest and sunny weather, I walk every morning and swim in the afternoon, also take massages and sleep lots… am well again and not so sad anymore. I start work on May 1 in St. Tropez, then Paris—a wonderful script.

_{Source: Donald Spoto, Enchantment: The Life of Audrey Hepburn, October 9, 2007, Crown.}

April

22nd – Audrey landed at London's Heathrow Airport from Paris for one night to see the French play A Flea in her Ear, which was translated by John Mortimer for The National Theatre at the Old Vic Theatre. The production was directed by Charon and starred her upcoming Two for the Road co-star, Albert Finney.

_{Source: Getty Images; Wikipedia.}

May

3rd – Film production of Two for the Road starts in France.One day before her birthday, Audrey wrote to George Cukor who directed her in My Fair Lady.I have drawn a complete blank in the whole period of Christmas and the two months that followed. I find even now hard to remember what I did and did not do, who and when and what I saw—perhaps nature’s sometimes so charitable way of helping one to forget—in my case not so much the anguish but the joy I had felt.Sean is now in school and God knows how I miss him… Albert Finney is a marvel, so easy and "cooperative," as they call it, that he makes even me look "uncooperative"!!Our new house is a dream. As I left, the fruit trees were in bloom, the fresh spring grass stood high below them, filled with buttercups and clover. All the tulips were out and the glycinin blooming away on our walls.

_{Source: Donald Spoto, Enchantment: The Life of Audrey Hepburn, October 9, 2007, Crown.}

4th – Audrey working on her birthday in the set of Two for the Road.

_{Source: Getty Images.}

Shooting locations includes Beauvallon, Saint-Tropez, La Colle sur Loup, and Nice, with additional work completed at studio facilities in Paris.

_{Source: AFI Catalog.}

Behind the scenes of Two for the Road.

“Audrey was very pleasant to everyone on the production, but there was a kind of distance there. When we first met, she gave me a very broad smile I’ll never forget. It wasn’t a smile with the eyes, but with her mouth only. Of course, she was the star of the film and had enormous responsibilities. And she could be very generous with us. A few times, on the weekends, she cooked dinner for several of us—very rich pastas, with all sorts of wonderful cream sauces. But when we worked during the week, she went to her trailer and had lunch on her own—a bit of cheese with some tomato, or something like that—a very tiny meal, so that she could work at top form through the afternoon."
- Jacqueline Bisset, co-star Two for the Road

_{Source: Donald Spoto, Enchantment: The Life of Audrey Hepburn, October 9, 2007, Crown.}

July

8th – Audrey in the pool on the set of Two for the Road in the South of France. It took three days to get her into the pool."I discovered Audrey's curious dread. She hated being in water, weather the sea or a swimming pool. When we came to do the scene where Albert picks her up and dunks her in the hotel pool, she said to me, 'Can't you use a double?" I said, 'Audrey, this is a scene I can't possibly shoot with a double. People have to be able to recognize it's you being thrown in.' 'Well,' she said, 'if Albie throws me in, I may well have a heart attack.' "
- Stanley Donen, director of Two for the Road

_{Source: Holden Luntz Gallery; Alexander Walker, Audrey: Her Real Story, December 15, 1997, St. Martin's Griffin; Getty Images.}

August

Audrey and Mel were photographed at clothing store and around the seafront in the French Riviera, France.

"Audrey was the consummate professional, always prepared and very focused. She must have sensed that Two for the Road would be one of her best film performances, particularly playing next to such a good actor. Even though it could be hot as hell out on those roads in August and most of the actors would need constant mopping up of perspiration before a take, not Audrey. She would sit under an umbrella by the roadside with not a drop of moisture on her."
- William Daniels, co-star of Two for the Road

_{Source: William Daniels, There I Go Again: How I Came to Be Mr. Feeny, John Adams, Dr. Craig, KITT, and Many Others, March 1, 2017, Potomac Books.}

"My part wasn't glamorous. I played a stiff-necked American who tried to insist on order and decorum while traveling with the beautiful couple, Audrey Hepburn and Albert Finney. But the production itself, with all the colors of France, was dazzling. Albie and Audrey were an item at that time. Finney was great fun to be around. Bonnie left our boys with her parents and joined us on location. When she was introduced to Finney as my wife, he took her hand in both of his, looked her in the eyes and said, 'Oh. I am so sorry'.""My role, in fact the whole film, took place primarily on French country roads. And what roads they were--scenic and beautiful, often lined with cypress trees. There was a scene in a gorgeous country inn that had a small bridge over a pond with swans swimming by."- William Daniels, co-star of Two for the Road

_{Source: William Daniels The Actor.}

"Audrey and I met in a seductive ambience [in] a very sensual time in the Mediterranean. We got on immediately. After the first day’s rehearsals, I could tell that the relationship would work out wonderfully. Either the chemistry is there, or it isn’t.... That happened with Audrey. During a scene with her, my mind knew I was acting but my heart didn‘t, and my body certainly didn’t! Performing with Audrey was quite disturbing, actually...""With a woman as sexy as Audrey, you sometimes get to the edge where make-believe and reality are blurred. All that staring into each other’s eyes.... People are always asking me when I’m going to marry her... I won’t discuss it more because of the degree of intimacy involved. The time spent with Audrey is one of the closest I’ve ever had."- Albert Finney, co-star of Two for the Road

_{Source: Charles Higham, Audrey: The Life of Audrey Hepburn, 1984, Macmillan Publishing Company.}

“I didn’t even know the Audrey of the last few weeks on this film. She overwhelmed me. She was so free, so happy. I never saw her like that—so young! I don’t think I was responsible. I guess it was Albie.”
- Stanley Donen, director of Two for the Road

_{Source: Donald Spoto, Enchantment: The Life of Audrey Hepburn, October 9, 2007, Crown.}

“She and Albie had this wonderful thing together, like a pair of kids with a perfect understanding and a shorthand of jokes and references that closed out everyone else. When Mel was there, it was funny: Audrey and Albie got rather formal and a little awkward, as if now they had to behave like grown-ups."
- Irwin Shaw, American writer who often visit the set

_{Source: Alexander Walker, Audrey: Her Real Story, December 15, 1997, St. Martin's Griffin.}

“I remember there was a tension in my parents’ marriage at that time. Only years later did I realize it was because she was having an affair with Finney during the making of that movie.”
- Sean Hepburn Ferrer, her son

_{Source: Donald Spoto, Enchantment: The Life of Audrey Hepburn, October 9, 2007, Crown.}

October

6th – Audrey arrives with her husband, Mel Ferrer, at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam for action in pro-UNICEF promotion with the release of How to Steal a Million and to attend the Holland film premiere of El Greco, which stars her husband.CROSS CHECK: https://www.britishpathe.com/asset/88049/

_{Source: The Fashion of Audrey; Rare Audrey Hepburn: Post 1, Post 2.}

December

Audrey helps Sean prepare his poem that he would have to recite out loud for the local church’s holiday pageant—he dresses up as a sheep in the Nativity scene, and for Audrey, it is the highlight of this Christmas.“Our little boy stood up straight as a die, opened his mouth, and in a loud French voice recited this little French poem, hands by his side. And he spoke good and loud, as I’d asked him to. And he did fine. And his father and I were absolute wrecks because to the very last line we were afraid he would forget or lose his confidence. But he didn’t. He did us proud. It was a big thrill.”

_{Source: Warren G. Harris, Audrey Hepburn: A Biography, August 1, 1994, Simon & Schuster.}

TIMELINE

1967

January

15th – First day filming of Wait Until Dark.

_{Source: AFI Catalog.}

February

13th – The studio request Audrey to wear opaque contact lenses to emphasize her character's blindness. She was hesitant at first, but tried the lenses on and her eyes were itchy and turned sore.

_{Source: AFI Catalog; Warren G. Harris, Audrey Hepburn: A Biography, August 1, 1994, Simon & Schuster.}

Wait Until Dark filming location in California. The Ferrers stay at the Beverly Hills Hotel—two staff from La Paisible to cook and run errands for them.

_{Source: Warren G. Harris, Audrey Hepburn: A Biography, August 1, 1994, Simon & Schuster.}

March

Easter Break – Since Sean will have a school recess, Mel arranges the call sheet for Audrey to take time off to spend the holidays with Sean and Ella. The grandmother and her grandchild arrive from Switzerland to California; Audrey took Sean to Disneyland and Knott’s Berry Farm—even had lunch at a Farmer’s Market, visited television sets of Westerns, and went to the beach at Malibu.

_{Source: Warren G. Harris, Audrey Hepburn: A Biography, August 1, 1994, Simon & Schuster.}

April

7th – Wait Until Dark's final day of filming at the Warner Bros. studios in Burbank, California.

_{Source: AFI Catalog.}

May

21st – Mel was one of the panelists for the "What's My Line?" game show. He shook hands with every female contestant, but for the sensational girl group, The Supremes, instead of a simple shake, he kissed the back of their hands. 1967 was the year of violent tension between African Americans and white police officers that erupted in over 150 riots across the states. Whether it was in solidarity or not, Mel made a bold move at the height of the social unrest.

After coming back to Switzerland, Audrey tested positive for pregnancy, but unfortunately, while Mel was away trying to get Mayerling produced, she miscarried and was alone. 🕊️She did not want to work and told her agent to stop sending her scripts.

_{Source: Warren G. Harris, Audrey Hepburn: A Biography, August 1, 1994, Simon & Schuster.}

Summer

In the summer of 1967, Audrey and Mel Ferrer separated.

_{Source: Barry Paris, Audrey Hepburn, 1996, Penguin Publishing Group.}

September

1st – On the same day, the lawyers announced in a joint statement that Hepburn and Ferrer are getting divorced. Mel was in Paris, and Audrey was in La Paisible with Sean.

“When my marriage to Mel broke up, it was terrible; it was a keen disappointment. I thought a marriage between two good, loving people had to last until one of them died. I can’t tell you how disillusioned I was. I’d tried and tried.”
- Audrey Hepburn“Although Audrey loved acting, she wanted to work less and spend more time in private with Mel and Sean. She was filled with love. Mel was filled with ambition, for his wife and for himself.”
- Henry Rogers, her former publicist“I don’t know how Audrey put up with it for so long. But then, I suppose, she was so desperate to make it work, and she is so sweet, loyal, and human. I’m sure that, above everything, Mel was jealous of her success, and he could not reconcile himself to the cold facts of life. She was much better than he in every way, so he was taking it out on her. Finally, she couldn’t take it any longer. God knows, she did everything a woman could do to save her marriage.”
- Yul Brynner, ex-husband of her friend Doris Brynner“It would be impossible to find anyone, anywhere who dislikes Audrey [Hepburn] and equally impossible to find anyone, anywhere who likes Mel [Ferrer]. I will say that they were beautiful together: The sleek fawn and the minotaur as drawn by Goya. Mel was arrogant and mean, and I think he opened doors for the preternaturally shy and kind Audrey: A marriage of convenience and conveyance, I guess.”
- Tennessee Williams"I don’t think anybody could compete with Audrey, I don’t think there was any sense in trying to. I had a great deal to do with her career, and I’m delighted I was able to contribute. But I didn’t benefit from it, I was not competitive nor was I controlling."
- Mel Ferrer, her first husband"The breakup between my mother and my father was hard. But I had a feeling something was wrong—children sense these things. She sat me down in the bedroom and gave me the news. Then she took me to see The Jungle Book, so as far as I was concerned, it was a good conclusion."
- Sean Hepburn Ferrer, her son

_{Source: Barry Paris, Audrey Hepburn, 1996, Penguin Publishing Group; J.D. Podolsky, Life with Audrey, October 31, 1994, People; Pamela Fiori, Forever Audrey, May 2003, Town & Country.}

December

Audrey took Sean to Marbella, Spain, for the Christmas holidays. During her stay, she casually dated Prince Alfonso de Bourbon-Dampierre; they held hands, dined at restaurants, and visited nightclubs.

_{Source: Warren G. Harris, Audrey Hepburn: A Biography, August 1, 1994, Simon & Schuster.}

TIMELINE

1968

February

5th – ON THE EVE OF THE OPENING OF THE 1968 WINTER OLYMPIC GAMES IN GRENOBLE, SKATING CHAMPIONS OF MANY NATIONS MET DURING FINAL PRACTICE ON THE SPEED CIRCUIT, WATCHED BY INSTRUCTORS, RELATIVES, AND SPECTATORS; AMONG THE LATTER WAS FILM STAR AUDREY HEPBURN.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1968WinterOlympicshttps://www.britishpathe.com/asset/140346/

April

1st – Landed at the Los Angeles International Airport to get ready for the Academy Awards.

_{Source: Getty Images}

10th – Audrey attended as a nominee for Best Actress in her role from Wait Until Dark and presenter Best Actor at the 40th Academy Awards. Hosted by Bob Hope.

_{Source: Barry Paris, Audrey Hepburn, 1996, Penguin Publishing Group.}

May

Princess

_{Source: Barry Paris, Audrey Hepburn, 1996, Penguin Publishing Group.}

June

Audrey meets Andrea Paolo Mario Dotti.

_{Source: Barry Paris, Audrey Hepburn, 1996, Penguin Publishing Group; Audrey Hepburn: Doctor’s Wife, TV and Movie Screen May 1969.}

July

Alarmed by the lack of marketing in London with his produced film Wait Until Dark, he reached out to Wolfe to see how to optimize awareness of the film.

Dear Wolfe:I am eager to hear how WAIT UNTIL DARK opened in London, and what sort of notices we received.Had a desperate telephone call from Terence Young in London saying that very little space had been taken in advertising announcing the opening of the picture - and in talking with Ben he told me that he had taken the matter up with you and Dick Lederer.Will look forward to hearing from you at your convenience.Meanwhile, all the best,Cordially,
Mel Ferrer

December

5th – Audrey and Mel Ferrer officially divorced and finalized."He was a good dad. The divorce prevented me from making full use of a lot of good advice that he gave me. And also, he wasn't an easy man, by any stretch of the imagination. He was extremely talented, well read, educated, certainly played a very important role in the choices that she made and the standards that she kept."
- Sean Hepburn Ferrer

_{Source: Audrey Hepburn: Doctor’s Wife, TV and Movie Screen May 1969; Larry King Live 2003.}

Christmas Season – Audrey and her son Sean celebrated the holidays with Andrea and his relatives in Rome, Italy. Andrea proposed to Audrey with a ring from Bulgari, and she accepted.

"Audrey will be an ideal daughter-in-law. She is such a delicious person, a dream. The age difference doesn't matter. She has become so much the perfect woman for Andrea that, for us, she doesn't have age."
- Paola Dotti Roberti, mother-in-law

_{Source: Warren G. Harris, Audrey Hepburn: A Biography, August 1, 1994, Simon & Schuster.}

TIMELINE

1969

January

17th – Andrea Dotti arrives in Switzerland and reunites with Audrey in the evening at Doris Brynner’s home in Chanivaz.

_{Source: Audrey Hepburn: Doctor’s Wife, TV and Movie Screen May 1969.}

18th – At 39, Audrey marries the Roman psychiatrist, Dr. Andrea Dotti, in Morges, a town a few miles west of Lausanne, Switzerland. She wears a custom Givenchy ensemble of a pink dress with a matching headscarf, holding a bouquet of lilies of the valley.Her son, Sean Hepburn Ferrer, accompanied her while the ceremony was performed by Denise Rattaz, the registrar, in the Morges town hall. Doris Brynner, ex-wife of actor Yul Brynner, and French actress Capucine witness on behalf of Audrey. Renato Guttuso, an Italian painter, and Paul A. Weiller, a French industrialist (their Greek islands cruise host), are witnesses on behalf of Dr. Dotti. Baroness Ella was escorted by Sean.After the wedding, they went to Doris’s home to celebrate with food and dancing in Chanivaz, it would be a 20 minute car ride from Morges.

_{Source: Getty Images; Audrey Hepburn Married To a Roman Psychiatrist, January 19th, 1969, New York Times, pg. 61; Luca Dotti, June 16th, 2015, Audrey at Home: Memories of My Mother's Kitchen, Harper; Audrey Hepburn: Doctor’s Wife, TV and Movie Screen May 1969; Warren G. Harris, Audrey Hepburn: A Biography, August 1, 1994, Simon & Schuster.}

The newlyweds stayed in La Paisible for one week and returned to Rome.

_{Source: Warren G. Harris, Audrey Hepburn: A Biography, August 1, 1994, Simon & Schuster.}

February

The Dottis lived with his mother's villa while house hunting in Rome, Italy.

_{Source: Warren G. Harris, Audrey Hepburn: A Biography, August 1, 1994, Simon & Schuster.}

"I'm in love and happy again. I never believed it could happen to me. I'd almost given up. I don't care if I never make another film. After all, I worked nonstop from my early teens, when I started training for the ballet, until I was thirty-eight. I feel a need to relax. Why I resume work and then life I rejected when I've married a man I love, whose life I want to live?"
- Audrey Hepburn told Henry Gris, journalist

_{Source: Warren G. Harris, Audrey Hepburn: A Biography, August 1, 1994, Simon & Schuster.}

April

A few weeks after her fortieth birthday, she became pregnant.

_{Source: Warren G. Harris, Audrey Hepburn: A Biography, August 1, 1994, Simon & Schuster.}

Summer

After Sean's summer recess starts, the family went to luxurious beach clubs nearby Lido di Roma and weekend trips to the Lovatelli estate on Isola del Giglio.

_{Source: Warren G. Harris, Audrey Hepburn: A Biography, August 1, 1994, Simon & Schuster.}

November

Andrea Dotti and Sean playing Battleship in their first apartment in Rome.When asked if he got along with his stepfather: "Very much. He was a wonderful second father. And fun, and took the time to play and build mottles, and do all the things, you know. He was great."

_{Source: Sean Hepburn Ferrer, Audrey Hepburn, An Elegant Spirit, 2003, Atria Books; Larry King Live 2003.}

Audrey decided to stay the rest of her pregnancy term in La Paisible, Tolochenaz, Switzerland. While she was away from Rome, Andrea was partying in discos and nightclubs.

_{Source: Warren G. Harris, Audrey Hepburn: A Biography, August 1, 1994, Simon & Schuster.}