Mel Ferrer, Audrey Hepburn's first husband, has died

The news hasn't been up long, but actor Mel Ferrer died yesterday (Monday, June 2nd) at his home near Santa Barbara. He was 90.

Mel was Audrey's first husband, and he and Audrey had one child together, son Sean Hepburn Ferrer, who now runs The Audrey Hepburn Children's Fund with his half brother Luca Dotti. You can read a little more about Mel in the few articles up so far [here and here], and I'll keep checking back to see if any more news comes up.

Deborah Kerr, 1921-2007

Actress Deborah Kerr died Tuesday at the age of 86, according to her agent. I know she never directly worked with Audrey Hepburn, but I feel that she is definitely worth remembering because she was in the same class of actors as Audrey and they did end up having quite a lot in common, actually. Deborah was a refined European woman known for her poise and modesty, like Audrey. They were both dubbed by Marni Nixon, Deborah in The King and I, and Audrey in My Fair Lady. Both women dreamed of being ballerinas and looked up to dancer Margot Fonteyn as their idol as children, and both grew too tall to ever become prima ballerinas. The two were even pitted against each other at the Oscars in 1954, Deborah being nominated for her career-altering performance in From Here to Eternity, and Audrey for her breakthrough performance in Roman Holiday. Audrey won, as we all know, but there were obviously no hard feelings when Deborah went to meet Audrey backstage during the run of Ondine (above left). If you would like to learn more about Deborah Kerr, the L.A. Times wrote a beautiful three-page memorial to her, which you can read here.

Andrea Dotti, Audrey Hepburn's second husband, has died

Andrea Dotti, Audrey Hepburn's second husband and father of her youngest son Luca, died Sunday in Rome after a botched medical procedure. He was 63.

There still isn't a whole lot of information about him on the wire yet, but sadly all of the obituaries mention his unfaithfulness to Audrey during their 13 year marriage. Isn't that a horrible thing to be remembered for? Either way, if you feel moved to send Luca and half-brother Sean your condolences, I think the best way to get your message to them would be through the Audrey Hepburn Children's Fund website.

Goodbye, José; please learn by example

As many of you might know by now, last week José Luis de Vilallonga died at age 83. Jose was known in the Audrey Hepburn world as the man who played the dashing Brazilian boyfriend of Holly Golightly, José da Silva Pereira. José was a man of many talents, though, as he was also an author and a highly respected aristocrat, writing as a journalist and publishing the official biography of King Juan Carlos of Spain. You can read more about José's fascinating life here.

The second article I'd like to share is a little old as well (for some reason I just sat on it instead of posting it right away), but still very pertinent, I think. You'd have to live under a rock on the moon to have not heard about a certain socialite's stint in jail, a young woman with the initials P.H. I don't want to put her name here because I really don't want to. You know who I'm talking about and that's all that matters. Anyway, after being released from jail and loudly proclaiming that she was a changed woman and would now use her status as a so-called icon to help others, P.H. has done little, if anything, towards that goal. MSNBC, however, won't let P.H. forget her promise and even published an article showing her how to go about using her celebrity towards a better cause. Their golden example? None other than Audrey Hepburn. Even if you can't stand P.H., please read the article, if just to get yourself motivated or to remind yourself of why you love Audrey. As if you needed reminders! It's a wonderful article and while being aimed at a certain heiress, really applies to any young woman who needs a little help shaking off the silliness and immaturity and learning to really think beyond yourself, which will finally make you useful towards other people. "Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you'll find one at the end of your arm. As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands. One for helping yourself, the other for helping others."

Breakfast Dinner at Tiffany's

While it's not technically dinner at Tiffany's, from February 26 to March 25, you can have a swank dinner while watching Breakfast at Tiffany's at Foreign Cinema in San Franciso. Foreign Cinema is a pretty well-known (and well-regarded) restaurant in San Francisco, and I've always wanted to give them a try. Now I have the perfect excuse. ;) If you're interested in trying this yourself and will be in the Bay area during this time, please note that you must make reservations! You can do so on the website, or by calling (415) 648-7600 after 11 am. It looks like it'll be loads of fun. I only hope I can keep from crying into my dinner!

My Fair Lady is getting yet another Broadway revival, this time as a "semi-staged" production running for four days, March 7-10. What's interesting about this production is that Marni Nixon, the woman who secretly dubbed about 90% of Audrey Hepburn's vocals in the film, is set to play Mrs. Higgins, Henry Higgins's mother. The article of course mentions her dubbing history, and they also manage to misspell Audrey's last name. Absolutely mindboggling. If you're interested in attending any of these shows or would like to know more, simply click here. Opening night will be a black tie benefit.

Last up today is some very sad news. For many years Audrey and Sophia Loren were near neighbors in Switzerland and close friends. Both women suffered from multiple miscarriages before finally having children, and they bonded over this issue and the stresses of a high profile life in general. Sophia's husband, director/producer Carlo Ponti, has died at the age of 94. He produced the 1955 epic War and Peace, in which Audrey starred as Natasha Rostov. Ponti and Loren went through a lot to be together and stay together, which makes his death doubly sad. If you'd like to read more about him and his enduring relationship with Sophia, go here.