SNOWBALLS WITH KATE

Back in the early 1970s, when I first discovered Sasha dolls, I was living in the Turtle Bay section of New York City -- just a few blocks away from where "dollsandreams" was located. The townhouse I lived in was directly across the street from Katharine Hepburn's townhouse. She lived on the "right" side of the street -- the historical side with the fabulous gardens behind the houses.
I would sit at my drawing board and watch my famous neighbors come and go. The first winter that I was living there I was introduced to Kate by my landlady who was the famous art and theater critic -- Emily Genauer. Kate was charming and asked if I enjoyed snowball fights. I said I did and she promised to "take me on" when the first snow fell.
A few weeks later we had our first battle from opposite sides of the street. I think she won because I was covered in more snow than she was.
Over the years we had more snowball fights. That was more or less the extent of our relationship. She did come to see a play that I wrote and told me I was better at snowballs. I used to watch as her gal pals, Celeste Holm and Lauren Bacall, would come and go.
Kate came and went without an entourage or bodyguards. She nodded and waved to her neighbors without pretense or pretension. And she threw a mean snowball. I miss her.