Audrey and Bill: A Romantic Biography of Audrey Hepburn and William Holden by Edward Z. Epstein

Author:Edward Z. Epstein
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
ISBN: 9780762456093
Publisher: Running Press
Published: 2015-04-13T16:00:00+00:00

Capucine was excited, anticipating a cruise. It was Sam Spiegel’s idea. The P. T. Barnum/Flo Ziegfeld–like producer of Bill’s Bridge on the River Kwai (among other great films, including Lawrence of Arabia and The African Queen) was a key player on the international movie scene. He made a grand gesture: he offered his friends Bill and Cap his yacht, the fifty-ton Malahane, complete with crew and master chef, for a fantasy cruise. Only the lovebirds, no other guests.

Bill wanted this relationship to work. Capucine made him happy. Thanks to her, he was (for now) able to remain sober, and he appreciated all she had done for him. He did not want to throw away the happiness they could still enjoy together. As he once noted, “I like to get in a situation that is real, where I can say, ‘Here’s a chance to react as a human being, not some windup doll or robot that goes round and round a track.’”

Cap was doing her best to understand him better. Nonetheless, she was nervous and constantly on edge when they embarked on their romantic odyssey, always alert to anything that might set him off and lead to that first drink.

All agreed that Cap more than deserved this marvelous interlude. The things she’d had to put up with, the binges, Bill’s periods of retreat from human contact. Bill felt guilty about all of it and hoped to make it up to her. But after two weeks of being alone with Cap with only the crew and the high seas for company, Holden grew moody and restive. If there had been doubts in his mind about marrying her, apparently this voyage confirmed them. By the time the yacht reached Barbados, their romance was over, although their relationship wasn’t. Specifics on what caused Bill’s change of heart were not forthcoming.

To Capucine’s disappointment and dismay, there was no longer any doubt: Holden was not looking to cast her to replace the current Mrs. Holden. The best Audrey could do was to console her depressed friend. Years later, asked if Holden had been about to divorce Ardis to marry her, Capucine replied: “That would never have happened.” Thanks to changing times, Bill could more or less openly carry on affairs without ever dissolving his marriage. It would take more than another woman, or a studio, or any agent’s disapproval, to spell finis to the Holden marriage, now in its twenty-fifth year. Outsiders could not comprehend how this was possible (twenty-five years!), though insiders had long since accepted it. Some even admired them. Comedian Henny Youngman once joked that the secret of getting along with one’s wife was simple: “Don’t spend any time with her.” It seemed to work for Ardis and Bill.

Bill’s career seemed on the verge of a renaissance. John Madden, a reporter for Variety and a film buff, regarded a Holden comeback as inevitable. It all depended on when the right part came his way. “He was too highly regarded as an actor and a star to be written off, even at his lowest point.

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