1959 - first grammys announced / audrey hepburn's bday - 1929
on this day back in 1959 the national academy of recording arts and sciences announced the winners of the first grammy awards . henry mancini won the best album award for the music from peter gunn; perry como was voted best male vocalist and ella fitzgerald best female vocalist. «volare» by domenico modugno, won best record.today is also audrey hepburn's birthday. audrey hepburn-ruston was born on this day in 1929 near brussels. hepburn's father, an english banker, left hepburn and her mother, a dutch Baroness, when hepburn was six. hepburn attended school in england, but was brought to holland by her mother at the outset of wwII. the nazis did occupy holland yet audrey continued to attend school and study ballet-while reportedly smuggling messages to the resistance in her ballet shoes!
after the war, hepburn studied ballet in amsterdam and london, and went on to study acting. she played bit parts on stage and screen until 1951, when she met the french writer colette who insisted hepburn be cast in the title role of the broadway version of her novel gigi. hepburn's broadway debut in 1951 brought her enormous attention, and was cast as the lead in roman holiday (1953), co-starring gregory peck. she won the academy award for best actress for her performance. she continued to win lead roles in strong films, including sabrina (1951), opposite humphrey bogart, funny face (1957), the nun's story (1959), breakfast at tiffany's (1961), and my fair lady (1964).
hepburn married actor and director mel ferrer in 1954, and he produced her oscar-nominated 1967 film, wait until dark. the couple divorced in 1968, and she married an italian psychiatrist in 1969. they moved to europe, and hepburn largely retired from hollywood, devoting her time to charitable causes and her post as special ambassador for UNICEF during the 1970s.
in 1976, after a nine-year hiatus, hepburn appeared as a rather mature maid marian in robin and marian, opposite sir sean connery. she continued to appear in a handful of film in the 1970s and 1980s, including one as an angel in always (1989), her final film project. hepburn continued to work for charitable causes until her death in 1993.
