It all began when I was around 8 years old. My Fair Lady was on television that night. Being a typical lad of my generation and thinking that musicals were for girls, I did not particularly want to watch it. Fortunately for me, outside of Westerns, musicals were my father's favourite film genre, although I did not realise it at the time. My father convinced me that I should give My Fair Lady a chance, as I might like it. In the end, watching My Fair Lady would have two results. First, it convinced me that musicals are not just for girls and I have enjoyed the genre ever since. Second, I fell hopelessly and irrevocably in love with Audrey Hepburn. It is something from which I have never quite recovered.
In those days when we had neither cable television (we lived on a farm, where the cable companies did not reach) nor a VCR, it would be some time before I would see Breakfast at Tiffany's. When I did, however, my infatuation with Audrey would only grow deeper. This process would repeat itself when I saw Sabrina, Romany Holiday, Funny Face, and her other movies. While many boyhood crushes fade with time, I cannot say that my infatuation with Audrey Hepburn had ever quite done so. As an adult I actively sought out those movies starring Miss Hepburn that I had not seen. While I have not seen all of Audrey Hepburn's movies, I must say that I have seen most of them. And I own a good number of them on DVD.
Of course, Audrey Hepburn would not maintain a monopoly on my heart. Over time I would develop other classic film crushes, most notably one on Vivien Leigh the first time I saw Gone With the Wind (that crush also has never faded). But Audrey Hepburn has always maintained a special place in my heart as the first classic movie star on whom I ever had a crush. On 20 January 1992, then, I not only mourned the passing of a great actress, but also one of my first loves. When Audrey Hepburn died, part of my childhood went with her.
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