Academy given Katharine Hepburn's archive

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., Sept. 7 (UPI) -- The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has received the late Katharine Hepburn's personal collection of memorabilia, academy officials said Tuesday.

The Katharine Hepburn Collection -- consisting of thousands of photographs, decades of correspondence, scrapbooks, annotated screenplays and other memorabilia -- was recently delivered to the academy's Margaret Herrick Library. The materials were donated by Hepburn's estate.

Officials describe the donation as the most comprehensive collection devoted to any performer's career. Hepburn, who died in June 2003, was meticulous about saving items that documented and illustrated her career, during which she won three Academy Awards for acting.

The correspondence includes letters between Hepburn and such legendary directors as George Cukor, John Huston and David Lean. There is also material relating to her involvement in social and political issues, as well as her personal relationships with such filmmakers, actors and writers as Cary Grant, Tennessee Williams, Laurence Olivier, John Ford, Henry Fonda, Stanley Kramer, John Wayne and Spencer Tracy -- with whom she had a private love affair for decades.

Once fully cataloged, the collection will be accessible to qualified researchers.