Laura Barney Harding (June 2, 1902 – August 9, 1994) was an American socialite and philanthropist. She became a close friend of

Katharine Hepburn Katharine Houghton Hepburn (May 12, 1907 – June 29, 2003) was an American actress in film, stage, and television. Her career as a Hollywood leading lady spanned over 60 years. She was known for her headstrong independence, spirited perso ...

in the late 1920s when they were both aspiring actresses; the two travelled together to California to seek work in films, and shared a house in

Franklin Canyon Park Franklin Canyon Park is a public municipal park located near Benedict Canyon, at the eastern end of the Santa Monica Mountains, in Los Angeles, California. The park comprises 605 acres (245 ha), and is located near the geographical center of ...

, near

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

Early life

Laura Barney Harding was born on June 2, 1902, to

James Horace Harding James Horace Harding (July 13, 1863 – January 4, 1929) was an American banker, financier and art collector. Early life Harding was born on July 13, 1863, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was a son of publisher William White Harding and Catherin ...

and Dorothea Barney in the family home at 1816 South Rittenhouse Square, and grew up in a townhouse on

Fifth Avenue Fifth Avenue is a major and prominent thoroughfare in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It stretches north from Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village to West 143rd Street in Harlem. It is one of the most expensive shopping stre ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. Her mother was

Jay Cooke Jay Cooke (August 10, 1821 – February 16, 1905) was an American financier who helped finance the Union war effort during the American Civil War and the postwar development of railroads in the northwestern United States. He is generally acknowle ...

's granddaughter and Charles D. Barney's daughter. Both of her brothers,

Charles Barney Harding Charles Barney Harding (September 11, 1899 – October 25, 1979) was an American financier who served as chairman of the New York Stock Exchange, Smith Barney, Smith, Barney & Co., and the New York Botanical Gardens. Early life Harding was born ...

and William Barclay Harding, served as chairman of the family firm Smith, Barney & Co. She debuted into society aged 18 in 1920 at the

Plaza Hotel The Plaza Hotel (also known as The Plaza) is a luxury hotel and condominium apartment building in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is located on the western side of Grand Army Plaza, after which it is named, just west of Fifth Avenue, a ...

, accompanied by Wilmarth Sheldon Lewis. Harding was invited to a dance hosted by

Anne Harriman Vanderbilt Anne Harriman Sands Rutherfurd Vanderbilt (February 17, 1861 – April 20, 1940) was an American heiress known for her marriages to prominent men and her role in the development of the Sutton Place neighborhood as a fashionable place to live. Ea ...

in 1921, confirming her position among American high society. Harding's sister, Cammie, married polo player Lorillard Suffern Tailer. Harding attended

Miss Porter's School Miss Porter's School (MPS) is an elite American private college preparatory school for girls founded in 1843, and located in Farmington, Connecticut. The school draws students from 21 states, 31 countries (with dual-citizenship and/or residence), ...

but did not go to college. In 1967,

Monmouth College Monmouth College is a private Presbyterian liberal arts college in Monmouth, Illinois. Monmouth enrolls approximately 900 students from 21 countries who choose courses from 40 major programs, 43 minors, and 17 pre-professional programs in a c ...

awarded Harding with an honorary degree of doctor in humane letters.

Career

In summer 1929, Harding began work with the Berkshire Players in

Stockbridge, New York Stockbridge is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Madison County, New York, Madison County, New York (state), New York, United States. The population was 2,103 at the 2010 census. The name is derived from a group of Native Americ ...

, performing

W. Somerset Maugham William Somerset Maugham ( ; 25 January 1874 – 16 December 1965) was an English writer, known for his plays, novels and short stories. Born in Paris, where he spent his first ten years, Maugham was schooled in England and went to a German un ...

's ''Caroline''. The cast included a young

James Cagney James Francis Cagney Jr. (; July 17, 1899March 30, 1986) was an American actor, dancer and film director. On stage and in film, Cagney was known for his consistently energetic performances, distinctive vocal style, and deadpan comic timing. He ...

and

Jane Wyatt Jane Waddington Wyatt ( ; August 12, 1910 – October 20, 2006) was an American actress. She starred in a number of Hollywood films, such as Frank Capra's ''Lost Horizon'', but is likely best known for her role as the housewife and mother Marg ...

. In autumn, she joined the Dramatic League of Chicago, performing ''Thunder in the Air''. After the press wrote that "an heiress to a seven-million-dollar fortune" was working with the company, she quit. "I do not want any publicity," she said: "I want my work to be judged on nothing but merit. I simply will not have people come to stare at me because they have found out who I am." She returned to the Berkshire Players, where she became friends with Hepburn. About this time, Harding met Hepburn when they were students of voice instructor Frances Robinson-Duff in New York City. At Robinson-Duff’s suggestion, they both accepted work at the Berkshire Playhouse and became close friends. The pair rented a Victorian house on Devon Road in the upstate town of

Lee, New York Lee is a town in Oneida County, New York, United States. The population was 6,486 at the 2010 census. The Town of Lee is northwest of Rome. History The Town of Lee was formed from the Town of Western in 1811. The town was named after Revolut ...

, that was owned by Edward C. Bradley, and became close to Bradley's daughters. In 1930 Hepburn and Harding worked together in

James M. Barrie Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, (; 9 May 1860 19 June 1937) was a Scottish novelist and playwright, best remembered as the creator of Peter Pan. He was born and educated in Scotland and then moved to London, where he wrote several succe ...

's ''

The Admirable Crichton ''The Admirable Crichton'' is a comic stage play written in 1902 by J. M. Barrie. Origins Barrie took the title from the sobriquet of a fellow Scot, the polymath James Crichton, a 16th-century genius and athlete. The epigram-loving Ernest is p ...

'', playing Lady Agatha and Lady Catherine respectively. The play was directed by a young

Alexander Kirkland William Alexander Kirkland (September 15, 1901, Mexico City, Mexico – 1986) was a leading man in Hollywood during the early sound era as well as a stage actor who starred in productions of the Group Theatre (New York), Group Theatre in New Yo ...

, an associate of

Eva Le Gallienne Eva Le Gallienne (January 11, 1899 – June 3, 1991) was a British-born American stage actress, producer, director, translator, and author. A Broadway star by age 21, Le Gallienne gave up her Broadway appearances to devote herself to founding t ...

. The press began calling Harding "Katharine Hepburn's other half". The pair moved to the West Coast to launch Hepburn's Hollywood career, and Harding took care of Hepburn, including wardrobe design, acting as a press agent and negotiating with producers and directors. Harding once described herself facetiously as "Miss Hepburn's husband". Hers was the most private and enduring of all of Hepburn’s friendships with women. "I think it's fair to say," Hepburn later said, "that Laura Harding saved my life." Harding introduced Hepburn to

Leland Hayward Leland Hayward (September 13, 1902 – March 18, 1971) was a Hollywood and Broadway agent and theatrical producer. He produced the original Broadway stage productions of Rodgers and Hammerstein's '' South Pacific'' and ''The Sound of Music''. ...

, son of attorney Colonel William Hayward, who became Hepburn's lover and

agent Agent may refer to: Espionage, investigation, and law *, spies or intelligence officers * Law of agency, laws involving a person authorized to act on behalf of another ** Agent of record, a person with a contractual agreement with an insuranc ...

. Harding lived with Hepburn for four years and put her own career on hold, concentrating on Hepburn's. She later told friends this was the happiest time the pair spent together before Hepburn became famous. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Harding organized dances and parties for the National Guardsmen in Eatontown. She volunteered at the

Stage Door Canteen The Stage Door Canteen was an entertainment venue for American and Allied servicemen that operated in the Broadway theatre district of New York City throughout World War II. Founded by the American Theatre Wing (ATW) in 1942, the entertainers we ...

in New York City. She was president from 1954 to 1970 and chairman of the board from 1970 to 1974 of the MCOSS Nursing Services, a non-profit volunteer organization serving patients in Monmouth, Middlesex, and Ocean New Jersey counties. She campaigned to convert the Bendix plant in Red Bank, New Jersey, into a health center, subsequently named the Geraldine L. Thompson Building after the MCOSS founder. In 1955 she was the assistant of

Cecil Beaton Sir Cecil Walter Hardy Beaton, (14 January 1904 – 18 January 1980) was a British fashion, portrait and war photographer, diarist, painter, and interior designer, as well as an Oscar–winning stage and costume designer for films and the theat ...

, scenic designer for the Broadway production of ''

The Chalk Garden ''The Chalk Garden'' is a play by Enid Bagnold that premiered in the US in 1955 and was produced in Britain the following year. It tells the story of the imperious Mrs St Maugham and her granddaughter Laurel, a disturbed child under the care of ...

''. In 1968 Harding was named woman of the year by the Business and Professional Women's Clubs of Monmouth County. In 1971 the MCOSS Nursing Services set up the Laura Harding Scholarship fund to provide grants and loans for training nurses. In 1974 she received the Brotherhood Award from the American Conference of Christians and Jews. In 1990 a medical center in Manasquan, New Jersey, was named in her honor, the Laura Harding Health Center, and her birthday, June 2, was declared Laura Harding Day in Monmouth County, New Jersey. She was active in the Republican Party (she was the Republican Committeewoman of the 5th District in Holmdel) and the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. She was vice-president of the Riverview Hospital's board, and president of the board of managers at the New Jersey Diagnostic Center in Menlo Park. She was a member of the Monmouth Park Charity Fund and on the board of the Old Monmouth Training Club and the Monmouth County SPCA.

Personal life

After Hepburn's career took off, Harding lived at

Beekman Place Beekman Place is a small street located in the Turtle Bay neighborhood on the East Side of Manhattan, New York City. Running from north to south for two blocks, the street is situated between the eastern end of 51st Street and Mitchell Place, ...

, New York, and owned the Bayonet Farm in Holmdel, New Jersey, which Hepburn regularly visited. Harding also owned a house in Mantoloking, New Jersey, which people mistook for being Hepburn's because of her frequent visits. Harding was paired with society men like Wilmarth Lewis, a collector of

Horace Walpole Horatio Walpole (), 4th Earl of Orford (24 September 1717 – 2 March 1797), better known as Horace Walpole, was an English writer, art historian, man of letters, antiquarian, and Whigs (British political party), Whig politician. He had Strawb ...

memorabilia, Carleton Burke, a polo player who lived in Berkeley Square, Los Angeles, and Fortune reporter Russell "Mitch" Davenport. Her close friends included

Hope Williams Hope Williams Brady is a fictional character from '' Days of Our Lives'', an American soap opera on the NBC network. Created by writer William J. Bell, she was portrayed by Kristian Alfonso on and off from April 1983 to October 2020. Hope is a mem ...

, a fellow graduate of Miss Porter’s and a member of the Junior League, and her lover

Mercedes de Acosta Mercedes de Acosta (March 1, 1892 – May 9, 1968) was an American poet, playwright, and novelist. Although she failed to achieve artistic and professional distinction, de Acosta is known for her many lesbian affairs with celebrated Broadway and ...

Clifton Webb Webb Parmelee Hollenbeck (November 19, 1889 – October 13, 1966), known professionally as Clifton Webb, was an American actor, singer, and dancer. He worked extensively and was known for his stage appearances in the plays of Noël Coward, in ...

Gertrude Lawrence Gertrude Lawrence (4 July 1898 – 6 September 1952) was an English actress, singer, dancer and musical comedy performer known for her stage appearances in the West End of London and on Broadway in New York. Early life Lawrence was born Gertr ...

Guthrie McClintic Guthrie McClintic (August 6, 1893 – October 29, 1961) was an American theatre director, film director, and producer based in New York. Life and career McClintic was born in Seattle, attended Washington University and New York's American Academ ...

and his wife

Katharine Cornell Katharine Cornell (February 16, 1893June 9, 1974) was an American stage actress, writer, theater owner and producer. She was born in Berlin to American parents and raised in Buffalo, New York. Dubbed "The First Lady of the Theatre" by critic A ...

, Lillie Messenger, a Hollywood talent scout,

Philip Barry Philip Jerome Quinn Barry (June 18, 1896 – December 3, 1949) was an American dramatist best known for his plays ''Holiday (play), Holiday'' (1928) and ''The Philadelphia Story (play), The Philadelphia Story'' (1939), which were both made into ...

Beatrice Lillie Beatrice Gladys Lillie, Lady Peel (29 May 1894 – 20 January 1989), known as Bea Lillie, was a Canadian-born British actress, singer and comedic performer. She began to perform as a child with her mother and sister. She made her West End debu ...

Elsie Janis Elsie Janis (born Elsie Bierbower, March 16, 1889 – February 26, 1956) was an American actress of stage and screen, singer, songwriter, screenwriter and radio announcer. Entertaining the troops during World War I immortalized her as "Forces ...

Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time'' magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and ...

Eunice Stoddard Eunice is a feminine given name, from the Greek Εὐνίκη, ''Euníkē'', from "eu", good, and "níkē", victory. Eunice is also a relatively rare last name, found in Nigeria and the Southeastern United States, chiefly Louisiana and Georgia. Pe ...

Cheryl Crawford Cheryl Crawford (September 24, 1902 – October 7, 1986) was an American theatre producer and director. Biography Born in Akron, Ohio, Crawford majored in drama at Smith College. Following graduation in 1925, she moved to New York City and ...

and her lover,

Dorothy Patten Dorothy Patten (January 24, 1905 – April 11, 1975) was an American theatre producer and actress. Biography Born in Chattanooga, Tennessee to a wealthy family, Patten rejected the traditional role of a Southern socialite and hostess and s ...

. One of Harding's last public appearances was at the premiere of '' Rich and Famous'', director

George Cukor George Dewey Cukor (; July 7, 1899 – January 24, 1983) was an American film director and film producer. He mainly concentrated on comedies and literary adaptations. His career flourished at RKO when David O. Selznick, the studio's Head of ...

's last film, in 1981. Afterwards, Harding and Cukor attended a gala reception together. Harding died on August 9, 1994, aged 92.

References

Citations Books * {{DEFAULTSORT:Harding, Laura Barney 1902 births 1994 deaths American socialites American women philanthropists People from Mantoloking, New Jersey Socialites from Philadelphia Miss Porter's School alumni New Jersey Republicans 20th-century American philanthropists 20th-century women philanthropists