Ray Martin’s flirtatious encounter with Audrey Hepburn
After 50 years of being in the industry, Ray Martin has met a slew of famous faces, but there was one that stood out amongst the rest.
Audrey Hepburn.
“She’s something special,” Martin told Today Extra.
It was the ‘90s and Hepburn was visiting Australia with the United Nation. During her stay, she was scheduled to appear on Midday, the award-winning TV show hosted by Ray Martin.
“It was in fact here, in this very studio,” recounts Martin. “She was wearing a red skirt.”
“I wrote the introduction, as I often did.
“I said I’d fallen in love with Audrey Hepburn when I was about 15 after I saw her in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, and she was still one of the most beautiful women in Hollywood.”
At the time Hepburn was 63 years old, and Martin was in his early 40s.
“She danced out, like the dancer she was – beautiful high cheekbones, lovely smile. She was simply beautiful – some laugh lines, but at 63, you’re allowed.”
There she was. His teenage dream standing right in front of him, but Martin was unsure on whether he should shake her hand or give her a peck on the cheek.
But despite the awkward encounter, Hepburn remained ever so flirtatious.
“She reached across, put her hand on my knee and said, ‘it’s never too late!’”
But Martin doesn’t believe that Hepburn tried to use the art of seduction on him saying, “I wish she had! I think she just liked the introduction.”