Audrey Hepburn's sons demand reluctant village return memorabilia

TOLOCHENAZ, Switzerland (AP) _ Two golden Oscars highlight the Audrey Hepburn Pavilion _ an exhibition devoted to the doe-eyed star of ``Breakfast at Tiffany's'' _ in this quiet village overlooking

Friday, November 8th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

TOLOCHENAZ, Switzerland (AP) _ Two golden Oscars highlight the Audrey Hepburn Pavilion _ an exhibition devoted to the doe-eyed star of ``Breakfast at Tiffany's'' _ in this quiet village overlooking Lake Geneva.

But the display in Tolochenaz, where the actress lived for 30 years, is preparing to close this month. Hepburn's sons, Sean Ferrer and Luca Dotti, have demanded all their exhibits be returned, claiming Tolochenaz has commercialized the Hepburn name in a way that would have distressed their mother.

The villagers claim he is closing the exhibition down because it is too small-scale.

``What upsets Sean Ferrer is that the commercialization of certain products doesn't fit with his view of how to commercialize the Audrey Hepburn name. Ours is just a little exhibit in the countryside,'' said Tolochenaz Mayor Francois Girard.

But Ferrer said villagers had tried to hype the Hepburn connection, including trying to change the name of a road to ``Avenue Audrey Hepburn'' and placing signs in the cemetery where she is buried pointing to the pavilion.

``She loved the town the way it was. She wouldn't want to change something that has been that way for hundreds of years or to Hollywoodize it in any way,'' Ferrer told The Associated Press from his home in Los Angeles.

Girard and other officials scoff at Ferrer's claims that they have used the exhibition to attract tourists to a shrine like Elvis' Gracelands.

``It's absolutely ridiculous,'' Girard said. ``The village doesn't benefit in any way, either directly or indirectly.''

Although the exhibition features in Swiss tourist brochures, there are no signs to the prefab former school building within Tolochenaz _ population 1,683 _ and little has changed since Hepburn walked her dogs in the narrow lanes.

Hepburn, who won one of the Oscars in 1953 for her role in the film ``Roman Holiday,'' was 63 when she died here of colon cancer in 1993.

The other Oscar was a special award in 1992 marking her humanitarian work as an ambassador for UNICEF, drawing the world's attention to the plight of starving, sick and poverty-stricken children.

Since it opened in 1996, the pavilion has received 27,000 visitors _ an average of just 14 per day, said Franca Price, executive director of the Audrey Hepburn Foundation Switzerland, which manages the exhibition. And those tourists that do come don't stay once they've seen the display and Hepburn's grave.

``Look at the village. It doesn't even have a tea shop. The post office closes at noon,'' she said.

The nonprofit foundation has donated around $253,000 to children's charities from the entry fee, sale of postcards, dried lavender from Hepburn's garden and jams and jellies, as well as special events.

Ferrer, whose Audrey Hepburn Children's Fund in the United States raises around $1 million annually for charity, denied that he was upset by the small-scale operation and its homemade products.

``Never did I look down upon what they did. There were 60 volunteers and I thought that was marvelous. There was even one couple who fell in love and got married.

``But I think that the Hollywood bug bit the mayor and the mayor's assistant and Franca Price and they were terrified that if the exhibit left they would become insignificant.''

Price said the museum likely will be cleared out within days.

The exhibition also features other awards, letters, certificates, signed photographs from co-stars like Fred Astaire, and hundreds of other photos spanning a career that included films such as ``Funny Face,'' ``Charade'' and ``My Fair Lady.''

Only one item in the exhibition doesn't belong to the Hepburn family _ a black cocktail dress on loan from fashion designer Hubert de Givenchy, who designed similar dresses for her movie roles. But that, too, will probably be returned.

Ferrer said the exhibits would now be stored along with his mother's other possessions in Los Angeles but that he would consider further displays elsewhere in the future, if he could find a corporate sponsor.

And Tolochenaz will remain a special place, he said.

``I grew up there and I will always feel the same way about the place,'' Ferrer said. ``I will always go back. And people will continue to come. People come because of her _ the pavilion was a plus.''