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Eartha Kitt
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Eartha Mae Kitt (née Keith; January 17, 1927 – December 25, 2008) was an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She was known for her highly distinctive singing style and her 1953 recordings of "C'est si bon" and the Christmas novelty song "Santa Baby".

Key Information

Kitt began her career in 1942 and appeared in the 1945 original Broadway theatre production of the musical Carib Song. In the early 1950s, Kitt had six US Top 30 entries, including "Uska Dara" (1953) and "I Want to Be Evil" (1953). Her other recordings include the UK Top 10 song "Under the Bridges of Paris" (1954), "Just an Old Fashioned Girl" (1956) and "Where Is My Man" (1983). Orson Welles once called her the "most exciting woman in the world".[4] Kitt starred as Catwoman in the third and final season of the television series Batman in 1967.[5]

In 1968, Kitt's career in the U.S. deteriorated after she made anti-Vietnam War statements at a White House luncheon with Lady Bird Johnson, the wife of President Lyndon B. Johnson.[5] Ten years later, Kitt made a successful return to Broadway in the 1978 original production of the musical Timbuktu!, for which she received the first of her two Tony Award nominations. Kitt's second was for the 2000 original production of the musical The Wild Party. She wrote three autobiographies.[6]

Kitt found a new generation of fans through her various voice acting roles in the last decade of her life. She voiced the villains Yzma in The Emperor's New Groove franchise and Vexus in My Life As A Teenage Robot, with the former earning her two Daytime Emmy Awards. Kitt posthumously won a third Emmy in 2010 for her guest performance on Wonder Pets!.

Early life

[edit]

Eartha Mae Keith was born in the small town of North, South Carolina,[7][8] on January 17, 1927.[7][9] Her mother, Annie Mae Keith (later Annie Mae Riley), was of Cherokee and African descent.[5] Though she had little knowledge of her father, it was reported that he was the son of the owner of the plantation where she had been born, and that Kitt was conceived by rape.[9][10][11] In a 2013 biography, British journalist John Williams claimed that Kitt's father was a white man, a local doctor named Daniel Sturkie.[12] Kitt's daughter, Kitt McDonald Shapiro, has questioned the accuracy of the claim.[13]

Eartha's mother soon went to live with a black man who refused to accept Eartha because of her relatively pale complexion. Kitt was raised by a relative named Aunt Rosa, in whose household she was abused. Interviewed on BBC Wales' Late Call in 1971, Kitt said:

I remember at times when we didn't have anything to eat for what seemed like an insurmountable amount of time. We had to rely on the forest and whatever we could dig out of the ground, such as weeds or a grass I remember that had a kind of onion growing at the bottom of it. And when we could find things like that to eat then we were alright. ... I'm very glad that [her childhood self] will always be a part of me because she helps me do what she knows I have to do out there on that stage.[5]

After the death of Annie Mae, Eartha was sent to live with another close relative named Mamie Kitt (whom Eartha later came to believe was her biological mother) in Harlem, New York City,[9] where Eartha attended the Metropolitan Vocational High School (later renamed the High School of Performing Arts).[14]

Career

[edit]
Kitt photographed by Carl Van Vechten, October 19, 1952

Kitt began her career as a member of the Katherine Dunham Company in 1943 and remained a member of the troupe until 1948. A talented singer with a distinctive voice, Kitt recorded the hits "Let's Do It", "Champagne Taste", "C'est si bon" (which Stan Freberg famously burlesqued), "Just an Old Fashioned Girl", "Monotonous", "Je cherche un homme", "Love for Sale", "I'd Rather Be Burned as a Witch", "Kâtibim" (a Turkish melody), "Mink, Schmink", "Under the Bridges of Paris", and her most recognizable hit "Santa Baby", which was released in 1953. Kitt's unique style was enhanced as she became fluent in French during her years performing in Europe. Kitt spoke four languages and sang in 11, which she demonstrated in many of the live recordings of her cabaret performances.[15]

Career peaks

[edit]
Kitt as Catwoman in the Batman television series, 1967

In 1950, Orson Welles gave Kitt her first starring role as Helen of Troy in his staging of Dr. Faustus. Two years later, Kitt was cast in the revue New Faces of 1952, introducing "Monotonous" and "Bal, Petit Bal", two songs with which she is still identified. In 1954, 20th Century-Fox distributed an independently filmed version of the revue entitled New Faces, in which Kitt performed "Monotonous", "Uska Dara", "C'est si bon",[16] and "Santa Baby". Though it is often alleged that Welles and Kitt had an affair during her 1957 run in Shinbone Alley, Kitt categorically denied this in a June 2001 interview with George Wayne of Vanity Fair. "I never had sex with Orson Welles," Kitt told Vanity Fair: "It was a working situation and nothing else."[17] Her other films in the 1950s included The Mark of the Hawk (1957), St. Louis Blues (1958) and Anna Lucasta (1958).

Throughout the rest of the 1950s and early 1960s, Kitt recorded; worked in film, television, and nightclubs; and returned to the Broadway stage, in Mrs. Patterson (during the 1954–1955 season), Shinbone Alley (in 1957), and the short-lived Jolly's Progress (in 1959).[18] In 1964, Kitt helped open the Circle Star Theater in San Carlos, California. In the late 1960s, Batman featured Kitt as Catwoman after Julie Newmar had left the show in 1967. She appeared in a 1967 Mission: Impossible episode "The Traitor", as Tina Mara, a contortionist.

In 1956, Kitt published an autobiography called Thursday's Child, which would later serve as inspiration for the name of the 1999 David Bowie song "Thursday's Child".[19][20]

The "White House Incident"

[edit]

On January 18, 1968,[21][22] during Lyndon B. Johnson's administration, Kitt encountered a substantial professional setback after she made anti-war statements during a White House luncheon.[23][24] Kitt was asked by First Lady Lady Bird Johnson about the Vietnam War. She replied: "You send the best of this country off to be shot and maimed. No wonder the kids rebel and take pot."[15] During a question-and-answer session, Kitt stated:

The children of America are not rebelling for no reason. They are not hippies for no reason at all. We don't have what we have on Sunset Blvd. for no reason. They are rebelling against something. There are so many things burning the people of this country, particularly mothers. They feel they are going to raise sons – and I know what it's like, and you have children of your own, Mrs. Johnson – we raise children and send them to war.[25][26]

Kitt's remarks reportedly caused Mrs. Johnson to burst into tears.[10] It is widely believed[27] that Kitt's career in the United States was ended following her comments about the Vietnam War,[28][29] after which she was branded "a sadistic nymphomaniac" by the CIA.[13] A CIA dossier about Kitt was discovered by Seymour Hersh in 1975. Hersh published an article about the dossier in The New York Times.[30] The dossier contained comments about Kitt's sex life and family history, along with negative opinions of her that were held by former colleagues. Kitt's response to the dossier was to say: "I don't understand what this is about. I think it's disgusting."[30] Following the incident, Kitt devoted her energies to performances in Europe and Asia.[31]

In February 2022, Catwoman vs. the White House,[32][33] The New Yorker short documentary, directed by Scott Calonico used photos, clippings and footage to show how Kitt disrupted the White House luncheon, taking Lyndon B. Johnson to task.[34]

Kitt would later return to the White House on 29 January 1978 after accepting an invitation from U.S. President Jimmy Carter to attend a reception honoring the 10th anniversary of the reopening of Ford's Theatre.[35]

Broadway

[edit]

In the 1970s, Kitt appeared on television several times on BBC's long-running variety show The Good Old Days, and in 1987 took over from fellow American Dolores Gray in the London West End production of Stephen Sondheim's Follies and returned at the end of that run to star in a one-woman-show at the same Shaftesbury Theatre, both to tremendous acclaim. In both those shows, Kitt performed the show-stopping theatrical anthem "I'm Still Here". Kitt returned to New York City in a triumphant turn in the Broadway spectacle Timbuktu! (a version of the perennial Kismet, set in Africa) in 1978. In the musical, one song gives a "recipe" for mahoun, a preparation of cannabis, in which her sultry purring rendition of the refrain "constantly stirring with a long wooden spoon" was distinctive.[citation needed] Kitt was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her performance. In the late 1990s, Kitt appeared as the Wicked Witch of the West in the North American national touring company of The Wizard of Oz.[36] In 2000, she again returned to Broadway in the short-lived run of Michael John LaChiusa's The Wild Party. Beginning in late 2000, Kitt starred as the Fairy Godmother in the U.S. national tour of Cinderella.[37] In 2003, she replaced Chita Rivera in Nine. Kitt reprised her role as the Fairy Godmother at a special engagement of Cinderella, which took place at Lincoln Center during the holiday season of 2004.[38] From October to early December 2006, Kitt co-starred in the off-Broadway musical Mimi le Duck.

Voice-over

[edit]

In 1978, Kitt did the voice-over in a television commercial for the album Aja by the rock group Steely Dan. In 1988, she voiced Vietnam After The Fire, a British documentary which looked at the legacy left to the Vietnamese people after the devastation of the war and showed the effects of bombings and defoliants on farmland and forests 13 years after the war ended.[39] One of Kitt's more unusual roles was as Kaa in a 1994 BBC Radio adaptation of The Jungle Book. In 1998, she voiced Bagheera in the live-action direct-to-video Disney film The Jungle Book: Mowgli's Story. Kitt also lent her distinctive voice to Yzma in The Emperor's New Groove (for which she won her first Annie Award) and reprised her role in Kronk's New Groove and The Emperor's New School, for which Kitt won two Emmy Awards and, in 2007–08, two more Annie Awards for Voice Acting in an Animated Television Production. From 2002 to 2006, she also voiced the villain Vexus in the Nickelodeon series My Life as a Teenage Robot.

Later years

[edit]

1980s

[edit]

In 1984, Kitt returned to the music charts with a disco song titled "Where Is My Man", the first certified gold record of her career. "Where Is My Man" reached the Top 40 on the UK Singles Chart, where it peaked at No. 36;[40] the song became a standard in discos and dance clubs of the time and made the Top 10 on the US Billboard dance chart, where it reached No. 7.[41] The single was followed by the album I Love Men on the Record Shack label. Kitt found new audiences in nightclubs across the UK and the United States, including a whole new generation of gay male fans, and she responded by frequently giving benefit performances in support of HIV/AIDS organizations. Kitt's 1989 follow-up hit "Cha-Cha Heels" (featuring Bronski Beat), which was originally intended to be recorded by Divine, received a positive response from UK dance clubs, reaching No. 32 in the charts in that country. In 1988, Kitt replaced Dolores Gray in the West End production of Stephen Sondheim's Follies as Carlotta, receiving standing ovations every night for her rendition of "I'm Still Here" at the beginning of act 2. Kitt went on to perform her own one-woman show at the Shaftesbury Theatre to sold-out houses for three weeks in early 1989 after Follies.

1990s

[edit]

Kitt appeared with Jimmy James and George Burns at a fundraiser in 1990 produced by Scott Sherman, an agent from the Atlantic Entertainment Group. It was arranged that James would impersonate Kitt and then Kitt would walk out to take the microphone. This was met with a standing ovation.[42] In 1991, Kitt returned to the screen in Ernest Scared Stupid as Old Lady Hackmore. In 1992, she had a supporting role as Lady Eloise in Boomerang. In 1995, Kitt appeared as herself in an episode of The Nanny, where she performed a song in French and flirted with Maxwell Sheffield (Charles Shaughnessy). In November 1996, Kitt appeared in an episode of Celebrity Jeopardy!. She also did a series of commercials for Old Navy. In 1996, she had a supporting role as Agatha K. Plummer in Harriet the Spy.

2000s

[edit]

In 2000, Kitt won an Annie Award for her starring voice role as Yzma in the Disney feature film The Emperor's New Groove, later reprising the role in 2005 in Disney's Kronk's New Groove. Kitt returned once again to the silver screen in 2003 with the charming role of Madame Zeroni in the film Holes based on the book by the same name, by author Louis Sachar. In August 2007, Kitt was the spokesperson for MAC Cosmetics' Smoke Signals collection. She re-recorded "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" for the occasion, was showcased on the MAC website, and the song was played at all MAC locations carrying the collection for the month. Kitt also appeared in the 2007 independent film And Then Came Love opposite Vanessa Williams. In her later years, Kitt made annual appearances in the New York Manhattan cabaret scene at venues such as the Ballroom and the Café Carlyle.[15] As noted, Kitt did voice work for the animated projects The Emperor's New Groove and its spinoffs, as well as for My Life as a Teenage Robot. In April 2008, just months before her death, Kitt appeared at the Cheltenham Jazz Festival; the performance was recorded.[citation needed] Kitt voiced herself in The Simpsons episode "Once Upon a Time in Springfield", where she is depicted as a former lover of Krusty the Clown.

Personal life

[edit]
Kitt at the Carlton Tower hotel in London, 1973
Kitt performing in concert, 2007

Kitt married John William McDonald, an associate of a real estate investment company, on June 9, 1960.[43] Their daughter, Kitt McDonald, was born on November 26, 1961, and was baptized Catholic at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church.[44] Eartha Kitt and McDonald separated on July 1, 1963, and divorced on March 26, 1964.[45]

A longtime Connecticut resident, Kitt lived in a converted barn on a sprawling farm in the Merryall section of New Milford for many years and was active in local charities and causes throughout Litchfield County. She later moved to Pound Ridge, New York, but returned in 2002 to the southern Fairfield County, Connecticut town of Weston, in order to be near her daughter Kitt and family. Her daughter, Kitt, married Charles Lawrence Shapiro in 1987.[46]

Activism

[edit]

Kitt was active in numerous social causes in the 1950s and 1960s. In 1966, she established the Kittsville Youth Foundation, a chartered and non-profit organization for underprivileged youths in the Watts area of Los Angeles.[47] Kitt was also involved with a group of youths in the area of Anacostia in Washington, D.C., who called themselves "Rebels with a Cause". She supported the group's efforts to clean up streets and establish recreation areas in an effort to keep them out of trouble by testifying with them before the House General Subcommittee on Education of the Committee on Education and Labor. In her testimony, in May 1967, Kitt stated that the Rebels' "achievements and accomplishments should certainly make the adult 'do-gooders' realize that these young men and women have performed in 1 short year – with limited finances – that which was not achieved by the same people who might object to turning over some of the duties of planning, rehabilitation, and prevention of juvenile delinquents and juvenile delinquency to those who understand it and are living it". Kitt added that "the Rebels could act as a model for all urban areas throughout the United States with similar problems".[48] "Rebels with a Cause" subsequently received the needed funding.[49] Kitt was also a member of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom; her criticism of the Vietnam War and its connection to poverty and racial unrest in 1968 can be seen as part of a larger commitment to peace activism.[50] Like many politically active public figures of her time, Kitt was under surveillance by the CIA, beginning in 1956. After The New York Times discovered the CIA file on Kitt in 1975, she granted the paper permission to print portions of the report, stating: "I have nothing to be afraid of and I have nothing to hide."[30]

Kitt later became a vocal advocate for LGBT rights and publicly supported same-sex marriage, which she considered a civil right. She had been quoted as saying: "I support it [gay marriage] because we're asking for the same thing. If I have a partner and something happens to me, I want that partner to enjoy the benefits of what we have reaped together. It's a civil-rights thing, isn't it?"[51] Kitt famously appeared at many LGBT fundraisers, including a mega event in Baltimore, Maryland, with George Burns and Jimmy James.[42] Scott Sherman, an agent at Atlantic Entertainment Group, stated: "Eartha Kitt is fantastic... appears at so many LGBT events in support of civil rights." In a 1992 interview with Dr. Anthony Clare, Kitt spoke about her gay following, saying:

We're all rejected people, we know what it is to be refused, we know what it is to be oppressed, depressed, and then, accused, and I am very much cognizant of that feeling. Nothing in the world is more painful than rejection. I am a rejected, oppressed person, and so I understand them, as best as I can, even though I am a heterosexual.[52]

Death

[edit]

Kitt died of colon cancer on Christmas Day 2008 at her home in Weston, Connecticut; she was 81 years old.[8][53][54] Her daughter, Kitt McDonald, described her last days with her mother:

I was with her when she died. She left this world literally screaming at the top of her lungs. I was with her constantly, she lived not even 3 miles from my house, we were together practically every day. She was home for the last few weeks when the doctor told us there was nothing they could do any more. Up until the last two days, she was still moving around. The doctor told us she will leave very quickly and her body will just start to shut down. But when she left, she left the world with a bang, she left it how she lived it. She screamed her way out of here, literally. I truly believe her survival instincts were so part of her DNA that she was not going to go quietly or willingly. It was just the two of us hanging out [during the last days] she was very funny. We didn't have to [talk] because I always knew how she felt about me. I was the love of her life, so the last part of her life we didn't have to have these heart to heart talks. She started to see people that weren't there. She thought I could see them too, but, of course, I couldn't. I would make fun of her like, "I'm going to go in the other room and you stay here and talk to your friends."[55]

Discography

[edit]
Main article: Eartha Kitt discography
Studio albums

Filmography

[edit]

Film

[edit]
Year Film Role Notes
1948 Casbah Uncredited
1951 Parigi è sempre Parigi Herself
1954 New Faces
1957 The Mark of the Hawk Renee
1958 St. Louis Blues Gogo Germaine
1958 Anna Lucasta Anna Lucasta
1961 Saint of Devil's Island Annette
1965 Uncle Tom's Cabin Singer Uncredited role
Synanon Betty
1971 Up the Chastity Belt Scheherazade
1975 Friday Foster Madame Rena
1979 Butterflies in Heat Lola
1985 The Serpent Warriors Snake Priestess
1987 Master of Dragonard Hill Naomi
Dragonard Naomi
The Pink Chiquitas Betty / The Meteor Voice role
1989 Erik the Viking Freya
1990 Living Doll Mrs. Swartz
1991 Ernest Scared Stupid Old Lady Hackmore
1992 Boomerang Lady Eloise
1993 Fatal Instinct First Trial Judge
1996 Harriet the Spy Agatha K. Plummer
1997 Ill Gotten Gains The Wood Voice role
1998 I Woke Up Early the Day I Died Cult Leader
The Jungle Book: Mowgli's Story Bagheera Voice role[56]
2000 The Emperor's New Groove Yzma Voice role[56]
2002 Anything But Love Herself
2003 Holes Madame Zeroni
2005 Preaching to the Choir Ms. Nettie
Kronk's New Groove Yzma Voice role; Direct-to-video[56]
2007 And Then Came Love Mona

Television

[edit]
Year Title Role Notes
1952–1963 The Ed Sullivan Show Herself 15 episodes
1963–1978 The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson 8 episodes
1964–1979 The Mike Douglas Show 16 episodes
1965 I Spy Angel Episode: "The Loser"
1965 Ben Casey Danielle Taylor Episode: "A Horse Named Stravinsky" (4.31; 5/17/1965)
1965 The Eartha Kitt Show Herself
1967 Mission: Impossible Tina Mara Episode: "The Traitor"
1967–1968 Batman Selina Kyle / Catwoman 5 episodes
1969 The Dick Cavett Show Herself 1 episode
1972 Lieutenant Schuster's Wife Lady Television film
1973–1978 The Merv Griffin Show Herself 3 episodes
1974 The Protectors Carrie Blaine Episode: "A Pocketful of Posies"
1978 Police Woman Amelia Episode: "Tigress"
To Kill a Cop Paula Television film
1983 A Night on the Town Unknown role
1985 Miami Vice Santería Priestess Chata Episode: "Whatever Works"
1989 After Dark Herself Episode: "Rock Bottom?"; [a]
1993 Jack's Place Isabel Lang Episode: "The Seventh Meal"
Matrix Sister Rowena Episode: "Moths to a Flame"
1994 Space Ghost Coast to Coast Herself Episode: "Batmantis"
1995 The Magic School Bus Mrs. Franklin Voice role; Episode: "Going Batty"[56]
New York Undercover Mrs. Stubbs Episode: "Student Affairs"
Living Single Jacqueline Richards Episode: "He Works Hard for the Money"
1996 The Nanny Herself Episode: "A Pup in Paris"
1997 The Chris Rock Show 1 episode
1997–2000 The Rosie O'Donnell Show 2 episodes
1998 The Wild Thornberrys Lioness #1 Voice role; Episode: "Flood Warning"[56]
1999 The Famous Jett Jackson Albertine Whethers Episode: "Field of Dweebs"
2000 Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child The Snow Queen Voice role; Episode: "The Snow Queen"
Welcome to New York June 2 episodes
2001 The Feast of All Saints Lola Dede Television film
Santa, Baby! Emerald Voice role; Television film[56]
2002–2006 My Life as a Teenage Robot Queen Vexus Voice role; 7 episodes[56]
2003 Hollywood Squares Herself 5 episodes
2005 Larry King Live 2 episodes
2006–2008 The Emperor's New School Yzma Main cast; Voice role
2007 American Dad! Fortune Teller Voice role; Episode: "Dope and Faith"
2008 An Evening with Eartha Kitt Herself Hosted by Gwen Ifill for PBS
2009 Wonder Pets! Cool Cat Voice role; Episode: "Save the Cool Cat and the Hip Hippo"; Aired posthumously
2010 The Simpsons Herself Voice role; "Once Upon a Time in Springfield"; Aired posthumously

Documentary

[edit]
Year Film Role
1982 All by Myself: The Eartha Kitt Story Herself
1995 Unzipped
2002 The Making and Meaning of We Are Family
The Sweatbox (unreleased)

Stage work

[edit]
Year Title Location Role Notes
1945 Blue Holiday Broadway Performer [b][57]
Carib Song Broadway Company [c][57]
1946 Bal Nègre Broadway, and Europe Performer [d][57]
unknown Mexico Performer [e][57]
1948 Caribbean Rhapsody West End, and Paris Chorus girl [f][58][57]
1949–1950 unknown Paris Herself,
Performer 		[g][58][59][60]
1950 Time Runs Paris[9] Helen of Troy [h][58]
An Evening With Orson Welles Frankfurt[61]
1951 Dr. Faustus Paris with Orson Welles
1952 New Faces of 1952 Broadway Polynesian girl,
Featured dancer,
Featured singer
1954 Mrs. Patterson Broadway Theodora (Teddy) Hicks Original Broadway production
1957 Shinbone Alley Broadway Mehitabel Original Broadway production
1959 Jolly's Progress Broadway Jolly Rivers
1965 The Owl and the Pussycat U.S. National tour Performer
1967 Peg Regional (US)
1970 The High Bid London Performer
1972 Bunny London Performer
1974 Bread and Beans and Things Aquarius Theater[62] Performer
1976 A Musical Jubilee U.S. National tour Performer
1978 Timbuktu! Broadway Shaleem-La-Lume
1980 Cowboy and the Legend Regional (US) Performer
1982 New Faces of 1952 (Revival) Off-off-Broadway Polynesian girl
Featured dancer
Featured singer
1985 Blues in the Night U.S. National tour Performer
1987 Follies (London Revival) London Carlotta Campion Replacement for Dolores Gray
1989 Aladdin Palace Theatre, Manchester Slave of the Ring
1989 Eartha Kitt in Concert London Performer
1994 Yes Edinburgh Performer
1995 Sam's Song Unitarian Church of All Souls Performer Benefit concert
1996 Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill Chicago Billie Holiday
1998 The Wizard of Oz (return engagement) Madison Square Garden, and U.S. National tour Miss Gulch/The Wicked Witch
2000 The Wild Party Broadway Delores Original Broadway production
Cinderella Madison Square Garden, and U.S. National tour Fairy Godmother
2003 Nine Broadway Liliane La Fleur Replacement for Chita Rivera
2004 Cinderella (New York City Opera revival) David H. Koch Theater Fairy Godmother
2006 Mimi le Duck Off-off-Broadway Madame Vallet
2007 All About Us Westport Country Playhouse Performer

Video games

[edit]
Year Title Role Notes
2000 The Emperor's New Groove Yzma voice role

Notes

  1. ^ Extended appearance on British discussion programme, together with Simon Napier-Bell and Pat Kane among others
  2. ^ as a member of the Katherine Dunham Troupe; a short-lived production at the Belasco Theatre
  3. ^ as a member of the Katherine Dunham Troupe; performed at the Adelphi Theatre as an Original Broadway production
  4. ^ as a member of the Katherine Dunham Troupe; widely acclaimed Concert at the Belasco Theatre
  5. ^ performed successfully as a member of the Katherine Dunham Troupe which was under contract with Teatro Americano for more than two months at the request of Doris Duke
  6. ^ as a member of the Katherine Dunham Troupe; performed at the Prince of Wales Theatre (West End) and Théâtre des Champs-Élysées (Paris)
  7. ^ first solo show / leading performance; performed at Carroll's Niterie; is where Orson Welles discovered her
  8. ^ In segment based on Faust; performed "Hungry Little Trouble" written by Duke Ellington; cast by Orson Welles

Bibliography

[edit]

Awards and nominations

[edit]
Year Award Category Nominated work Result Ref.
2001 Annie Awards Best Voice Acting by a Female Performer in an Animated Feature Production The Emperor's New Groove Won [63]
2006 Best Voice Acting in an Animated Television Production The Emperor's New School (Episode: "Kuzclone") Won [64]
2007 The Emperor's New School (Episode: "The Emperor's New Musical") Won [65]
2001 Black Reel Awards Best Supporting Actress The Emperor's New Groove Nominated [66]
2007 Daytime Emmy Awards Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program The Emperor's New School Won [67]
2008 Won [68]
2010 Wonder Pets! (Episode: "Save the Cool Cat and the Hip Hippo") Won [69]
2000 Drama Desk Awards Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical The Wild Party Nominated [70]
2005 DVD Exclusive Awards Best Animated Character Performance (Voice and Animation in a DVD Premiere Movie) Kronk's New Groove Nominated
1969 Grammy Awards Best Recording for Children Folk Tales of the Tribes of Africa Nominated [71]
1995 Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance Back in Business Nominated
1995 NAACP Image Awards Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series Living Single (Episode: "He Works Hard for the Money") Nominated
1966 Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Single Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Drama I Spy (Episode: "The Loser") Nominated [72]
1978 Tony Awards Best Leading Actress in a Musical Timbuktu! Nominated [73]
2000 Best Featured Actress in a Musical The Wild Party Nominated [74]
  • In 1960, the Hollywood Walk of Fame honored her with a star, which can be found on 6656 Hollywood Boulevard.[75][76]
  • In 2016, January 17 was announced as Eartha Kitt Day in Kitt's home state of South Carolina. In 2022 the day was enshrined into state law in SC Code § 53-3-75 (2022).[77] South Carolinian Sheldon Rice is credited for beginning the push for legislation declaring her birthday as a state holiday since the time of her death in 2008. State Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter first introduced the legislation to create the State holiday in 2011.[77]

References

[edit]

Further reading

[edit]
[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Eartha Kitt

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Eartha Mae Kitt (January 17, 1927 – December 25, 2008) was an American singer, actress, dancer, and activist distinguished by her sultry vocal style, multilingual fluency in performance, and versatile career spanning cabaret, Broadway, film, and television. Born into poverty on a South Carolina plantation as Eartha Mae Keith, she achieved early fame in Paris with the revue Orson Welles' Stage Door Canteen and later topped charts with recordings like "C'est Si Bon" (1950) and the enduring holiday hit "Santa Baby" (1953), which showcased her purring, seductive delivery. Kitt's acting roles included the feline villainess Catwoman in the 1966–1968 Batman series, cementing her as a pop culture icon, while her outspoken opposition to the Vietnam War—expressed bluntly at a 1968 White House luncheon hosted by Lady Bird Johnson—triggered a severe backlash, including FBI surveillance and a near-decade-long blacklist that forced her to work primarily abroad until her U.S. rehabilitation in the 1970s. Despite such setbacks, she maintained a prolific output, recording over two dozen albums, authoring memoirs, and advocating for civil rights and humanitarian causes into her later years.

Early Life

Childhood Adversity and Family Rejection

Eartha Kitt was born Eartha Mae Keith on January 17, 1927, in North, a rural town in , to a teenage mother of African-American and ancestry named Annie Mae Keith (also reported as Riley), who worked in extreme poverty on a cotton plantation. Her father was an absent white man whose identity remained unknown to Kitt throughout her life, rendering her illegitimate and of visibly mixed racial heritage in a segregated Jim Crow South. Kitt faced immediate familial rejection due to her light skin and mixed parentage; relatives ostracized her from an early age, viewing her as an outsider amid the rigid racial hierarchies of the era. Her mother later entered a relationship with a man who conditioned on abandoning Kitt, prompting Annie Mae to leave her young daughter behind and prioritize the union, which further isolated the child in foster-like arrangements with or farm households. By age eight, this rejection intensified, as she was shuttled among relatives who subjected her to differential treatment and hostility for appearing "too white" within Black family structures. These circumstances plunged Kitt into severe socio-economic hardship, including forced physical labor picking cotton on plantations from childhood, alongside experiences of verbal and that underscored her status as an unwanted burden. The cumulative isolation and lack of stable parental support cultivated an early resilience, compelling her to develop self-reliance amid persistent deprivation and familial disdain, though these accounts derive primarily from Kitt's own recollections as relayed in and by her .

Migration to New York and Formative Training

At approximately age eight, in 1935, Eartha Kitt relocated from rural life to , , to reside with her aunt Mamie Lue Riley, following family arrangements amid her mother's remarriage and reported hardships in the South. This move exposed her to urban environments and educational prospects unavailable in the cotton fields, where she had previously contributed to family labor. In New York, Kitt pursued formal training by enrolling in the Metropolitan Vocational High School (later the ), focusing on and performance skills that built on her innate physicality developed through fieldwork. At age 16, she auditioned successfully for the Dance Company, joining the troupe in 1943 as a dancer, which provided intensive instruction in techniques influenced by anthropological studies of and African rhythms. The Dunham company's regimen emphasized professional discipline, including daily rehearsals, cultural immersion, and performance standards that required transforming raw talent into precise artistry, distinguishing participants through merit rather than background alone. This formative period honed Kitt's abilities in expressive movement and stage presence, laying groundwork for her multifaceted career without reliance on external advocacy.

Professional Career

Breakthrough in Dance and International Exposure

Kitt began her professional career in 1943 by joining the Dance Company, where she adopted her stage name and performed as a dancer in the troupe's productions. The company toured extensively from 1946 to 1950 across , , and other international venues, exposing Kitt to diverse audiences who acclaimed her for an exotic persona that blended rhythmic with emerging vocal improvisations during ensemble numbers. In 1949, while the Dunham troupe was in , Kitt departed to launch a solo act at nightclub, marking her debut as an independent performer in 1950. This period allowed her to cultivate a sultry, multilingual approach, shaped by the cultural exposures from the troupe's global travels, which emphasized instinctive vocal expression over conventional training. Kitt returned to the in 1952, securing initial bookings that built on her European success, including a record-setting 20-week engagement at in New York. These performances enabled her to refine a signature purring vocal technique—characterized by throaty growls and purrs—through iterative onstage trial and empirical adjustment rather than formal pedagogical methods.

Musical Hits and Broadway Successes

Eartha Kitt's breakthrough in musical theater came with her starring role in the revue New Faces of 1952, which opened on Broadway at the Royale Theatre on May 1, 1952, and ran for 365 performances. In the production, she introduced signature numbers like "Monotonous," a satirical lament on social tedium delivered in her signature purr, and "Bal Petit Bal," showcasing her rhythmic phrasing and exotic allure derived from her dance background. The revue's success propelled Kitt to national attention, leading to an extensive U.S. tour following its Broadway close in 1953 and a film adaptation titled released in 1954, which preserved her performances for wider audiences. Kitt's recording career peaked commercially in 1953 with the singles "C'est Si Bon" and "Santa Baby," both issued by RCA Victor and backed by Henri René and His Orchestra. "C'est Si Bon," a French-language adaptation emphasizing her sultry, multilingual delivery, entered the Billboard Best Sellers chart on July 18, 1953, capitalizing on post-World War II fascination with Continental sophistication. "Santa Baby," released on October 6, 1953, became the top-selling Christmas single of the year, amassing over 620,000 units in sales through its playful yet provocative lyrics and Kitt's breathy, teasing interpretation that blended jazz inflection with pop accessibility. These tracks exemplified her artistic innovation in merging scat-like vocal improvisations with overt sensuality, setting her apart in a male-dominated charts landscape while navigating era-specific radio play limitations on suggestive content. The 1956 album That Bad Eartha, also on RCA Victor, recompiled material from her prior 10-inch releases into a full-length showcase of her interpretive range, featuring tracks like "I Want to Be Evil" and "Uska Dara" that highlighted her command of torch songs, folk , and . With production emphasizing her throaty and dramatic phrasing, the LP underscored Kitt's versatility but reflected market realities of the , where her bold prompted selective and occasional broadcaster hesitance toward perceived indecency in and delivery. Despite such constraints, the album solidified her reputation for pushing boundaries in vocal performance, blending commercial viability with unapologetic expressiveness.

Television and Film Appearances

Eartha Kitt made her film debut in the 1954 revue New Faces, performing several musical numbers that showcased her singing and stage presence from the Broadway production. In 1958, she took the lead role of Anna Lucasta in the drama film adaptation, depicting a former prostitute navigating family reconciliation and redemption, a part that allowed her to demonstrate dramatic depth beyond musical performances. That same year, Kitt appeared as the cabaret singer Gogo Germaine in the biographical musical St. Louis Blues, portraying a character inspired by the life of W.C. Handy and contributing to the film's focus on early blues history. These roles highlighted her versatility in an era with few leading parts for Black actresses, often confining her to exotic or seductive archetypes. On television, Kitt guest-starred in episodes of series like , appearing as Angel in the 1968 installment "," where her character intersected with the spies' mission. She later featured as the Santeria priestess Chata in the episode "" (season 2, episode 2, aired October 4, 1985), delivering a mystical and enigmatic performance amid the show's neon-drenched narrative. Her portrayal emphasized vocal and physical grace, traits that recurred in her screen work. Kitt's most iconic television role was as in the third season of Batman (1967–1968), replacing and infusing the feline villain with a distinctive raspy and acrobatic prowess across multiple episodes, including "Catwoman's Dressed to Kill" and "The Joke's on Catwoman." This stint, spanning key two-part story arcs, capitalized on her lithe physique and seductive menace, contributing to the series' campy appeal and enduring pop culture status, though it reinforced in villainous, sensual roles. The Batman series, which aired from 1966 to 1968, drew high ratings during its peak, with Kitt's episodes airing in late 1967 and early 1968 amid the show's national phenomenon.

Voice Work and Character Roles

Eartha Kitt provided voice work for several animated projects, leveraging her distinctive raspy purr and theatrical delivery to portray cunning, villainous characters that demanded vocal versatility and emotional range. Her roles often required modulating her signature to convey malice and humor, adapting techniques from her cabaret singing background to animation's technical constraints, such as syncing with exaggerated movements and lip-sync precision. Kitt's most prominent animated role was as Yzma, the scheming sorceress in Disney's (2000), where her performance featured a villainous purr that enhanced the character's comedic menace; she reprised the voice in the sequel (2005) and the television series (2006–2008), earning two for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program. This franchise role showcased her ability to infuse dialogue with rhythmic inflection, drawing from her musical phrasing to create memorable lines like "Pull the lever, Kronk!" Critics and recording session footage highlight how Kitt's improvisational energy in the booth added layers of eccentricity, making Yzma a standout . In addition to Yzma, Kitt voiced Queen Vexus, the robotic antagonist in the series My Life as a Teenage Robot (2003–2005, with specials extending to 2009), where her gravelly tone suited the alien queen's domineering presence across multiple episodes. She also lent her voice to in the animated : Mowgli's Story (1998), employing a smoother, authoritative purr distinct from her villainous turns. These late-career animated contributions, spanning the to 2000s, offered steady work amid fluctuating live performance opportunities, with her vocal distinctiveness ensuring in authoritative female roles that capitalized on her four-octave range for expressive depth.

Career Resurgence Post-1970s

Kitt's career revival gained momentum with her lead role as the seductive slave queen in the Broadway musical Timbuktu!, an all-Black adaptation of Kismet that premiered on March 1, 1978, at the Mark Hellinger Theatre and ran for 221 performances. For her portrayal, she earned a Tony Award nomination for Best Actress in a Musical, marking a significant return to the New York stage after years of limited U.S. opportunities. In the 1980s, Kitt expanded her recording output with the release of I Love Men on RCA in 1984, her first studio album in 14 years, which incorporated and elements tailored to contemporary dance trends. The title track and others found moderate success on European charts, reflecting her adaptability to evolving musical landscapes while leveraging her signature vocal sensuality. Concurrently, she sustained income through extensive engagements, including regular appearances at upscale venues that capitalized on her enduring stage charisma. By the 1990s and into the 2000s, Kitt's international appeal bolstered her resurgence, with notable European tour dates and live recordings such as her 1991 Tivoli concert in , where she performed classics like . In the UK, she participated in seasonal pantomimes, including a 1989–1990 production, blending her cabaret style with family-oriented theater. Returning to U.S. Broadway, she took on roles like the in the national tour of starting in late 2000 and Liliane La Fleur in the 2003 revival of Nine, replacing . Kitt persisted with high-energy cabaret tours and residencies, such as at New York's Café Carlyle, into her 70s and 80s, demonstrating resilience against age-related industry skepticism through sold-out shows emphasizing her physical agility and vocal prowess. She maintained this pace until health complications from colon cancer, diagnosed in 2006, curtailed performances shortly before her death in 2008.

Controversies

The 1968 White House Incident

On January 18, 1968, First Lady hosted a luncheon at the Old Family Dining Room as part of her "Women Doers" series, attended by approximately 50 women involved in anticrime and youth programs, with the agenda centered on and strategies for safer streets. President made brief opening remarks, referencing congressional funding for daycare initiatives, before departing the event. Eartha Kitt, invited for her work with youth rehabilitation programs such as "Rebels with a Cause" and prior testimony supporting the Juvenile Delinquency Act of 1967, waited to speak during the question-and-answer segment. Kitt linked rising youth unrest to underlying societal pressures, including , inadequate welfare, high taxes, and opposition to the , asserting that delinquency reflected deeper grievances rather than isolated misbehavior. She stated, "The youth of America today are angry," and elaborated that boys avoided and turned to drugs like marijuana to evade the draft, explaining, "They rebel in the street. They will take pot…and they will get high. They don’t want to go to because they’re going to be snatched off from their mothers to be shot in ." Kitt further contended, "You send the best of this country off to be shot and maimed. No wonder the kids rebel and take pot," framing the war as eroding family stability and fueling a "sense of helplessness" among drafted minorities. Johnson responded immediately, remarking, "Just because there is a war going on, I see no reason to be uncivilized," and later reflected in her diary that she had anticipated some disruption while emphasizing constructive dialogue over anger. Attendees, including anticrime Betty Hughes, countered Kitt by defending military service and dismissing war-related justifications for drug use as "kooky." Contemporary press accounts, such as those in The New York Times and the Evansville Press on January 19, depicted Kitt's delivery as an aggressive interruption, labeling her "belligerent" and accusing her of "shouting angrily" at the First Lady, overshadowing the group's policy focus. Kitt maintained her intervention was measured and necessary, insisting, "I was not rude. I raised my hand and asked to be heard," and viewing it as a duty to voice excluded perspectives directly to the First Family. White House photographs from the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library confirm Kitt's presence among guests and her direct address toward Johnson during the proceedings.

Blacklisting, CIA Involvement, and Industry Backlash

Following the January 18, 1968, luncheon, Eartha Kitt faced immediate professional repercussions in the United States, including the cancellation of bookings and a blacklist that prevented her from securing television, film, or stage work domestically for nearly a decade. This exclusion stemmed from industry-wide pressure, with agents and producers avoiding contracts amid government scrutiny, resulting in a documented loss of U.S. performance opportunities that contrasted sharply with her prior success in roles like on Batman (1967-1968). Empirical records of her career trajectory show a precipitous drop in American engagements post-1968, with no major U.S. productions until her Broadway revival in Timbuktu! in 1978. The maintained a file on Kitt dating back to at least , owing to her international performances in regions of interest, which expanded after the incident when requested information. Declassified documents, as reported in 1975, reveal the CIA supplied a multi-page filled with secondhand rumors about Kitt's personal conduct—such as claims of "loose morals" and social "escapades" in —but lacked substantive evidence of communist affiliations or threats, relying instead on unverified from foreign contacts. These materials, while not proving direct by the agency, aligned with broader Cold War-era of public figures expressing dissent, contributing to the on her domestic viability without establishing causal proof of agency-orchestrated . Unable to sustain a livelihood in the U.S., Kitt relocated to in 1968, where she sustained her career through and stage performances across , , and other cities until the mid-, often incorporating multilingual repertoires that capitalized on her global appeal. This period of expatriation highlighted the disparity between her continued international demand—evidenced by steady bookings in and —and the persistent U.S. barriers, underscoring the tangible costs to professional autonomy for outspoken criticism during the Vietnam era. Her gradual reentry into American markets began in the late , though full recovery remained constrained by lingering reputational damage.

Criticisms from Black Community and Peers

In the early 1950s, as Eartha Kitt gained prominence through her sultry performances and international tours with the , some segments of the and community expressed reservations about her glamorous , viewing it as an assimilationist departure from more rooted expressions of identity. Critics argued that her sophisticated, cosmopolitan image—emphasizing European influences and high-fashion allure—risked diluting authentic cultural markers in favor of broader appeal, a sentiment echoed in contemporaneous reports portraying her as prioritizing personal stardom over communal solidarity. Kitt's high-profile romantic involvements with white men, culminating in her 1960 marriage to William McDonald, intensified intra-community backlash, with detractors accusing her of betraying interests by aligning too closely with white society. In a 1989 interview, Kitt recounted being told by fellow individuals that her choices signaled indifference to racial struggles, stating, "I've found that a lot of other people think that I don't care about the issues facing the community because I married White." Such perceptions framed her as "acting white," particularly given her light-skinned mixed-race background and rejection of rigid identity boundaries, which some peers saw as aloof detachment from collective hardships. Among entertainers, Kitt's meteoric ascent from chorus lines to headlining roles bred envy, with reports of resentment toward her perceived self-sufficiency and unwillingness to defer to established figures in circles. This dynamic persisted into the , where her unapologetic —manifest in direct critiques of industry norms—occasionally isolated her from collaborators who favored more conciliatory approaches, though explicit peer condemnations remained subdued in . Post-1968 blacklist, while some offered , skepticism lingered among those who questioned whether her vocal stances stemmed from genuine communal or amplified personal grievances, reflecting broader tensions over authenticity in rising icons.

Activism and Political Stance

Civil Rights Engagement

In the 1950s and 1960s, Eartha Kitt provided financial and temporal support to civil rights organizations, including the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). She actively participated in preparations for the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on August 28, 1963, attending planning meetings with fellow entertainers , , and to coordinate celebrity involvement and fundraising efforts. Kitt joined the Hollywood March Committee for Civil Rights, a group of performers advocating for in the industry and broader society during the decade. As the first Black performer appointed to the board, she advanced civil rights by challenging discriminatory practices within Hollywood, including barriers to roles and representation for African American artists. Kitt's engagements extended to performances at events tied to civil rights causes, such as concerts highlighting Black music's role in the movement, where she used her platform to underscore racial justice themes.

Anti-Vietnam War Positions and Broader Views

Eartha Kitt opposed the primarily on the grounds of its detrimental social costs to American families and youth, arguing that the conflict exacerbated by removing fathers from homes, leading to rebellion, drug use, and educational disengagement among children fearful of the draft. In a , 1968, address, she stated: "The children of America are not rebelling for no reason. The children are rebelling against something. There are so many things burning the people of , particularly mothers. They feel they are going to raise sons—and I know what it's like, and you have children of your own, Mrs. Johnson—we raise children and send them to war." Following public backlash to her statements, Kitt reiterated her stance in subsequent interviews, emphasizing unwavering commitment to her principles over professional compromise. In reflections on the controversy, she questioned, "To compromise? For what?!", underscoring her refusal to retract criticism of the despite career repercussions. She expressed no regret for her anti-war position, framing it as an honest response to the conflict's human toll rather than disloyalty. Kitt's broader views on prejudice stemmed from her mixed-race heritage—born to a Black mother of Cherokee and African descent and a white father in rural South Carolina in 1927—which exposed her to rejection from both white and Black communities in her youth. She advocated against racial bias, drawing from personal experiences of ostracism, and positioned herself as inherently opposed to prejudice due to her biracial identity, stating in interviews that such divisions were illogical given her own blended background. In later discussions on social issues, Kitt critiqued welfare dependency, urging self-reliance as essential to personal dignity and economic independence. In a 2001 interview, she advised, "Get off welfare... There is nothing better in life than to be independent," reflecting her belief that prolonged reliance hindered individual agency. Her anti-war remarks drew sharp conservative criticism in the late 1960s, with detractors labeling her unpatriotic and accusing her of undermining U.S. efforts by echoing sentiments that demoralized troops and bolstered enemy propaganda. Contemporary editorials and public discourse portrayed such celebrity dissent as aiding North Vietnamese interests, aligning with broader conservative views that anti-war activism prolonged the conflict and betrayed American soldiers.

Consequences and Resilience

Following her outspoken criticism of the at the January 18, 1968, luncheon, Kitt faced immediate professional repercussions in the United States, including an effective blacklist that barred her from television, film, recording, and major stage opportunities for approximately a decade. This industry-wide exclusion stemmed directly from her remarks linking youth unrest to the war's societal costs, prompting swift retaliation that derailed her domestic career trajectory despite prior successes like her role as on Batman. Kitt mitigated these losses by relocating to and sustaining her livelihood through and performances in international venues, including tours in and later , where she self-managed engagements to maintain without U.S. support. Her refusal to retract or apologize for the comments—viewing them as truthful advocacy rather than regrettable indiscretion—prolonged the U.S. but garnered enduring respect among anti-war advocates and peers like Dr. , who similarly rejected enforced silence, while alienating establishment figures and some industry insiders who prioritized conformity. By 1978, Kitt engineered her U.S. resurgence through persistent cabaret circuits and a Broadway return in Timbuktu!, a musical adaptation of Kismet that marked her first major New York stage appearance in 19 years and signaled industry rehabilitation on her terms. This self-directed recovery, avoiding reliance on ideological alliances or public recantations, underscored her agency in navigating backlash, yielding a career extension into the 2000s that empirically outweighed the interim setbacks through sustained global demand for her performances.

Personal Life

Marriages and Family Dynamics

Eartha Kitt married John William McDonald, a white real estate investor and veteran, on June 9, 1960. The couple's interracial union drew public attention amid prevailing social tensions, though Kitt proceeded undeterred by external backlash. Their daughter, Kitt McDonald Shapiro, was born on November 26, 1961, in , . The marriage ended in divorce on March 26, 1964, with Kitt citing mental cruelty in court proceedings; McDonald did not contest the filing. Contributing factors included McDonald's addiction, stemming from injuries, and Kitt's demanding performance schedule, which involved extensive global touring and limited time. Post-divorce, Kitt assumed primary responsibility for raising their daughter, who frequently accompanied her on tours to maintain proximity despite professional demands. Kitt did not remarry following the divorce, prioritizing her career and maternal duties over further romantic commitments. She expressed unwavering devotion to her , integrating into her nomadic lifestyle while navigating the logistical strains of single parenthood in the entertainment industry. Shapiro later contributed to her mother's professional legacy, including managing Eartha Kitt Productions.

Racial Identity and Personal Philosophy

Eartha Kitt identified as of mixed ancestry, with her mother Annie Mae Keith described as of African and and her father as a white man of possible German or Dutch origin, born illegitimately on January 27, 1927, in . She recounted in interviews being conceived through by this unknown father, a claim that underscored her narratives of early abandonment and outcast status due to her light complexion and ambiguous racial features, leading to rejection by both Black sharecroppers and white communities in the Jim Crow South. These experiences, detailed in her 1976 Alone with Me and later accounts, shaped a personal philosophy rooted in individual resilience, where familial and communal exclusion forged an ethos of over victimhood or dependence on racial kinship. Kitt's self-conception rejected rigid racial categorization, emphasizing merit and talent as the paths to overcoming barriers rather than collective entitlement or separatism; she escaped through dance training in New York by age 15, crediting innate ability and relentless effort without appeals to racial solidarity. In a interview, she articulated a color-blind , critiquing white supremacist exclusion while decrying intra- biases against lighter-skinned individuals like herself, whom she saw as shunned for not fitting purity standards—"yella" outcasts in community eyes. Her 1960 interracial marriage to Bill McDonald drew backlash from peers enforcing racial boundaries, which she countered by prioritizing personal choice and achievement over group conformity, viewing such opposition as self-defeating . This philosophy extended to a broader rejection of racial "boxes" as artificial dividers, with Kitt asserting in recounted conversations that transcending color through universal human merit dissolved prejudice, as evidenced by her barrier-breaking career trajectory from chorus lines to international stardom on individual prowess alone. She maintained that self-made success, not inherited grievance or segregated solidarity, defined true liberation, a stance informed by lifelong quests for paternal identity that yielded no closure but reinforced autonomous self-definition over external validation.

Later Years and Death

Health Decline and Final Projects

In 2006, Eartha Kitt was diagnosed with colon cancer, leading to the postponement of an April performance engagement followed by surgery. Two months after the procedure, she resumed live performances, demonstrating physical recovery sufficient for demanding vocal and stage work. Kitt maintained an active schedule into 2007, including a triumphant opening at the renovated Café Carlyle in in September, where she performed despite ongoing health challenges from the cancer. This engagement highlighted her professional endurance, as she delivered full sets of her signature repertoire amid treatment effects. Her final major recording project was captured at the Festival in May 2008, resulting in the live album Live at the Festival, released later that year and representing one of her last documented performances at age 81. Kitt continued select concerts through October 2008, underscoring her commitment to performing even as the disease progressed, with no extended hiatus reported until shortly before her passing.

Death and Immediate Aftermath

Eartha Kitt died on December 25, 2008, at her home in , at the age of 81, from complications of colon cancer. Her longtime publicist, Andrew E. Freedman, confirmed the cause and location of death to media outlets shortly after. Kitt was cremated following her death, with her ashes interred in a birdbath at a private residence, reflecting the family's preference for a low-key disposition without a public service. Her , daughter Kitt Shapiro, played a key role in personal remembrances, later recounting her mother's final days and expressing that Kitt departed "screaming" amid intense emotional release, underscoring her unyielding vitality until the end. Initial media reports, including obituaries from major publications, focused on the span of Kitt's professional achievements—from her breakthrough in the 1940s with ' troupe to her portrayals in film, television, and stage, such as the role of on Batman and hits like ""—while noting her recent treatments at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital. These accounts emphasized her six-decade career without extensive eulogistic framing at the time.

Legacy

Cultural and Artistic Influence

Eartha Kitt's vocal technique, marked by a sultry growl alternating with coos and deliberate phonetic distortions, shaped and traditions by emphasizing expressive sensuality over technical purity. Her phrasing drew from and roots, influencing interpreters who prioritized emotional delivery and innuendo in performance. The 1953 release "Santa Baby," with its coy materialism delivered in Kitt's signature purr, established a template for seductive holiday pop, embedding the track in annual Christmas rotations and cultural lore as a symbol of festive allure. This recording propelled Kitt into holiday icon status, its stylistic blend of jazz inflection and playful eroticism resonating across decades in media and covers. Kitt's 1967 embodiment of on the Batman television series infused the archetype with racial ambiguity, feline grace, and commanding presence, elevating the character beyond camp to a enduring emblem of empowered villainy in superhero media. Her tenure, spanning three episodes, amplified Catwoman's cultural footprint, inspiring subsequent portrayals that echoed Kitt's blend of threat and seduction. As a performer navigating 1950s-1960s , Kitt exemplified racial crossover by merging exoticized aesthetics with assertive femininity, challenging norms through acts that celebrated bodily autonomy and verbal wit. This , while commercially potent—evidenced by her 1984 gold-certified "Where Is My Man" marking a resurgence—drew mixed reception, with admirers lauding its boundary-pushing vitality and critics viewing it as stylized of racial otherness.

Posthumous Recognition and Family Preservation Efforts

In 2010, Eartha Kitt received a posthumous Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program for her guest role on Wonder Pets!, recognizing her voice work as a wise old goat. This honor followed her two prior Daytime Emmys won in 2007 and 2008 for , underscoring her enduring impact in despite her death on December 25, 2008. Discussions of Kitt's historical surveillance by the CIA resurfaced in 2017, highlighting declassified files from the 1950s and 1960s that portrayed her as a potential subversive due to her anti-war and international performances. These documents, originally revealed in 1975 via , contained unsubstantiated gossip about her personal life rather than concrete threats, prompting renewed analysis of government overreach against outspoken artists. Kitt's daughter, Kitt Shapiro, has led efforts to preserve her mother's legacy through the 2021 memoir Eartha & Kitt: A Daughter's Love Story in Black and White, published on May 4, which details their bond and Kitt's path from to self-made via personal grit rather than institutional support. Shapiro also founded Simply Eartha LLC, launching eco-friendly home goods and accessories in 2013 inspired by Kitt's style and independence, aiming to sustain her image as a resilient entrepreneur. In January 2025, the featured Kitt's rags-to-riches trajectory in an article emphasizing her survival through foraging in childhood hardship and relentless , framing her as a symbol of individual triumph over adversity. Posthumous media, including 2022 YouTube documentaries like "The Untold Truth of Eartha Kitt," similarly spotlight her emphasis on personal agency and career reinvention, distinct from broader activist narratives.

Artistic Output

Discography Highlights

Eartha Kitt's early recordings with RCA Victor in the established her signature sultry delivery in jazz-inflected pop and standards, beginning with the 1953 album RCA Victor Presents Eartha Kitt. Singles from this era, including and released in 1953, highlighted her purring vocals and exotic phrasing, with emerging as a perennial holiday standard despite modest initial U.S. chart performance. Follow-up albums such as That Bad Eartha (1954) and Down to Eartha (1955) continued this vein, featuring torch songs that showcased her roots. The 1955 single "Uska Dara," drawing on Turkish folk motifs, exemplified Kitt's versatility in blending global influences with , reaching number 28 on the U.S. pop chart. Internationally, tracks like "Under the Bridges of " (1954) fared better, peaking at number 3 on the UK Singles Chart, underscoring disparities in her transatlantic appeal where European markets often embraced her theatrical style more readily than the U.S. By the late 1950s, releases including Thursday's Child (1956) incorporated tracks like "Faith in Foolishness," reflecting evolving personal and artistic themes amid her shifting career focus. A career revival came in the with the disco single "Where Is My Man," which climbed to number 7 on the chart and earned her first gold certification, signaling renewed interest in her persona. This preceded the I Love Men, which revisited her themes of romance and allure in a contemporary electronic context. Posthumous and career-spanning compilations, such as The Essential Eartha Kitt (2011), have preserved these milestones, often emphasizing her early hits over later works due to archival RCA material.

Filmography and Stage Credits

Eartha Kitt began her performing career on stage in the 1940s, appearing in several Broadway productions that highlighted her dancing and singing talents before transitioning to film and television roles. Her Broadway credits include early ensemble roles in Blue Holiday (1945) as a Katherine Dunham dancer and Carib Song (1945) with the company, followed by Bal Negre (1946) as a performer. In 1952, she featured as a singer, Polynesian girl, and dancer in Leonard Sillman's New Faces of 1952. She portrayed Theodora "Teddy" Hicks in Mrs. Patterson (1954–1955), a play with music. Kitt starred as mehitabel in the musical Shinbone Alley (1957). Later stage appearances encompassed Jolly's Progress (1959) as Jolly Rivers, Timbuktu! (1978) as Shaleem-La-Lume, The Wild Party (2000) as Dolores, and a replacement role as Liliane La Fleur in the revival of Nine (2003). In film, Kitt debuted in Casbah (1948) and appeared in New Faces (1954). Notable roles include those in The Mark of the Hawk (1957), Anna Lucasta (1958), Synanon (1965) as Betty, and Up the Chastity Belt (1971) as Madame. Later films featured her as Freya in Erik the Viking (1989), Lady Eloise in Boomerang (1992), Yzma (voice) in The Emperor's New Groove (2000), and Madame Zeroni in Holes (2003). On television, Kitt is recognized for portraying in season three of Batman (1967–1968), succeeding in the role. Her credits ranged from lead parts to character roles and voice work across decades, demonstrating versatility in live-action and animation.

Bibliography and Other Writings

Eartha Kitt's autobiographical writings offer firsthand accounts of her life, emphasizing personal agency, racial challenges, and professional perseverance drawn from her own observations. Her debut book, Thursday's Child (1956), chronicles her early years as an illegitimate child of mixed ancestry in rural , detailing labor in cotton fields, familial rejection, and migration northward that propelled her into performance by age 16. Kitt frames her narrative around the nursery rhyme's "Thursday's child has far to go," attributing her ascent from poverty to international stages to self-reliant ambition amid systemic barriers. This self-reported trajectory prioritizes individual resolve over external aid, differing from later analyses that highlight broader civil rights contexts. In Alone with Me: A New Autobiography (1976), Kitt reflects on mid-career upheavals, including a 1968 White House confrontation leading to professional blacklisting and exile from U.S. opportunities until 1973. The memoir underscores her strategic relocation to for sustenance gigs and return via Broadway's Timbuktu!, presenting these as deliberate choices fostering independence rather than victimhood. Kitt's prose reveals philosophies on racial in , where she recounts auditions marred by yet countered through vocal innovation and crafting. Kitt's I'm Still Here: Confessions of a Sex Kitten (1989) dissects her cultivated image as a sensual performer, tracing it to survival tactics in a male-dominated industry while asserting control over her narrative. She details how early in roles like New Faces of 1952 evolved into , rejecting passive in favor of performative authority informed by personal history. Her final major work, Rejuvenate! It's Never Too Late (2001, with Tonya Bolden), shifts to prescriptive insights on longevity, advocating , diet, and mental discipline based on routines sustaining her output past age 70. Kitt attributes vitality to rejecting ageist norms through consistent physical regimens and positive self-regard, offering empirical anecdotes from decades of touring as evidence over abstract theory. These writings collectively privilege Kitt's introspective causality—linking outcomes to volitional actions—over deterministic external forces.

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  29. https://rateyourmusic.com/music-review/bayard/eartha-kitt/cest-si-bon-its-so-good-african-lullaby/103039751
  30. https://consumergoods.com/santa-baby-one-thing-we-really-need-some-christmas-commercialism
  31. https://magazine.columbia.edu/article/santa-baby-changed-my-life
  32. https://www.dustygroove.com/item/7802/Eartha-Kitt:That-Bad-Eartha
  33. https://www.discogs.com/master/464186-Eartha-Kitt-That-Bad-Eartha
  34. https://www.discogs.com/release/7461831-Eartha-Kitt-With-Henri-Ren%25C3%25A9-And-His-Orchestra-That-Bad-Eartha
  35. https://www.fandango.com/people/eartha-kitt-357596/film-credits
  36. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0051362/
  37. https://www.britannica.com/topic/St-Louis-Blues-film-by-Reisner
  38. https://www.facebook.com/ispyanddetectiveshows/posts/eartha-kitt-catwoman-and-i-spy-guest-star-photographed-by-carl-van-vechten-on-oc/1353244023479938/
  39. https://miamivice.fandom.com/wiki/Eartha_Kitt
  40. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0519462/
  41. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0519528/
  42. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0457755/
  43. https://www.66batmania.com/bios/villains/catwoman-eartha-kitt/
  44. https://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/Eartha-Kitt/
  45. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hr6MlW5rNYo
  46. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120917/
  47. https://thefilmexperience.net/blog/2021/5/14/2000-the-brilliant-brilliant-brilliant-eartha-kitt-in-the-em.html
  48. https://disney.fandom.com/wiki/Eartha_Kitt
  49. https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/timbuktu-4043
  50. https://www.discogs.com/release/1049725-Eartha-Kitt-I-Love-Men
  51. https://waybackattack.com/kitteartha.html
  52. https://www.ebay.com/itm/176504368874
  53. https://www.facebook.com/groups/119258404820037/posts/1311795365566329/
  54. https://playbill.com/article/eartha-kitt-to-replace-chita-rivera-in-nine-com-115185
  55. https://www.facebook.com/groups/tcmfansite/posts/1368153786959564/
  56. https://www.bostonherald.com/2008/12/27/eartha-kitts-strength-lives-on/
  57. https://www.whitehousehistory.org/eartha-kitt-goes-to-washington
  58. https://daily.jstor.org/when-eartha-kitt-condemned-poverty-and-war-at-the-white-house/
  59. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/retropolis/wp/2018/01/19/sex-kitten-vs-first-lady-eartha-kitt-yells-at-lady-bird-johnson-about-vietnam/
  60. https://people.com/politics/after-eartha-kitt-spoke-against-vietnam-war-she-was-unable-to-work-in-the-us/
  61. https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2019/aug/15/drunk-history/did-lady-bird-johnson-sic-cia-eartha-kitt/
  62. https://www.nytimes.com/1975/01/03/archives/cia-in-68-gave-secret-service-a-report-containing-gossip-about.html
  63. https://www.vice.com/en/article/the-enduring-legacy-of-eartha-kitt-a-subversive-icon-targeted-by-the-cia/
  64. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/eartha-kitt-cia-target_b_153684
  65. https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/literature-and-arts/music-popular-and-jazz-biographies/eartha-kitt
  66. https://www.zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/eartha-kitt-spoke-at-white-house/
  67. https://routes-mag.com/that-bad-eartha-kitt-purr-haps-misunderstood/
  68. https://bglh-marketplace.com/2025/07/eartha-kitts-words-on-backlash-for-marrying-interracially-in-the-50s-still-ring-true-today/
  69. https://www.factinate.com/people/feline-facts-eartha-kitt
  70. https://www.ourweekly.com/2009/01/08/remembering-the-other-eartha-kitt/
  71. https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2013646614/
  72. https://www.facebook.com/thejudygarlandexperience/posts/judy-garland-and-eartha-kitt-were-both-organizers-and-fundraisers-for-dr-kings-m/3555598591149477/
  73. https://www.iamthevoluntourist.com/tag/eartha-kitt/
  74. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1998598/
  75. https://www.facebook.com/MarchOnFest/posts/to-compromise-for-what-eartha-kitt-march-on-honors-the-legendary-eartha-kitt-a-f/1197062179091043/
  76. https://www.capecodtimes.com/story/news/2004/09/03/eartha-kitt-still-has-it/50931019007/
  77. https://thevisualvamp.blogspot.com/2008/12/farewell-eartha-kitt_8282.html
  78. https://www.thissongchangedmylife.com/p/a-bite-of-eartha-kitt
  79. https://www.goupstate.com/story/news/2001/04/08/at-74-eartha-kitt39s-life-mirrors-39cinderella39/29632408007/
  80. https://www.quora.com/What-caused-the-CIA-to-blacklist-the-singer-Eartha-Kitt
  81. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/sultry-star-generated-heat-charm-124888/
  82. http://sandman-chronicles.blogspot.com/2008/12/incredible-eartha-kitt-in-memoriam.html
  83. https://barryferrier.com/index.php/barry-ferrier-history/eartha-kitt-barry-ferrier
  84. https://medium.com/timeline/eartha-kitt-white-house-89411992a367
  85. https://www.facebook.com/GettyEntertainment/posts/eartha-kitt-was-essentially-blacklisted-from-performing-in-the-united-states-unt/3100140783363986/
  86. https://www.afterglowatx.com/blog/2019/12/13/songs-of-protest-how-natalie-maines-and-eartha-kitt-refused-to-be-government-hookers
  87. https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2021/01/eartha-kitt-old-hollywood-autobiography
  88. https://playbill.com/article/the-playbill-vault-remembers-tony-nominee-eartha-kitt-com-213017
  89. https://www.baltimoresun.com/1990/09/18/survival-instinct-eartha-kitt-overcame-abuse-blacklisting-to-achieve-success/
  90. https://www.blinkist.com/magazine/posts/eartha-kitt-husband
  91. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1063557/
  92. https://www.nytimes.com/1964/03/27/archives/eartha-kitt-wins-divorce.html
  93. https://stagecoachplayers.com/earthakitt/
  94. https://www.jerryjazzmusician.com/interview-with-kitt-shapiro-author-of-eartha-kitt-a-daughters-love-story-in-black-white/
  95. https://www.linkedin.com/in/kittshapiro
  96. https://www.aarp.org/entertainment/celebrities/eartha-kitt-daughter-memoir-2021/
  97. https://www.today.com/parents/eartha-kitt-s-daughter-shares-her-mother-s-incredible-strength-t216415
  98. https://variety.com/2006/legit/reviews/eartha-kitt-3-1200515651/
  99. https://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/26/arts/26iht-26kitt.18930866.html
  100. https://www.discogs.com/release/5787953-Eartha-Kitt-Live-At-The-Cheltenham-Jazz-Festival
  101. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/32398636/eartha-kitt
  102. https://www.express.co.uk/celebrity-news/78059/Kitt-s-daughter-remembers-last-moments
  103. https://www.theguardian.com/music/2008/dec/26/eartha-kitt-obituary
  104. https://jazzjournal.co.uk/2023/05/18/eartha-kitt-down-to-eartha/
  105. https://www.triviamafia.com/fridayknowitall/santababy
  106. https://www.lemon8-app.com/%40ging3rbansh33/7456298369271546410?region=us
  107. https://medium.com/soul-magazine/eartha-kitt-made-catwoman-culturally-influential-2053ec951622
  108. https://www.tvguide.com/news/features/eartha-kitt-tribute-catwoman-batman/
  109. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0740770X.2018.1426200
  110. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0457755/awards/
  111. https://gameshows.fandom.com/wiki/Eartha_Kitt
  112. https://www.amazon.com/Eartha-Kitt-Daughters-Story-Black/dp/1643137549
  113. https://www.dailynews.com/lifestyle/20130731/kitt-shapiro-daughter-of-eartha-kitt-honors-her-mother-with-lifestyle-collection-of-home-items/
  114. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIO5bt0Fmls
  115. https://www.musicvf.com/Eartha%2BKitt.songs
  116. https://music.apple.com/us/artist/eartha-kitt/2321181
  117. https://www.last.fm/music/Eartha%2BKitt/%2Balbums
  118. https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/eartha-kitt-48248
  119. https://serp.media/movies/all-eartha-kitt-movies-in-order/
  120. https://www.amazon.com/Thursdays-Child-Eartha-Kitt-ebook/dp/B09HSG9RW1
  121. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6068040-thursday-s-child
  122. https://archive.org/details/alonewithmenewau00kitt
  123. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1415597.Alone_with_me
  124. https://openlibrary.org/authors/OL766635A/Eartha_Kitt
  125. https://www.amazon.com/Rejuvenate-Its-Never-Too-Late/dp/0743202244
  126. https://books.google.com/books/about/Rejuvenate.html?id=HT8a0tXfntEC
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