Eartha Kitt

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Biography

Eartha Mae Kitt (January 17, 1927 – December 25, 2008) was an American singing|singer , actress , and cabaret star. She was perhaps best known for her highly distinctive singing style and her 1953 hit recordings of " C'est Si Bon " and the enduring Christmas novelty smash " Santa Baby ". Orson Welles once called her the "most exciting woman in the world." She took over the role of Catwoman for the third and final season of the 1960s Batman (TV series)| Batman television series , replacing Julie Newmar , who was unavailable due to other commitments.

Life and career

Early years

Kitt was born Eartha Mae Keith on a cotton plantation in North, South Carolina|North , a small town in Orangeburg County, South Carolina|Orangeburg County near Columbia, South Carolina . Kitt's mother was of Cherokee and African-American descent and her father of German people|German or Netherlands|Dutch descent. Kitt was conceived by rape.

Kitt was raised by Anna Mae Riley, an African-American woman whom she believed to be her mother. Anna Mae went to live with a black man when Eartha was aged 8. He refused to accept Kitt because of her relatively pale complexion. Kitt lived with another family until Riley's death. She was then sent to live in New York City with Mamie Kitt, who she learned was her biological mother. She had no knowledge of her father, except that his surname was Kitt and that he was supposedly a son of the owner of the farm where she had been born. Newspaper obituaries state that her white father was "a poor cotton farmer".

Career

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, she recorded the hits " Let's Do It, Let's Fall in Love|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 (song)|Love for Sale "; "I'd Rather Be Burned as a Witch"; " Uskudar'a Gideriken (aka Katibim)"; "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 the French language during her years performing in Europe. Her English-speaking performances always seemed to be enriched by a soft French feel. She spoke four languages and sang in seven, which she effortlessly demonstrated in many of the live recordings of her cabaret performances

Career peaks

In 1950, Orson Welles gave Kitt her first starring role, as Helen of Troy in his staging of The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus|Dr. Faustus . A few years later, she was cast in the revue New Faces of 1952 , introducing " Monotonous (song)|Monotonous " and "Bal, Petit Bal", two songs with which she is still identified. In 1954, 20th Century Fox filmed a version of the revue, titled New Faces , in which she performed "Monotonous", " Uska Dara ", and " C'est si bon ". 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". Her other films in the 1950s included Mark of the Hawk (1957), St. Louis Blues (1958 film)|St. Louis Blues (1958) and Anna Lucasta (1959 film)|Anna Lucasta (1959).

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). In 1964, Kitt helped open the Circle Star Theater in San Carlos, California . In the late 1960s, the television series Batman (TV series)|Batman featured her as Catwoman after Julie Newmar left the role.

Anti-war controversy

In 1968, during the administration of US President Lyndon B. Johnson , Kitt encountered a substantial professional setback after she made anti-war statements during a White House luncheon. Kitt was invited to the White House luncheon and was asked by 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 cannabis|pot ."

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 Boulevard|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.

Her remarks reportedly caused Mrs. Johnson to burst into tears and led to a derailment in Kitt's career. The public reaction to Kitt's statements was extreme, both pro and con. Publicly ostracized in the US, she devoted her energies to performances in Europe and Asia .

Broadway

She returned to New York in a triumphant turn in the Broadway theatre|Broadway spectacle Timbuktu! (a version of the perennial Kismet (musical)|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.

Later years

In 1978, Kitt did the voice-over in a TV commercial for the album Aja by the rock group Steely Dan . She wrote three autobiographies — ''Thursday's Child (1956), Alone with Me (1976) and I'm Still Here: Confessions of a Sex Kitten (1989).

In 1984, she returned to the music charts with a disco song, " 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 #36; The song also made the Top 10 on the US Billboard (magazine)|Billboard Hot Dance Club Play|dance chart , where it reached #7. Joel Whitburn (2004). Hot Dance/Disco 1974–2003 , (Record Research Inc.) 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 US, including a whole new generation of gay male fans, and she responded by frequently giving benefit performances in support of HIV/AIDS organizations. Kitt appeared with Jimmy James and George Burns at a fundraiser in 1990 produced by Scott Sherman, 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. Her 1989 follow-up hit "Cha-Cha Heels" (featuring Bronski Beat ), which was originally intended to be recorded by Divine (actor)|Divine , received a positive response from UK dance clubs and reached #32 in the charts in that country.

In 1991, Eartha returned to the screen in the Jim Varney children's Halloween movie Ernest Scared Stupid as Old Lady Hackmore. In 1992, Kitt had a supporting role as Lady Eloise in the film Boomerang (1992 film)|Boomerang starring Eddie Murphy . In the late 1990s, she appeared as the Wicked Witch of the West in the North American national touring company of The Wizard of Oz (stage)|The Wizard of Oz . 1995 saw Eartha Kitt appear as herself in an episode of 'The Nanny', where she performed a song in French and flirted with Mr Shefield. In November 1996, she appeared on an episode of Celebrity Jeopardy . In 2000, Kitt again returned to Broadway theatre|Broadway in the short-lived run of Michael John LaChiusa 's The Wild Party (LaChiusa musical)|The Wild Party opposite Mandy Patinkin and Toni Collette . Beginning in late 2000, she starred as the Fairy Godmother in the US national tour of Cinderella (TV)|Cinderella alongside Deborah Gibson and then Jamie-Lynn Sigler . In 2003, she replaced Chita Rivera in Nine (musical)|Nine . She 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.

One of her more unusual roles was as Kaa the Pythonidae|python in a 1994 BBC Radio adaptation of The Jungle Book . Kitt lent her distinctive voice to the role of Yzma in The Walt Disney Company|Disney's '' The Emperor's New Groove , for which she won her first Annie Award , and returned to the role in the straight-to-video sequel Kronk's New Groove and the spin-off TV series The Emperor's New School , for which she won two Emmy Awards and two more Annie Awards (both in 2007–08) for Voice Acting in an Animated Television Production. She had a voiceover as the voice of My Life as a Teenage Robot#Queen Vexus|Queen Vexus on the animated TV series My Life as a Teenage Robot .

In her later years Kitt made annual appearances in the New York Manhattan cabaret scene at venues such as the Ballroom and the Cafe Carlyle|Café Carlyle .

She was also a guest star in The Simpsons episode " Once Upon a Time in Springfield ", where she was depicted as one of Krusty's past marriages.

From October to early December, 2006, Kitt co-starred in the Off-Broadway musical Mimi le Duck . She also appeared in the 2007 independent film And Then Came Love opposite Vanessa L. Williams|Vanessa Williams .

Kitt was the spokesperson for MAC Cosmetics ' Smoke Signals collection in August 2007. 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.

Personal life

After romances with the cosmetics magnate Charles Revson and banking heir John Barry Ryan III, she married John William McDonald, an associate of a real estate investment company, on June 6, 1960. They had one child, a daughter named Kitt McDonald, born on November 26, 1961. After divorcing in 1965, Kitt went on to have other lovers.

A long-time Connecticut resident, Eartha Kitt lived in a converted barn on a sprawling farm in the Merryall section of New Milford, Connecticut|New Milford for many years and was active in local charities and causes throughout Litchfield County, Connecticut|Litchfield County . Subsequently moving to Pound Ridge, New York|Pound Ridge , New York , then in 2002,Chamoff, Lisa. "Eartha Kitt no stranger to local stages", The Advocate (Stamford)|The Advocate (Stamford, Connecticut), 26 December 2008. retrieved 26 December 2008. Kitt moved to the southern Fairfield County, Connecticut town of Weston, Connecticut|Weston to be near her daughter Kitt and family. (Kitt McDonald married Charles Lawrence Shapiro in 1987 and had two children, Jason and Rachel Shapiro.)

Activism

Kitt became a vocal advocate for homosexual rights and publicly supported same-sex marriage , which she believed to be a civil right . She had been quoted as saying, "I support it 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? " Kitt famously appeared at many GLBT fundraisers, including a mega event in Baltimore, Maryland, with George Burns and Jimmy James. Scott Sherman, an agent at Atlantic Entertainment Group, stated "Eartha Kitt is fantastic... appears at so many GLBT events in support of civil rights."

Death

Kitt died from colon cancer on Christmas Day 2008 at her Weston, Connecticut home.

Awards and nominations

;Awards

1960 Hollywood Walk of Fame — Hollywood Boulevard|6656 Hollywood Boulevard .

2001 Annie Award for Best Voice Acting by a Female Performer in a Featured Film — '' The Emperor's New Groove

2007 Annie Award for Best Voice Acting in an Animated Television Production — '' The Emperor's New School

34th Daytime Emmy Awards|2007 Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program — '' The Emperor's New School

2008 Annie Award for Best Voice Acting in an Animated Television Production — '' The Emperor's New School

35th Daytime Emmy Awards|2008 Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program — '' The Emperor's New School

37th Daytime Emmy Awards|2010 Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program — The Wonder Pets

;Nominations

1966 Emmy Award for Outstanding Single Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Drama — I Spy (1965 TV series)|I Spy

1978 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical — Timbuktu!

1996 Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series — Living Single

2000 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical — The Wild Party (LaChiusa musical)|The Wild Party

2000 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical — The Wild Party

Filmography

;Features

Casbah (film)|Casbah ( 1948 in film|1948 )

New Faces of 1952|New Faces ( 1954 in film|1954 )

Mark of the Hawk ( 1957 )

St. Louis Blues (1958 film)|St. Louis Blues ( 1958 in film|1958 )

Anna Lucasta (1959 film)|Anna Lucasta ( 1959 in film|1959 )

''Saint of Devil's Island ( 1961 in film|1961 )

'' Uncle Tom's Cabin (film adaptations)|Uncle Tom's Cabin ( 1965 in film|1965 )

Synanon (film)|Synanon (1965)

Up the Chastity Belt ( 1971 in film|1971 )

Friday Foster (film)|Friday Foster ( 1975 in film|1975 )

All by Myself: The Eartha Kitt Story ( 1982 in film|1982 ) (documentary)

The Serpent Warriors ( 1985 in film|1985 )

The Pink Chiquitas ( 1987 in film|1987 )

Dragonard (1987)

Master of Dragonard Hill ( 1989 in film|1989 )

Erik the Viking (1989)

Living Doll ( 1990 in film|1990 )

Ernest Scared Stupid ( 1991 in film|1991 )

Boomerang (1992 film)|Boomerang ( 1992 in film|1992 )

Fatal Instinct ( 1993 in film|1993 )

Unzipped (film)|Unzipped ( 1995 in film|1995 ) (documentary)

Harriet the Spy (film)|Harriet the Spy ( 1996 in film|1996 )

Ill Gotten Gains ( 1997 in film|1997 )

I Woke Up Early the Day I Died ( 1998 in film|1998 )

'' Jungle Book: Mowgli's Story (1998) (direct-to-video)

'' The Emperor's New Groove ( 2000 in film|2000 ) (voice) (Yzma)

The Making and Meaning of We Are Family ( 2002 in film|2002 ) (documentary)

The Sweatbox (2002) (documentary)

Anything But Love (2002)

Holes (film)|Holes ( 2003 in film|2003 )

Preaching to the Choir ( 2005 in film|2005 )

'' Kronk's New Groove (2005) (voice) (direct-to-video) (Yzma)

And Then Came Love ( 2007 in film|2007 )

;Short subjects

All About People ( 1967 in film|1967 ) (narrator)

Television Work

I Spy (1965 TV series)|I Spy - "Angel" ( 1965 in television|1965 )

Mission: Impossible ( 1967 in television|1967 ) (Tina Mara, Season 1, Episode 27)

Batman (TV series)|Batman (recurring cast member from 1967 in television|1967 - 1968 in television|1968 )

The Eartha Kitt Show ( 1969 in television|1969 )

''Lieutenant Schuster's Wife ( 1972 in television|1972 )

The Protectors - Episode - A Pocketful of Posies ( 1973 in television|1973 )

To Kill a Cop ( 1978 in television|1978 )

A Night on the Town ( 1983 in television|1983 )

Living Single (1995)(As herself)

New York Undercover (1996)

The Nanny ( 1996 in television|1996 )

The Feast of All Saints ( 2001 in television|2001 ) (miniseries)

Santa Baby! ( 2001 in television|2001 ) (voice)

My Life as a Teenage Robot : Vexus (recurring from 2003 in television|2003 - 2007 in television|2007 )

'' The Emperor's New School : Yzma ( 2006 in television|2006 - 2008 in television|2008 )

Wonder Pets : Cool Cat (1 episode, 2009 in television|2009 )

The Simpsons ( The Simpsons (season 21)|season 21 , Once Upon a Time in Springfield ) ( 2010 in American television|2010 )

Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child : The Snow Queen (voice)

Miami Vice "Whatever Works" 1985

Discography

Stage work

Blue Holiday (May 21–26, 1945) ( Broadway theatre|Broadway )

Carib Song (September 27 - October 27, 1945) (Broadway)

Bal Negre (November 7 - December 22, 1946) (Broadway and European tour)

Time Runs (1950)

The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus|Dr. Faustus (1951) ( Paris and European tour)

New Faces of 1952 (May 16, 1952 - March 28, 1953) (Broadway)

Mrs. Patterson (December 1, 1954 - February 26, 1955) (Broadway)

Shinbone Alley (April 13 - May 25, 1957) (Broadway)

''Jolly's Progress (December 5–12, 1959) (Broadway)

The Owl and the Pussycat (film)|The Owl and the Pussycat (1965 - 1966) (national tour)

The High Bid (1970) ( London )

Bunny (1972) (London)

A Musical Jubilee (1976) (national tour)

Timbuktu! (March 1 - September 10, 1978) (Broadway and national tour from 1979 - 1980)

New Faces of 1952 (Revival) (1982) ( Off-Off-Broadway )

Blues in the Night (musical)|Blues in the Night (1985) (national tour)

Follies (1987) (London) (replacement for Dolores Gray )

Eartha Kitt in Concert (1989) (London)

Yes (1994) (One Woman Show) ( Edinburgh )

''Sam's Song (1995) (Benefit Concert) ( Unitarian Church of All Souls )

''Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill (1996) ( Chicago )

The Wizard of Oz (1987 stage play)|The Wizard of Oz (1998) (national tour)

The Wild Party (LaChiusa musical)|The Wild Party (April 13 - June 11, 2000) (Broadway)

Cinderella (musical)|Cinderella (2001) ( Madison Square Garden )

Nine (musical)|Nine (replacement for Chita Rivera from October 5 - December 14, 2003) ( Broadway theatre|Broadway )

Mimi le Duck (2006) ( Off Broadway )

All About Us (musical)|All About Us (April 10-28, 2007) ( Westport Country Playhouse )

Copyright Citations

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