Eartha Mae Kitt Born Eartha Mae Keith, January 17, 1927 – December 25, 2008. Was an American singer & actress known for her highly distinctive singing style & her 1953 recordings of, C’est si bon, & the Christmas novelty song, Santa Baby. Kitt began her career in 1942 & 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, & 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, & Where Is My Man, 1983. Orson Welles once called her the, Most exciting woman in the world. Kitt starred as Catwoman in the third & final season of the television series Batman in 1967. In 1968, Kitt’s career in the U.S. deteriorated after she made anti Vietnam War statements at a White House luncheon. 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. Kitt wrote three autobiographies.
Kitt found a new generation of fans through her roles in the Disney films The Emperor’s New Groove in 2000, In which she voiced the villainous Yzma, & Holes, 2003. Kitt reprised the role as Yzma in the direct to video sequel Kronk’s New Groove, 2005, as well as the animated series The Emperor’s New School 2006–2008. Her work on the latter earned her two Daytime Emmy Awards. Kitt posthumously won a third Emmy in 2010 for her guest performance on Wonder Pets!
Eartha’s Early Life.
Born in the small town of North, South Carolina on January 17, 1927. Her mother, Annie Mae Keith, Later Annie Mae Riley, Was of Cherokee & African descent. 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, & that Kitt was conceived by rape. In a 2013 biography, British journalist John Williams claimed that Kitt’s father was a white man, a local doctor named Daniel Sturkie. Kitt’s daughter, Kitt McDonald Shapiro, Has questioned the accuracy of the claim. 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. After the death of Annie Mae, Eartha was sent to live with another close relative named Mamie Kitt, Who Eartha later came to believe was her biological mother, In Harlem, New York City, Where Eartha attended The Metropolitan Vocational High School, Later renamed The High School of Performing Arts.
Kitt’s Career. She began her career as a member of the Katherine Dunham Company in 1943 & 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, & 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 & sang in 11, which she demonstrated in many of the live recordings of her cabaret performances.
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 & 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, & Santa Baby.
Though it is often alleged that Welles & 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 & nothing else.” Her other films in the 1950s included The Mark of the Hawk, 1957, St. Louis Blues, 1958, & Anna Lucasta, 1958. Throughout the rest of the 1950s & early 1960s, Kitt recorded, worked in film, television, & nightclubs, & returned to the Broadway stage, In Mrs. Patterson, During the 1954–1955 season, Shinbone Alley, In 1957, & 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, 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.
On 18 January 1968, During Lyndon B. Johnson’s administration, Kitt encountered a substantial professional setback after she made anti-war statements during a White House luncheon. 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 & maimed”. No wonder the kids rebel & take pot.“ During a question & 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 & I know what it’s like, & you have children of your own, Mrs. Johnson we raise children & send them to war. Kitt’s remarks reportedly caused Mrs. Johnson to burst into tears. It is widely believed, That Kitt’s career in the United States was ended following her comments about the Vietnam War, After which she was branded, A Sadistic Nymphomaniac, By the CIA. A CIA dossier about Kitt was discovered by Seymour Hersh in 1975. Hersh published an article about the dossier in The New York Times. The dossier contained comments about Kitt’s sex life & 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. Following the incident, Kitt devoted her energies to performances in Europe & Asia. In February 2022, Catwoman vs. The White House, The New Yorker short documentary, directed by Scott Calonico used photos, Clippings & footage to show how Kitt disrupted the White House luncheon, taking Lyndon B. Johnson to task.
