Her distinctive voice soon caught the attention of the recording companies and RCA Victor released her first album in 1954 which included the unforgettable Santa Baby. Eartha Kitt was the original "sex kitten" along with her famous catlike purr. She became the “femme fatale” of the US and all the more endearing because she spoke French fluently and sang songs like C'est Si Bon (1954), and Under the Bridges of Paris (Sous les ponts de Paris) (1955). She was also the Loletta of song and captured the mood well with her sexy renditions of I Want to Be Evil (1954), and My Heart Belongs to Daddy (1955). Sadly much of the more unsavoury elements would reflect her personal experiences.
Eartha Kitt was must to appear in celluloid and in 1957 she appeared in The Mark of the Hawk (AKA Accused), starring Sydney Poitier. A year later Eartha starred opposite Nat King Cole in the biopic of the life of W C Handy called St Louis Blues (1958). Tere after Earths Kitt worked steadily on films and TV as well as her live cabaret performances. In 1967 Eartha was chosen to replace Julie Newmar as Catwoman on the popular Batman series. Julie Newmar had played the role very successfully in the first two series but due to other commitments was unavailable. Eartha took the role of Catwoman and made it her own with her daringly sexy and flirtatious performance fulfilling the fantasies of her older fans as well as appealing to a new audience.
Privately Eartha was quite outspoken and took every opportunity to speak plainly about her beliefs. In 1968 at a White House gathering where she was invited to address a group of ladies at a luncheon. Eartha used the platform to express her heart felt anti-war comments about Vietnam. Apparently this upset the then President’s wife Lady Bird Johnson. Expressing sentiments then which called for an end to the War left Eartha branded as a radical and she found working in the US no longer viable. Professionally exiled from the U.S., she devoted her energies to overseas performances for the next four years. In her absence she was investigated by the FBI and CIA, which allegedly found her to be foul-mouthed and promiscuous. Offstage, Eartha was shy and reclusive. She still had demons from her early years and referred to herself as "that little urchin cotton-picker from the South, Eartha Mae". Despite her obvious sex appeal she spent much of her life single with some brief romances with the rich and famous. These included Orson Wells, Irish Comedian, Dave Allen who she met in Sydney Australia, and Charles Revson (founder of Revlon cosmetics).
In 1978, Eartha was back on Broadway in the musical Timbuktu and continued to appear in several productions both on Broadway as well as touring, up until 2003. Her recording career took a new lease of life in 1984 with the disco song, where is my man, this lead to her touring nightclubs where she met a new generation of gay male fans. Her last hit single was "Cha-Cha Heels" (featuring Bronski Beat). Eartha made several guest appearance in movies including Boomerang starring Eddie Murphy; and then And Then Came Love (2007), opposite Vanessa L. Williams. Over the last two decades her distinctive voice was in constant demand and she was the voice of Kaa the python in a 1994 BBC Radio adaptation of The Jungle Book; and in 2000 Eartha gave voice to Yzma in Disney's The Emperor's New Groove. She went on to a career of voice overs in TV animation and commercials.
Eartha Kitt died after a long battle against colon cancer on Christmas Day, 2008 in Weston, Connecticut at the age of 81.
Article Kippen C. 2009 Cameron K's blog Retrieved from
Cameron K's Blog
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