Eartha Kitt

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

Kitt began her career in 1942 and appeared in the 1945 original Broadway theatre production of the musical ''Carib Song''. In the early 1950s, she had six US Top 30 entries, including "Uska Dara" and "I Want to Be Evil". 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". She starred as Catwoman in the third and final season of the television series ''Batman'' in 1967.

In 1968, her 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. Her 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'' (2000), in which she voiced the villainous Yzma, and ''Holes'' (2003). She 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. She posthumously won a third Emmy in 2010 for her guest performance on ''Wonder Pets!''

Early life

Eartha Mae Keith was born in the small town of North, South Carolina, on January 17, 1927. Her mother Annie Mae Keith was of Cherokee and African descent. Though she had little knowledge of her father, it was reported that he was a son of the owner of the farm where she had been born, and 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.Adam Luck
"Eartha Kitt's life was scarred by failure to learn the identity of her white father, says daughter"
''The Observer'', October 19, 2013. Retrieved October 22, 2013. Eartha's mother, Annie Mae Keith (later Annie Mae Riley), soon went to live with a black man who refused to accept Eartha because of her relatively pale complexion; she 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 relative named Mamie Kitt (who may, in fact, have been her biological mother) in Harlem, New York City, where she attended the Metropolitan Vocational High School (later renamed the High School of Performing Arts).

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", "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. She spoke four languages (she is thought to have learned German and Dutch from her stepfather, English from her mother, and French from the European cabaret circuit) and sang in eleven, which she demonstrated in many of the live recordings of her cabaret performances. Diana Ross said that as a member of The Supremes she largely based her look and sound on Kitt's.

Career peaks

In 1950, Orson Welles gave Kitt her first starring role as Helen of Troy in his staging of '' Dr. Faustus''. Two years later, she 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 she performed "Monotonous", "Uska Dara", "C'est si bon", 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." Her other films in the 1950s included ''The Mark of the Hawk'' (1957), ''St. Louis Blues'' (1958) and '' Anna Lucasta'' (1958). Kitt had a minor hit in Sweden 1956 with her record in Swedish, "Rosenkyssar" ("Rose Kisses", RCA FAS 511).

Throughout the rest of the 1950s and early 1960s, she 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, ''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 a contortionist.

In 1956 she 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".

The "White House Incident"

In 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 and maimed. No wonder the kids rebel and take pot."
During a question-and-answer session, Kitt stated:

Her 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 defamatory 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 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." Following the incident, Kitt devoted her energies to performances in Europe and Asia.

Broadway

In the 1970s, Kitt appeared on television several times on BBC
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