Eartha Kitt
photo by Carl Van Vechten, 1952
Born	Eartha Mae Keith January 17, 1927 (1927-01-17) (age 81) St. Matthews,[1] South Carolina, U.S.

Eartha Mae Kitt (born Eartha Mae Keith January 17, 1927)^[1] is an American actress, singer, and cabaret star. Carl Van Vechten ( June 17, 1880 &ndash December 21, 1964) was an American Writer and Photographer who was a Events 38 BC - Octavian marries Livia Drusilla. 1287 - King Alfonso III of Aragon invades Minorca Year 1927 ( MCMXXVII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. South Carolina ( is a state in the southern region ( Deep South) of the United States of America. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Events 38 BC - Octavian marries Livia Drusilla. 1287 - King Alfonso III of Aragon invades Minorca Year 1927 ( MCMXXVII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the An actor, actress, player or thespian (see terminology) is a person who Acts in a Dramatic production and who works Cabaret is a form of entertainment featuring Comedy, Song, Dance, and Theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue &mdash a Restaurant She is known for her role as Catwoman in the 1960s TV series Batman, and for her 1953 Christmas song "Santa Baby. Catwoman is a Fictional character associated with DC Comics ' Batman franchise. Batman is a 1960s American Television series, based on the DC Comic book character of the same name. "Santa Baby" is a 1953 Christmas song written by Joan Javits (the niece of Jacob K " Orson Welles once called her "the most exciting woman in the world. George Orson Welles (May 6 1915 – October 10 1985 was an Academy Award -winning director, writer actor and producer for film stage radio and television "

In 1960, Kitt was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a Sidewalk along Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street in Hollywood Los Angeles California, USA, that She has also received three Tony nominations, two Grammy nominations, and an Emmy win. The Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Awards, recognize achievement in live American Theatre and are presented The Grammy Awards (originally called the Gramophone Awards)—or Grammys —are presented annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences The Daytime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the New York -based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and the Los Angeles -based Academy She was profiled on the December 31, 2007 broadcast of NPR's Morning Edition.

Contents 1 Biography 1.1 Early life 1.2 Career 1.2.1 1950s–1960s 1.2.2 1970s–1980s 1.2.3 1990s–2000s 1.3 Personal life 2 Works 2.1 Discography 2.2 Filmography 2.3 Television work 3 References 4 External links

Biography

Early life

Kitt has said that she is not certain of her parentage, beyond that she was born out of wedlock on a cotton plantation in the tiny town of North, South Carolina[2] and is African-American and Native American of her mother's side and of German American or Dutch American ancestry on her father's. In Common law, legitimacy is the status of a Child that is born to parents who are legally married to one another or that is born shortly after the South Carolina ( is a state in the southern region ( Deep South) of the United States of America. She was said to not have been raised by her parents because of her multi-racial heritage at the time of 1927.

She was raised by Anna Mae Riley, a black woman whom she believed to be her mother, but after Riley's death, she was sent to live in New York City with Mamie Kitt, reportedly Riley's sister. Today Eartha Kitt believes that Mamie Kitt was her biological mother; she still has no knowledge of her father's identity, except that his surname was Kitt and that he was the son of the owner of the plantation on which she had been born. [3]

Career

Kitt got her start as a member of the Katherine Dunham Company and made her film debut with them in Casbah (1948). The Katherine Dunham Company, a troupe of dancers singers actors and musicians was the first African American Modern dance company The Casbah ( French) or as transliterated from Arabic Qasba (from qasba, قصبة ' Citadel ' is specifically the citadel of Algiers A talented singer with a distinctive voice, her hits include "Let's Do It", "C'est si bon", "Just an Old Fashioned Girl", "Monotonous", "Love for Sale", "I'd Rather Be Burned as a Witch", "Uska Dara", "Mink, Schmink", "Under the Bridges of Paris", and her most recognizable hit, "Santa Baby. " Let's Do It Let's Fall in Love " is a Popular song written in 1928 by Cole Porter. " C'est si bon " is a popular Song, sometimes also referred to by the English translation of the title " It's So Good " "Love for Sale" is a song by Cole Porter, from the musical The New Yorkers which opened on Broadway in December 1930 " Under the Bridges of Paris " is a 1931 popular song with music written by Vincent Scotto the original French lyrics (entitled " Sous "Santa Baby" is a 1953 Christmas song written by Joan Javits (the niece of Jacob K " Kitt's unique style was enhanced as she became fluent in the French language during her years performing in Europe. French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people She dabbled in other languages as well, which she demonstrates with finesse in many of the live recordings of her cabaret performances.

1950s–1960s

In 1950, Orson Welles gave her her first starring role, as Helen of Troy in his staging of Dr. Faustus. George Orson Welles (May 6 1915 – October 10 1985 was an Academy Award -winning director, writer actor and producer for film stage radio and television This article is about the mythological figure Helen of Troy For other uses see Helen (disambiguation and Helen of Troy (disambiguation. A few years later, she was cast in the revue New Faces of 1952 introducing "Monotonous" and "Bal, Petit Bal," two songs with which she continues to be identified. New Faces of 1952 is a musical Revue with comedy skits tied together by a flimsy plot In 1954, 20th Century-Fox filmed a version of the revue simply titled New Faces. Welles and Kitt allegedly had a torrid affair during her run in Shinbone Alley, which earned her the nickname by Welles as "the most exciting woman in the world. Shinbone Alley is a musical with a book by Joe Darion and Mel Brooks, lyrics by Darion and music by George Kleinsinger " In 1958, Kitt made her feature film debut opposite Sidney Poitier in The Mark of the Hawk. Sir Sidney Poitier, KBE (ˈpwɑːtie born February 20, 1927) is an Oscar - Golden Globe - BAFTA - and Grammy Throughout the rest of the 1950s and early 1960s, Kitt would work on and off in film, television and on nightclub stages. In the late 1960s, television series Batman, she played Catwoman in succession to Julie Newmar. Batman is a 1960s American Television series, based on the DC Comic book character of the same name. Catwoman is a Fictional character associated with DC Comics ' Batman franchise. Julie Newmar (born August 16, 1933) is an American actress, Dancer and Singer.

In 1964, Kitt helped open the Circle Star Theater in San Carlos, California. The Circle Star Theater was a performing arts venue in San Carlos California (near the county seat of San Mateo County, Redwood City) San Carlos is a city in San Mateo County, California, USA on the San Francisco Peninsula, about halfway between San Francisco and San Jose

In 1968, however, Kitt encountered substantial professional setback after she made anti-war statements during a White House luncheon. See also Executive Office of the President of the United States The White House, formerly known as the Executive Mansion, is the Official residence It was falsely reported that she made First Lady Lady Bird Johnson cry uncontrollably when in fact, the First Lady replied very diplomatically. Claudia Alta "Lady Bird" Taylor Johnson (December 22 1912&ndashJuly 11 2007 was First Lady of the United States from 1963 to 1969 having been the wife of The public reaction to Kitt's statements were much more extreme, both for and against her statements. Professionally exiled from the U. S. , she devoted her energies to overseas performances.

1970s–1980s

During that time cultural references to her grew, including outside the United States, such as the well-known Monty Python sketch, "the cycling tour", where an amnesiac believes he is first Clodagh Rodgers, then Trotsky and finally Eartha Kitt (while performing to an enthusiastic crowd in Moscow). Monty Python (sometimes known as The Pythons) is the collective name of the six creators of Monty Python's Flying Circus, a British Television Leon Trotsky ( Russian:, Lev Davidovich Trotsky, also transliterated Leo, Lyev, Trotskii, Trotski, Trotskij She returned to New York in a triumphant turn in the Broadway spectacle Timbuktu! (a version of the perennial Kismet set in Africa) in 1978. New York ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous Timbuktu! is a Broadway theatre production that opened at the Mark Hellinger Theatre on March 1, 1978 and ran for 243 performances Kismet is a musical written in 1953 by Robert Wright and George Forrest, adapted from the music of Alexander Borodin, and 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.

In 1984, she returned to hit music with a disco song, Where Is My Man (UK #34); the first certified Gold record of her career. Kitt found new audiences in nightclubs across the country, including a whole new generation of gay male fans, and she responded by frequently giving benefit performances in support of HIV/AIDS organizations. Her 1989 follow-up hit "Cha-Cha Heels" (featuring Bronski Beat) received a positive response from UK dance clubs and reached #32 in the UK charts. Bronski Beat were a popular British Synth pop trio of the 1980s

1990s–2000s

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. The Wizard of Oz was a 1902 Musical play extravaganza based on The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L In 2000, Kitt again returned to Broadway in the short-lived run of Michael John LaChiusa's The Wild Party opposite Mandy Patinkin and Toni Collette. Broadway theater, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 39 large professional theaters with 500 seats or more located Michael John LaChiusa' (born July 24, 1962) is a Tony Award -nominated American Musical theatre composer lyricist and For the Andrew Lippa musical of the same name see The Wild Party The Wild Party is a musical with a book Mandy Patinkin ( (born November 30, 1952) is an American actor of stage and screen and a Tenor vocalist Antonia "Toni" Collette (born 1 November 1972 is an Academy Award - and Golden Globe -nominated Australian actress and Musician Begininng in late 2000, she starred as the Fairy Godmother in the National tour of Cinderella alongside Deborah Gibson and then Jamie-Lynn Sigler. Rodgers and Hammerstein 's Cinderella is a musical written for Television by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II Deborah Ann "Debbie" Gibson (born August 31, 1970) is an American Singer-songwriter who was a teen pop icon Jamie-Lynn Sigler (born May 15, 1981) previously known as Jamie-Lynn DiScala, is an American Actress and Singer. In 2003, she replaced Chita Rivera in Nine. Chita Rivera (born on January 23, 1933) is an American actress Dancer, and Singer best known for her roles in Musical theater Nine is a musical with a book by Arthur Kopit and music and lyrics by Maury Yeston. She reprised her role of the Fairy Godmother at a special engagement of Cinderella which took place at Madison Square Gardens during the holiday season of 2004. Rodgers and Hammerstein 's Cinderella is a musical written for Television by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG, and known colloquially as The Garden, has been the name of four Arenas in New York City.

One of her more unusual roles was as Kaa the python in a 1994 BBC Radio adaptation of The Jungle Book. Kaa was not a poison snake--in fact he rather despised the poison snakes as cowards--but his strength lay in his hug and when he had once lapped his huge coils round anybody there was no more to Common names pythons The Pythonidae are a family of non- Venomous Snakes found in Africa, Asia BBC Radio is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927 The Jungle Book (1894 is a collection of stories written by Rudyard Kipling. Kitt lent her distinctive voice to the role of Yzma in Disney's The Emperor's New Groove 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 has won two Annie Awards for Voice Acting in an Animated Television Production. Yzma ( ēz-mā) is the primary antagonist in Disney's The Emperor's New Groove, which was released in 2000 The Emperor's New Groove is an Academy Award -nominated Animated feature film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Kronk's New Groove (also known as The Emperor's New Groove 2 Kronk's New Groove in some countries and Toon Disney) is a 2005 The Emperor's New School is an American Animated television series that airs on Disney Channel, ABC, and Toon Disney. She is currently doing other voiceover work such as the voice of Queen Vexus on the animated TV series My Life as a Teenage Robot. My Life as a Teenage Robot is an American Animated Television series, produced by Frederator Studios for the Nickelodeon My Life as a Teenage Robot is an American Animated Television series, produced by Frederator Studios for the Nickelodeon

In recent years, Kitt's annual appearances in New York have made her a fixture of the Manhattan cabaret scene. Cabaret is a form of entertainment featuring Comedy, Song, Dance, and Theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue &mdash a Restaurant She takes the stage at venues such as The Ballroom and, more recently, the Café Carlyle to explore and define her highly stylized image, alternating between signature songs (such as Old Fashioned Millionaire), which emphasize a witty, mercenary world-weariness, and less familiar repertoire, much of which she performs with an unexpected ferocity and bite that present her as a survivor with a seemingly bottomless reservoir of resilience — her version of Here's to Life, frequently used as a closing number, is a sterling example of the latter. This side of her later performances is reflected in at least one of her recordings, Thinking Jazz, which preserves a series of performances with a small jazz combo that took place in the early 1990s in Germany and which includes both standards (Smoke Gets in Your Eyes) and numbers (such as Something May Go Wrong) that seem more specifically tailored to her talents; one version of the CD includes as bonus performances a fierce, angry Yesterdays and a live rendering "C'est Si Bon" that good-humoredly satirizes her sex-kitten persona. Thinking Jazz is the name of an album recorded by Eartha Kitt with a small jazz ensemble in the early 1990s in Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. " Smoke Gets in Your Eyes " is a Show tune written by American composer Jerome Kern and lyricist Otto Harbach for their 1933 Operetta

From October to early December, 2006, Kitt co-starred in the Off-Broadway musical Mimi Le Duck. Mimi le Duck is a musical with book and lyrics by Diana Hansen-Young and music by Brian Feinstein. She also appeared in the 2007 independent film And Then Came Love opposite Vanessa L. Williams. And Then Came Love is a 2007 Romantic comedy film that premiered at the Urban Film Series Festival in Washington D Vanessa Lynn Williams (born March 18, 1963) is an American Singer-songwriter and actress.

Personal life

After romances with the cosmetics magnate Charles Revson and banking heir John Barry Ryan III, she was married to Bill McDonald from 1960 to 1965. Charles Haskell Revson ( October 11, 1906 &ndash August 1975 was a pioneering cosmetics industry executive who created and managed Revlon Cosmetics through They had one child, a daughter, Kitt Shapiro. Eartha has two grandchildren, Jason and Rachel. She lived for many years in Pound Ridge, NY, but recently moved to Westport, Connecticut to be near her daughter's family. Pound Ridge is a town in Westchester County, New York, United States. In 2007, she performed at the Hotel Carlyle in New York.

Kitt was the spokesperson for MAC Cosmetics Smoke Signals collection in August 2007. Make-up Art Cosmetics, better known to most as MAC Cosmetics, is a manufacturer of cosmetics originally known famous through Word-of-mouth endorsements by professional 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. " Smoke Gets in Your Eyes " is a Show tune written by American composer Jerome Kern and lyricist Otto Harbach for their 1933 Operetta

Works

Discography

RCA Victor Presents Eartha Kitt

- 10" LP album (mono) Issued on RCA Victor EPB 3062 - 1953

• Side One

1. "I Want To Be Evil"

2. "C'est Si Bon"

3. "Angelitos Negros"

4. "April in Portugal" (Avril Au Portugal)

• Side Two

5. "Uska Dara"

6. "African Lullaby"

7. "Mountain High - Valley Low"

8. "Lillac Wine"

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• Thursday's Child Eartha Kitt with Henri René and His Orchestra

- 12" LP (mono) - 1956

1. Henri René ( December 29, 1906, in New York, New York – April 25, 1993 in Houston, Texas) was an Fascinating Man

2. Mademoiselle Kitt

3. Oggere

4. No Importa Si Mente

5. Lisbon Antigua

6. Just An Old Fashioned Girl

7. Le Danseur De Charleston

8. Lazy Afternoon

9. Jonny

10. If I Can't Take It With Me

11. Thursday's Child

12. Lullaby Of Birdland. " Lullaby of Birdland " is a 1952 popular Song with music by George Shearing and lyrics by George David Weiss. '

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'Issued on RCA Victor LPM-1300

• The best of all possible worlds

- 12" stereo LP Stanyan Records

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• Eartha Kitt In Person at the Plaza

- Gnp Crescendo - 1965

1. "Sell Me!"

2. "I Wanna Be Evil!"

3. "Waray, Waray"

4. "The Touch"

5. "How Could You Believe Me?"

6. "Zhara Bee, Zha Zha"

7. "Champagne Taste"

8. "C'Mon A My House!"

9. "Old Fashioned Girl"

10. "C'est Si Bon!"

11. "Rumania, Rumania"

Filmography

• Casbah (1948)
• New Faces (1954)
• The Mark of the Hawk (1958)
• St. Louis Blues (film) |St. The Casbah ( French) or as transliterated from Arabic Qasba (from qasba, قصبة ' Citadel ' is specifically the citadel of Algiers This article is about the British show For the Australian version see New Faces (Australian. The Mark of the Hawk (aka Accused) is a 1957 feature film The plot concerns issues surrounding African independence and the efforts of the primary Louis Blues]] (1958)
• Anna Lucasta (1959)
• Saint of Devil's Island (1961)
• Uncle Tom's Cabin (1965) (voice only)
• Synanon (1965)
• All About People (1967) (short subject) (narrator)
• Up the Chastity Belt (1971)
• Friday Foster (1975)
• All By Myself: The Eartha Kitt Story (1983) (documentary)
• The Serpent Warriors (1985)
• The Pink Chiquitas (1987)
• Dragonard (1987)
• Master of Dragonard Hill (1989)
• Erik the Viking (1989)
• Living Doll (1990)
• Ernest Scared Stupid (1991)
• Boomerang (1992)
• Fatal Instinct (1993)
• Unzipped (1995) (documentary)
• Harriet the Spy (1996)
• Ill Gotten Gains (1997)
• I Woke Up Early the Day I Died (1998)
• The Jungle Book: Mowgli's Story (1998) (voice)
• The Emperor's New Groove (2000) (voice)
• The Making and Meaning of We Are Family (2002) (documentary)
• The Sweatbox (2002) (documentary)
• Anything But Love (2002)
• Holes (2003)
• On the One (2005)
• Preaching to the Choir (2005)
• Kronk's New Groove (2005) (voice)
• And Then Came Love (2007)

Television work

• The Nat King Cole Show (guest star in 1956)
• I Spy (guest star in "The Loser", 1965)
• Batman (guest star in 1967 and 1968)
• Mission: Impossible (guest star in "The Traitor," 1967, season 1)
• Lieutenant Schuster's Wife (1972)
• To Kill a Cop (1978)
• Miami Vice (as Priestess Chata, 1985)
• Desperately Seeking Roger (1991)
• Living Single (1995)
• The Nanny (guest star in 1996)
• The Wild Thornberrys (guest star in 1998) (voice)
• Feast of All Saints (2001) (miniseries)
• Santa Baby! (2001) (voice)
• My Life as a Teenage Robot (guest star in 2003) (voice)
• The Emperor's New School (2006-present) (voice)

References

External links

• Eartha Kitt official website
• Eartha Kitt at the Internet Broadway Database
• Eartha Kitt at the Internet Movie Database
• Eartha Kitt at TV.com
• "Eartha Kitt talks about her early childhood" on the WGBH series, Say Brother
• "The Long View: Eartha Kitt Still Sizzling", feature story on National Public Radio, December 31, 2007. The Internet Broadway Database ( IBDB) is an online Database of Broadway theatre productions and their personnel TVcom is a website owned by CNET Networks. The service was launched on June 1 2005 and replaced the popular TV Tome website

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