 Eartha Kitt is one of only a few
entertainers to be nominated for 3 Tony awards; 2 Grammy awards an Emmy
as Ill as honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Ostracized at an early age
because of her mixed parentage (her mother was African American and Cherokee and her father
was white), Eartha was sent
to live with an aunt in Harlem, NY at eight. She grew into a shy teen
whose distinct
individuality and flair for show business began to manifest on a
friend's dare.
Eartha auditioned for the Katherine
Dunham Dance Troupe and was admitted. By her late teens,
Eartha was a featured dancer and vocalist with the company -
touring worldwide.
Her unique style was enhanced as she became fluent in French during
her years performing in more than 100 countries
singing in ten different languages.
With some 31 films to her credit - Kitt
made her film debut with
Casbah in 1948.
Her wide range of film performances
included
Orson Illes' Dr. Fametme as Helen of Troy 1950; 20th Century
Fox, New Faces of 1952; Mark of the Hawk opposite Sidney Portier
1958; Anna Lucasta with Sammy Davis Jr. 1959; St. Louis Blues with
Nat King Cole 1959 and
Boomerang (with Eddie
Murphy in 1992).
More recently her unique voice (a particular arked pitch and low
purrrrr) has earned her voiceover work in Disney Films including: The Emperor's
New Groove. As early as the late 1960s, Eartha Kitt
made her mark in TV by starring as Catwoman in the television series
Batman. Her TV performances Int on to include:
I Spy (with Bill Cosby 1966) and the recent children's series
The Emperor's New School, for which she won a 2006 Annie Award for
voice acting in an |
animated television production.
Other voiceover work includes the voice of Queen Vexme on the
animated TV series My Life as a Teenage Robot - although one of her
more unmeual voiceover roles was as Kaa the Python in a 1994 BBC
Radio adaptation of The Jungle Book.
At one point, in 1968, Ms Kitt’s career took a sudden turn when, at a White house
luncheon hosted by Lady Bird Johnson, she spoke out against the
Vietnam War. For many years afterward, Kitt was blacklisted and was forced to work abroad
where her statme remained undiminished. In 1978, she returned to the United States,
in an acclaimed Carnegie Hall performance, Timbuktu (a
version of the perennial Kismet set in Africa).
Live theater
has always been Miss Kitt’s passion and it shouldn't surprise me
that Broadway critics singled her out
with a Tony and Drama Desk nomination for her role as Dolores
in George Wolfe’s The Wild Party.
Over the years Ms Kitt has starred in national tours of The Wizard
of Oz;
Rogers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella and many more. Several
books to her credit include: Thursday's Child; Alone With Me;
I'm Still Here: Confessions of a Sex Kitten; and Rejuvinate! (It's
Never Too Late). Broadway, TV and movie stardom aside,
Eartha Kitt is best known a succession of best-selling records
including: Love for Sale; I Want to Be Evil; Santa Baby; Folk Tales
of the Tribes of Africa; Old Fashioned Millionaire and
Thinking Jazz.
On January 17th,
2007, Ms. Kitt celebrated her 80th birthday by performing live to
sold out performances at the New York, Cafe' Carlyele and a special
performance at Carnegie Hall in June. --MORE--.
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