In the early 1950s, she had six US Top 30 hits, including "Uska Dara" and "I Want to Be Evil". [27] She was also involved with a group of youths in the area of Anacostia in Washington, D.C., who called themselves "Rebels with a Cause". As a teenager, Kitt lived in friends' homes and in the subways. I am a rejected, oppressed person, and so I understand them, as best as I can, even though I am a heterosexual.[32]. Is Eartha Kitt still alive? I was with her constantly, she lived not even 3 miles from my house, we were together practically every day. Started as a dancer with Katherine Dunham Group touring America, Mexico, and Europe. Nothing in the world is more painful than rejection. In January 1968,[16] during Lyndon B. Johnson's administration, Kitt encountered a substantial professional setback after she made anti-war statements during a White House luncheon. WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Eartha Kitt, who rose from the Southern cotton fields to captivate audiences around the world with sultry performances as a singer, dancer and actress, died … In her later years, Kitt made annual appearances in the New York Manhattan cabaret scene at venues such as the Ballroom and the Café Carlyle. They were married from 1960 to 1964. Lucille Ball was told by drama and acting teachers that she didn't have enough talent to make it and … Eartha Kitt passed away on … [15] In 1964, Kitt helped open the Circle Star Theater in San Carlos, California. She is both the only performer to win the Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program award three times, as well as the only winner to win three consecutive awards. Kitt returned once again to the silver screen in 2003 with the charming role of Madame Zeroni in the film "Holes" based on the book by the same name, by author Louis Sachar. When I was traveling in the Philippine Islands my daughter and I, from time to time, used to stay with Mr. and Mrs. Marcos. for no reason. Goodbye to what? She appeared in a 1967 Mission: Impossible episode, "The Traitor," as a contortionist. In 1966, she established the Kittsville Youth Foundation, a chartered and non-profit organization for underprivileged youths in the Watts area of Los Angeles. Kitt died of colon cancer on Christmas Day 2008, three weeks short of her 82nd birthday at her home in Weston, Connecticut. *Sorry For The Typo.R.I.P. Eartha Kitt, in full Eartha Mae Kitt, (born January 17, 1927, North, South Carolina, U.S.—died December 25, 2008, Weston, Connecticut), American singer and dancer noted for her sultry vocal style and slinky beauty who also achieved success as a dramatic stage and film actress. I'm an orphan. This was met with a standing ovation. [33][34] Her daughter, Kitt McDonald, described her last days with her mother: I was with her when she died. Hersh published an article about the dossier in The New York Times. Publicity Listings 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",[13] and "Santa Baby". Eartha Kitt and Orson Welles. And she did the same for me. We didn't have to [talk] because I always knew how she felt about me. A man has always wanted to lay me down but he never wanted to pick me up. About two years after the initial discovery of the disease, it finally claimed her. There are so many things burning the people of this country, particularly mothers. Orson Welles called her "the most exciting girl in the world". Eartha Mae Keith was born on the 17th January 1927, in North, a town in South Carolina, USA, and died on the 25th December 2008 in Weston, Connecticut, USA. Dec. 25, 2008 Eartha Kitt, who purred and pounced her way across Broadway stages, recording studios and movie and television screens in a show … In 1968, her career in the U.S. deteriorated after she made anti-Vietnam War statements at a White House luncheon. No wonder the kids rebel and take pot. In 1998, she voiced Bagheera in the live-action direct-to-video Disney film The Jungle Book: Mowgli's Story. Her father's identity is unknown. In 2000, Eartha Kitt won an Annie Award for her starring voice role as "Yzma" in the Disney feature film "The Emperors New Groove," later reprising the role in 2005 in Disney's "Kronk's New Groove." Her father's identity is unknown. It was 1973-74 and it was obviously during Apartheid. I think it's disgusting. No, she died on 12/25/2008, 12 years ago. She was perhaps best known for her 1953 Christmas song Santa Baby.Orson Welles once called her the "most exciting woman in the world". In the late 1960s, Batman featured Kitt as Catwoman after Julie Newmar had left the show in 1967. 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. Kitt's response to the dossier was to say "I don't understand what this is about. Kitt keeps herself active on social media as she usually posts photos showing a couple of aspects of her life. She added that "the Rebels could act as a model for all urban areas throughout the United States with similar problems". I was the love of her life, so the last part of her life we didn't have to have these heart to heart talks. Her remarks caused Mrs. Johnson to burst into tears. In 1984, she returned to the music charts with a disco song titled "Where Is My Man", the first certified gold record of her career. Born Eartha Mae Keith, she was raised in South Carolina and New York City, joined the Katherine Dunham Company and made her film debut with them in 1948's Casbah. Kitt had a minor hit in Sweden 1956 with her record in Swedish, "Rosenkyssar" ("Rose Kisses", RCA FAS 511). During a question and answer session, Kitt stated: The children of America are not rebelling for no reason. Kitt, 81, died in New York, where she was being treated for colon cancer, Freedman said. It was reported that she made. Please Suscribe! :] 7. His death was something she did not really get over. Her work on the latter earned her two Daytime Emmy Awards. Kitt performed for the last time publicly for The HistoryMakers’ An Evening With Eartha Kitt. [10] A defamatory CIA dossier about Kitt was discovered by Seymour Hersh in 1975. "Where Is My Man" reached the Top 40 on the UK Singles Chart, where it peaked at No. Cause of death: colorectal cancer. And I think, in many ways, I did. That was the bitchiest letter I ever read in my life. Friend and publicist Andrew Freedman said Kitt died in New York on 25 December 2008 as a result of colon cancer which she had been fighting for the last 12 months. 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. Was nominated twice for Broadway's Tony Award: in 1978, as Best Actress (Musical) for "Timbuktu! She had been quoted as saying: "I support it [gay marriage] because we're asking for the same thing. Beginning in late 2000, Kitt starred as the Fairy Godmother in the U.S. national tour of Cinderella. She started to see people that weren't there. In the 1970s, Kitt appeared on television several times on BBC's long-running variety show The Good Old Days, and in 1987 took over from fellow American Dolores Gray in the London West End production of Stephen Sondheim's Follies and returned at the end of that run to star in a one-woman-show at the same Shaftesbury Theatre, both to tremendous acclaim. [20] The dossier contained comments about Kitt's sex life and family history, along with negative opinions of her that were held by former colleagues. Given away by her mother, she arrived in Harlem at age nine. Kitt began her career in 1942 and appeared in the 1945 original Broadway theatre production of the musical Carib Song. In 1978, Kitt did the voice-over in a television commercial for the album Aja by the rock group Steely Dan. "I never had sex with Orson Welles," Kitt told Vanity Fair: "It was a working situation and nothing else. Kitt also lent her distinctive voice to Yzma in The Emperor's New Groove (for which she won her first Annie Award) and reprised her role in Kronk's New Groove and The Emperor's New School, for which she won two Emmy Awards and, in 2007–08, two more Annie Awards for Voice Acting in an Animated Television Production. Her 1989 follow-up hit "Cha-Cha Heels" (featuring Bronski Beat), which was originally intended to be recorded by Divine, received a positive response from UK dance clubs, reaching No. Kitt, who was ostracized as a child in South Carolina because of her mixed-race … 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). pp. "[14] Her other films in the 1950s included The Mark of the Hawk (1957), St. Louis Blues (1958) and Anna Lucasta (1958). Diana Ross said that as a member of The Supremes she largely based her look and sound after Kitt's. Her daughter, Kitt Shapiro, was by her side. 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). I have a baby and then you send him off to war. - IMDb Mini Biography By: Kitt had voiced Vexus in My Life as a Teenage Robot. She was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960 at 6656 Hollywood Blvd. She posthumously won a third Emmy in 2010 for her guest performance on Wonder Pets!. "[20] Following the incident, Kitt devoted her energies to performances in Europe and Asia. Kitt Shapiro daughter Eartha Kitt offers Business Advice. A few days later, I received another from his wife. As per our current Database, Eartha Kitt has been died on Dec 25, 2008 (age 81). [6][7][8] In a 2013 biography, British journalist John Williams claimed that Kitt's father was a white man, a local doctor named Daniel Sturkie. And on the last day, when I returned to my hotel in Las Vegas, my cabin was covered with bouquets of red, red, red roses, with a letter from Nat that said 'It is a pity that those of us who work in show business very seldom get a chance to know each other. She replied: "You send the best of this country off to be shot and maimed. 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. Tom Weaver , Other Works In 1995, Kitt appeared as herself in an episode of The Nanny, where she performed a song in French and flirted with Maxwell Sheffield (Charles Shaughnessy). 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. Eartha may have died still longing to know who her father was, but she never let that void block her sheer determination to become great and boy, did she succeed at that! Hearings, 90th Cong., 1st Sess. "; and in 2000, as Best Actress (Featured Role - Musical) for "The Wild Party". Among her liaisons with wealthy men included Charles Revson, the Revlon cosmetics founder, and actor. Kitt died of colon cancer on Christmas Day 2008, three weeks short of her 82nd birthday at her home in Weston, Connecticut. In a 1992 interview with Dr. Anthony Clare, Kitt spoke about her gay following, saying: We're all rejected people, we know what it is to be refused, we know what it is to be oppressed, depressed, and then, accused, and I am very much cognizant of that feeling. She died on the same date as actress Ann Savage. [6] 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. Her other notable recordings include the UK Top 10 hit "Under the Bridges of Paris" (1954), "Just an Old Fashioned Girl" (1956) and "Where Is My Man" (1983). Her 1953 recording of "Santa Baby" is still a favorite today. [28] "Rebels with a Cause" subsequently received the needed funding. Eartha started as a dancer in New York in the late 40's after which she successfully took on music, film, Broadway, and television. Eartha Kitt sings Swedish and talks about her gay-fans, Learn how and when to remove this template message, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie, Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program, Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie, NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child, Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer In An Animated Program, Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical, Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical, "Eartha Kitt, Chanteuse, Cherokee, and a seducer of audiences, Walked On at 81", "Eartha Kitt: Singer who rose from poverty to captivate audiences around the world with her purring voice", "Eartha Kitt's life was scarred by failure to learn the identity of her white father, says daughter", https://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/26/arts/26kitt.html, The black actress who made Lady Bird Johnson cry; The truth hurts, "Eartha Kitt, a Seducer of Audiences, Dies at 81", "CIA gave Secret Service a Report containing Gossip about Eartha Kitt after a White House Incident", "George Burns, Eartha Kitt are delightful at 'Lifesongs 1990'", "Kitt McDonald is Wed to Charles L. Shapiro", "Eartha Kitt, actress and gay rights ally, dies at age 81", "Seductive singer Eartha Kitt dies at 81". She was 81 years old when she died. It was just the two of us hanging out [during the last days] she was very funny. [citation needed]. She passed away on December 25, 2008 at the age of 81. Eartha Mae Kitt (January 17, 1927 - December 25, 2008), was an American actress, singer, and cabaret star. An aunt brought her to New York City where she attended the High School of Performing Arts, before dropping out to take on various menial jobs, including one in a factory. She screamed her way out of here, literally. She took over the role of Catwoman for the third and final season of the television series Batman (1966), replacing Julie Newmar. So I don't think of myself as belonging to any particular group and never have. Eartha Kitt and daughter, Kitt Shapiro. Eartha Mae Keith was born on a cotton plantation near the small town of North, South Carolina,[4] or St. Matthews[5] on January 17, 1927. In 2000, Kitt again returned to Broadway in the short-lived run of Michael John LaChiusa's The Wild Party. Was inspired to go into show business after witnessing the wild applause that the audience gave, Her name can be seen on a marquee in the infamously terrible. [29] Kitt was also a member of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom; her criticism of the Vietnam War and its connection to poverty and racial unrest in 1968 can be seen as part of a larger commitment to peace activism. 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,[7] where she attended the Metropolitan Vocational High School (later renamed the High School of Performing Arts). Kitt's unique style was enhanced as she became fluent in French during her years performing in Europe. Was nominated in 1996 for a Grammy Award in traditional pop vocal performance for her album "Back in Business". She died on Christmas Day 2008 at her home in Weston, Connecticut. While in Paris in solo performance seen by Orson Welles who cast her as Helen of Troy. Well-known for her recordings of "Santa Baby" in the 1950s and 1960s. The biggest family in the world is my fans. My parents told me that when I was born, people came to the nursery in the hospital and would get into arguments when they saw that Eartha Kitt, whose "Santa, Baby" remains the sultriest Christmas song ever recorded, died Thursday on a holiday she turned into something both naughty and nice. "Here Are Hundreds More Artists Whose Tapes Were Destroyed in the UMG Fire", "Selections from the Katherine Dunham Collection", "Eartha Kitt and Orson Welles in Paris in 1950", "Eartha Kitt wins raves in Welles' show at Frankfurt", "Harold Pinter and Eartha Kitt, artists and opponents of imperialist war", The Interviews: An Oral History of Television. Source: Pegasus Books / Pegasus Books It wasn’t until we were in South Africa, and I was 12 years old. She later moved to Pound Ridge, New York, but returned in 2002 to the southern Fairfield County, Connecticut, town of Weston, in order to be near her daughter Kitt and family. 558 (1967). [in an Essence magazine interview regarding her anti-war statements to. 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