RIP Eartha Kitt
Eartha Kitt died yesterday at age 81. Many people are called “legendary,” but Kitt truly was, as a singer, dancer, and actress. Julie Newmar may have been the #1 Catwoman on the campy Batman TV show, but Kitt was probably the most feline and villainous. As a cabaret singer she was an unsurpassed stylist, and we were lucky enough to see her at the Hollywood Roosevelt. She was a scary lady, but one who played by her own rules and won.
12/26/08 at 5:46 pm
oh man! R.I.P. to such a wonderfully talented lady.
12/27/08 at 6:20 am
Julie Newmar will always be the icon and the one enshrined in TV history, but there was something so special about Eartha Kitt’s. Her voice was perfection, and there was a hint of menace in her even on that show. A true talent, and Madonna’s Santa Baby sucks in comparison.
12/27/08 at 2:37 pm
She made, The Emperors New School, for me. I think she was fantastic.
12/27/08 at 8:53 pm
She had a sensuality that never aged.
She was also an activist, blacklisted after she posed a direct question to Ladybird Johnson at a White House luncheon.
12/27/08 at 9:14 pm
Here’s Eartha at her finest:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0avO_94BM8
12/27/08 at 11:53 pm
What a class act! I had the pleasure of seeing Miss Kitt in concert in October 2008. She was wonderful, hitting every note and even doing the “charleston”. I feel fortunate to have seen one of her last great shows. Join me at www.runarounddiva.com/Music.html and let’s celebrate the life of a remarkable woman.
12/28/08 at 10:10 am
Correction on that YouTube link. Sorry. Had the wrong thing in my clipboard:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQ5VaBgXzuM
(The other was my second cousin’s band in Decatur, Alabama — they’re good, but not as good as Eartha Kitt).
12/29/08 at 11:43 am
She was always the one-and-only Catwoman to me. I met her once and was too awed to speak, and I pretty thoroughly embarrassed my mother and aunt. I have the excuse of having been a pre-teen at the time, but I doubt I would have done much better at any age.
What a voice. I had been hearing her version of “Santa Baby” nonstop in my head all week. Wicked.
12/29/08 at 7:29 pm
A true pioneer for black women and a class act not easily emulated.
She will always be part of my childhood.
06/8/09 at 11:27 am
I have recently started to look back at this lovely lady and have actually fallen in love. She really inspires me and I admire her directness and honestly. On top of that her beauty is unmatched. I would love to see a movie created about her life.