12-27-2008, 06:59 AM
[SIZE="4"]Sultry singer Eartha Kitt dies Christmas Day, age 81[/SIZE]
![[Image: earthacatwoman.jpg]](http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y31/Chocklit/actresses%20and%20celebrities/earthacatwoman.jpg)
![[Image: earthakittsexy.jpg]](http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y31/Chocklit/actresses%20and%20celebrities/earthakittsexy.jpg)
Eartha Kitt - the woman who immortalized the song "Santa Baby" - ironically, died Christmas Day. She was 81.
Kitt, a sultry singer, dancer and actress who rose from South Carolina cotton fields to become an international symbol of elegance and sensuality, died of colon cancer.
A self-proclaimed "sex kitten" famous for her catlike purr, Kitt was one of America's most versatile performers, winning two Emmys and nabbing a third nomination. She was also nominated for several Tonys and two Grammys.
Her career spanned six decades, from her start as a dancer with the famed Katherine Dunham troupe to cabarets and acting and singing on stage, in movies and on television. She persevered through an unhappy childhood as a mixed-race daughter of the South.
Once dubbed the "most exciting woman in the world" by Orson Welles, she spent much of her life single, though brief romances with the rich and famous peppered her younger years.
Her first album, "RCA Victor Presents Eartha Kitt," came out in 1954, featuring such songs as "I Want To Be Evil," "C'est Si Bon" and the saucy gold digger's theme song "Santa Baby," revived on radio each Christmas.
In 1996, she was nominated for a Grammy for her album "Back in Business." She also had been nominated for the 1969 children's record "Folk Tales of the Tribes of Africa."
In movies, Kitt starred opposite Nat King Cole in 1958's " St. Louis Blues" and appeared in "Boomerang" and "Harriet the Spy" in the 1990s.
On television, she was the sexy Catwoman on the popular " Batman" series in 1967-68, replacing Julie Newmar, who originated the role. A guest appearance on "I Spy" brought Kitt an Emmy nomination in 1966.
The "Batman" series came to an end about the same time as Kitt's TV career. In an incident greatly publicized at the time, Kitt mentioned to Lady Bird Johnson at a White House luncheon that she was not pleased with how things were going in Vietnam. For four years afterward, Kitt performed almost exclusively overseas. She was investigated by the FBI and CIA, which allegedly found her to be foul-mouthed and promiscuous.
"I would not like to think my political stance kept me out of work, even though I know that is what happened," she told The Courant in 1995. " President Johnson called the network and said, 'I don't want to see that woman's face anywhere!' That's according to my CIA dossier."
Although she is probably best known for "Santa Baby", I prefer to post these two examples of her excellent wit and talent:
[YouTube]hbg5i6TI5xg[/youtube]
I Love Men
[youtube]tQ5VaBgXzuM[/youtube]
I Want to be Evil
Eartha Kitt - the woman who immortalized the song "Santa Baby" - ironically, died Christmas Day. She was 81.
Kitt, a sultry singer, dancer and actress who rose from South Carolina cotton fields to become an international symbol of elegance and sensuality, died of colon cancer.
A self-proclaimed "sex kitten" famous for her catlike purr, Kitt was one of America's most versatile performers, winning two Emmys and nabbing a third nomination. She was also nominated for several Tonys and two Grammys.
Her career spanned six decades, from her start as a dancer with the famed Katherine Dunham troupe to cabarets and acting and singing on stage, in movies and on television. She persevered through an unhappy childhood as a mixed-race daughter of the South.
Once dubbed the "most exciting woman in the world" by Orson Welles, she spent much of her life single, though brief romances with the rich and famous peppered her younger years.
Her first album, "RCA Victor Presents Eartha Kitt," came out in 1954, featuring such songs as "I Want To Be Evil," "C'est Si Bon" and the saucy gold digger's theme song "Santa Baby," revived on radio each Christmas.
In 1996, she was nominated for a Grammy for her album "Back in Business." She also had been nominated for the 1969 children's record "Folk Tales of the Tribes of Africa."
In movies, Kitt starred opposite Nat King Cole in 1958's " St. Louis Blues" and appeared in "Boomerang" and "Harriet the Spy" in the 1990s.
On television, she was the sexy Catwoman on the popular " Batman" series in 1967-68, replacing Julie Newmar, who originated the role. A guest appearance on "I Spy" brought Kitt an Emmy nomination in 1966.
The "Batman" series came to an end about the same time as Kitt's TV career. In an incident greatly publicized at the time, Kitt mentioned to Lady Bird Johnson at a White House luncheon that she was not pleased with how things were going in Vietnam. For four years afterward, Kitt performed almost exclusively overseas. She was investigated by the FBI and CIA, which allegedly found her to be foul-mouthed and promiscuous.
"I would not like to think my political stance kept me out of work, even though I know that is what happened," she told The Courant in 1995. " President Johnson called the network and said, 'I don't want to see that woman's face anywhere!' That's according to my CIA dossier."
Although she is probably best known for "Santa Baby", I prefer to post these two examples of her excellent wit and talent:
[YouTube]hbg5i6TI5xg[/youtube]
I Love Men
[youtube]tQ5VaBgXzuM[/youtube]
I Want to be Evil