Eartha Kitt, sultry 'Santa Baby' singer, dies

[CellarDweller]

sad news on the holiday!

 




Eartha Kitt, sultry 'Santa Baby' singer, dies

By POLLY ANDERSON, Associated Press Writer


Eartha Kitt, a sultry singer, dancer and actress who rose from South Carolina cotton fields to become an international symbol of elegance and sensuality, has died, a family spokesman said. She was 81.

Andrew Freedman said Kitt, who was recently treated at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital, died Thursday in Connecticut of colon cancer.

Kitt, a self-proclaimed "sex kitten" famous for her catlike purr, was one of America's most versatile performers, winning two Emmys and nabbing a third nomination. She also was 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 and made headlines in the 1960s for denouncing the Vietnam War during a visit to the White House.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081225/ap_on_en_tv/obit_eartha_kitt

[CellarDweller]

Eartha Kitt - Where Is My Man?


[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5m88CoGLno[/youtube]

[CellarDweller]

Eartha Kitt - I Love Men


[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbg5i6TI5xg[/youtube]

[delalluvia]

RIP 

[Lynne]

The passing of an icon.   

You know, there's an allusion to her in Latter Days:

Keith is played by Erik Palladino.  He is an AIDS patient, speaking with Christian, played by Wes Ramsey, who is making his first delivery of a meal to Keith as a volunteer for Project Angelfood:

Keith:  "Sometime I read people and I...I pick up the Oracle at Delphi"
Christian:  "And sometimes I growl at people, doesn't make me Eartha Kitt."

[Meryl]

I was surprised to hear about Eartha Kitt.  I worked on "Cinderella" a few years ago, when she played the Fairy Godmother.  She was in fantastic shape and seemed a likely candidate to reach 100.  A very nice lady and fine colleague, too.  God bless, Eartha. 

[David In Indy]

Such DREADFUL news on an otherwise perfect Christmas Day! 

I was so sorry to hear about this. When I was a kid I would stand in front of the bathroom mirror with a hair brush in my hand for a microphone and imitate Eartha Kitt. I've loved her ever since my youth. I will truly miss her!

I was surprised to hear about Eartha Kitt.  I worked on "Cinderella" a few years ago, when she played the Fairy Godmother.  She was in fantastic shape and seemed a likely candidate to reach 100.  A very nice lady and fine colleague, too.  God bless, Eartha. 

You actually got to meet her Meryl?!!! How wonderful!

[Aloysius J. Gleek]

Eartha Kitt: Santa Baby (Gorgeous and ageless.)

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOMmSbxB_Sg&eurl=[/youtube]

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzd6oCP3FKk&feature=related[/youtube]

[Artiste]

She was interesting!

Merci - thanks Eartha Kitt!

[Aloysius J. Gleek]

http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2008/12/26/arts/20081226_KITT_SLIDESHOW_index.html

Eartha Kitt: A Diva and Legend




Eartha Kitt rehearsing for a show in Paris in 1950.

Ms. Kitt, who purred and pounced her way across Broadway stages, recording studios and movie and television screens in a show-business career that lasted more than six decades, died on Dec. 25, 2008. She was 81 and lived in Connecticut.




Eartha Kitt dancing in a television version of Oscar Wilde's play,
"Salome"  in 1955.




Ms. Kitt as Catwoman for the television show "Batman"  in 1967.




Ms. Kitt, on the shoulders of Tony Carroll, Mr. Universe of 1977,
at New York's Waldorf Astoria in 1978.




Ms. Kitt in 1978.




Eartha Kitt in her suite at the Hotel Carlyle in 1999.




Ms. Kitt performing at the Café Carlyle in 2007.



http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/26/arts/26kitt.html

Eartha Kitt, a Seducer of Audiences, Dies at 81
By ROB HOERBURGER
Published: December 25, 2008