Born in tiny North, South Carolina to Mamie Kitt, who was of Cherokee and African-American descent, and an American father (surname Kitt) of German and Dutch descent, she was raised by her maternal aunt Anna Mae Riley, whom she believed was her mother up until after Riley's death, when she was sent to live in New York City with her real mother.
Kitt began her career as a member of the Katherine Dunham Company and made her film debut with them in Casbah (1948). A talented singer with a distinctive voice, her hits include Let's Do It, C'est Si Bon (It's So Good), Just an Old Fashioned Girl, Monotonous, Love for Sale, I'd Rather Be Burned as a Witch, Uska Dara, Mink, Schmink, Under the Bridges of Paris, and arguably her most recognizable hit, the sexily sung Christmas song Santa Baby. She sang quite a few songs in French, a language she picked up during her years performing in Europe, but she never lost her American accent, which made her French songs sound rather amusing to native French speakers. She dabbled in other languages as well, which she demonstrated in many of the live recordings of her cabaret performances.
In 1950, Orson Welles gave her her first starring role, as Helen of Troy in his staging of Dr. Faustus. A few years later, she was cast in the revue New Faces of 1952, introducing "Monotonous", "C'est Si Bon" and "Santa Baby", three songs with which she continues to be identified. During her run, 20th Century Fox filmed a version of the play. Welles and Kitt allegedly had a torrid affair during her run in Shinbone Alley, which earned her the nickname by Welles as "the most exciting woman in the world". In 1958, Kitt made her feature film debut opposite Sidney Poitier in The Mark of the Hawk. Throughout the rest of the 1950s and early 1960s, Kitt would work on and off in film, television and on nightclub stages. In the late 1960s television series Batman, she played Catwoman after Julie Newmar left the role. This was the role for which she would best be remembered, owing to her purring feline drawl.
In 1968, however, Kitt encountered a substantial professional setback after she made anti-war statements during a White House luncheon that reportedly made First Lady Lady Bird Johnson weep uncontrollably. Professionally exiled from the U.S., she devoted her energies to overseas performances before returning to New York in a triumphant turn in the Broadway spectacle Timbuktu! (a version of the perennial Kismet set in Africa) in 1978. 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.
In 1984, she returned to hit music with a dance song, Where Is My Man; the first certified Gold record of her career. Kitt found new audiences in nightclubs across the country, including a whole new generation of gay male fans, and she responded by frequently giving benefit performances in support of HIV/AIDS organizations.
In 2000, Kitt again returned to Broadway in the short but notable run of the revival of the 1920s-themed, The Wild Party, opposite Mandy Patinkin and Toni Collette. In 2003, she replaced Chita Rivera in Nine. In recent years she had also appeared as the Wicked Witch in the North American national touring company of The Wizard of Oz.
One of her more unusual roles was as Kaa the python in a 1994 BBC Radio adaptation of The Jungle Book. Kitt lent her distinctive voice to the role of Yzma in Disney's The Emperor's New Groove and also did other voiceover work such as the voice of Queen Vexus on the animated TV series My Life as a Teenage Robot. She continued her role as Yzma on the spin-off TV series of The Emperor's New Groove, The Emperor's New School.
In recent years, Kitt's annual appearances in New York made her a fixture of the Manhattan cabaret scene. She took the stage at venues such as the Ballroom and, more recently, the Café Carlyle to explore and define her highly stylized image, alternating between signature songs (such as "Old Fashioned Millionaire"), which emphasized a witty, mercenary world-weariness, and less familiar repertoire, much of which she performed with an unexpected ferocity and bite that presented her as a survivor with a seemingly bottomless reservoir of resilience - her version of Here's to Life, frequently used as a closing number, was a sterling example of the latter. This side of her later performances is reflected in at least one of her recordings, Thinking Jazz, which preserves a series of performances with a small jazz combo that took place in the early 1990s in Germany, and which includes both standards (Smoke Gets in Your Eyes) and numbers (such as Something May Go Wrong) that seem more specifically tailored to her talents; one version of the CD includes as bonus performances a fierce, angry Yesterdays and a live take of "C'est Si Bon" that good-humoredly satirizes her sex-kitten persona.
Personal life
Kitt was married to John William McDonald, an associate of a real-estate investment company, from 1960 to 1965. They had one child, a daughter, Kitt (b. 1962, married Charles Lawrence Shapiro); and two grandchildren, Jason and Rachel Shapiro.
Eartha Kitt died of colon cancer on Christmas Day, December 25, 2008.
Ain't Misbehavin
Eartha Kitt Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
All by myself
No one to walk with
But I'm happy on the shelf
Ain't misbehavin'
I'm savin' my love for you
I know for certain
I'm through with flirtin'
It's just you I'm thinkin' of
Ain't misbehavin'
I'm savin' my love for you
Like Jack Horner
In the corner
Don't go nowhere
What do I care?
Your kisses are worth waitin' for
Believe me
I don't stay out late
Don't care to go
I'm home about eight
Just me and my radio
Ain't misbehavin'
I'm savin' my love for you
Like Jack Horner
In the corner
Don't go nowhere
What do I care?
Your kisses are worth waitin' for
Believe me
I don't stay out late
Don't care to go
I'm home about eight
Just me and my radio
Ain't misbehavin'
I'm savin' my love for you
The lyrics of Eartha Kitt's song "Ain't Misbehavin'" depict the feeling of contentment despite being alone. The singer expresses that she is happy being by herself even though she has no one to talk to or walk with. This can be interpreted as the idea of being self-sufficient and not needing another person to feel complete. The chorus emphasizes the idea of faithfulness as the singer declares that she is not misbehaving and saving her love for the one she loves.
The second verse further emphasizes this idea of the singer being devoted to her love. She claims to have stopped flirting with other people and having thoughts only about her lover. The third verse talks about how staying at home and listening to the radio is enough for her as she waits for her love. The idea of being patient is emphasized in the line "Your kisses are worth waitin' for."
Line by Line Meaning
No one to talk with
I don't have anyone to have a conversation with
All by myself
I am all alone without any company
No one to walk with
I don't have anyone to stroll around with
But I'm happy on the shelf
Even though I'm alone, I'm still content with myself and my life
Ain't misbehavin'
I am not causing trouble or acting improperly
I'm savin' my love for you
I am keeping my love and affection reserved for you only
I know for certain
I am confident and sure about what I believe
The one I love
I am in love with a specific person
I'm through with flirtin'
I have stopped flirting and playing around with other people
It's just you I'm thinkin' of
I only have you in my mind and heart
Like Jack Horner
Similar to the character Jack Horner who sat in the corner in the nursery rhyme
In the corner
Sitting in a specific area away from other people
Don't go nowhere
I am not going anywhere and staying in one place
What do I care?
I don't have any concern about what others think
Your kisses are worth waitin' for
I am willing to wait patiently for your affection and kisses
Believe me
Trust me, this is how I feel
I don't stay out late
I don't go out and stay out late at night
Don't care to go
I do not have an interest in going out or partying
I'm home about eight
I usually return home around 8 PM
Just me and my radio
I spend my evenings alone with only my radio for company
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Andy Razaf, Fats Waller, Harry Brooks
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
lalagonegaga
She just kept her voice in perfect condition for 50+ years of continuous work.
Random Button Pusher
What a legend, delivering such a superb performance at age 81. And Jools proving a wonderful foil for her.
Divas Live
I would choose and go to her concert than the mainstream singers of today. Such a talented, classy, vintage, graceful lady with so much humor...
CitiZen
Still a GRRRRREAT voice at 81 yo & still exciting!
Much missed.
Truth Seeker
"Very sexy" indeed, Ms. Kitt!
Eartha Kitt always the personification of class & seduction. Beautiful!
Will there ever again be a voice as acrobatic in its expressiveness and as dramatic to a songs lyrics? Pure seductive class!
yikkes20
Vocals are on point!
amangogna68
Great song, amazing singer with a great band and Jools Holland !
Ирина Мандрон
Какая прелесть, одни положительные эмоции!!!!
Eddy Stronger
Magical! Our forever Catwoman! ♥️
Teofilo Rodriguez
Espectacular, Solo música y una excelente voz