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.
Annie Doesn't Live Here Any More
Eartha Kitt Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Where, oh where is Annie?)
Annie doesn't live here anymore.
You must be the one she waited for.
She said I would know you by the blue in your eye,
Checkered suit, a fancy vest, and polka-dot tie.
You answer to that description, so I guess that you're the guy.
Annie doesn't live here anymore. (Where's Annie?)
It's too bad you didn't call before. (Where's Annie?)
She just bought a gown that ties with ribbons above,
Brand new shoes, a pretty hat, and latest style glove.
She really looked so alluring, and just waiting for your love,
But Annie doesn't live here anymore.
It was spring. There was romance in the air,
And ev'rything seemed for loving hearts to share,
And there was she, just as lonely and as blue
As she could be. That's the reason—
Annie doesn't live here anymore.
Might have been your picture that she tore.
She was oh so faithful. What a pitiful sight!
Waited for the letter that you promised to write.
A gentleman with a top hat called around the other night,
And Annie doesn't live here anymore.(Annie, where's Annie?)
Annie doesn't live here anymore. (Annie, where's Annie?)
Annie doesn't live here anymore.
"Annie Doesn't Live Here Anymore" is a heart-wrenching song by Eartha Kitt about a woman named Annie who has left and won't be coming back. The song describes how one man is searching for Annie and how he might have been the person that she was waiting for. The lyrics are filled with descriptions of Annie, from her latest style glove to her pretty hat and brand new shoes. The song goes on to explain how, despite her beauty and readiness for love, Annie waited for a letter that the man had promised, but it never arrived. The song ends with the realization that Annie has indeed left and won't be coming back.
The song's lyrics are a testimony to the heartbreak that people go through when someone they love leaves them without any explanation or warning. The lyrics are also a testament to the hope that people still cling onto, even when things seem to be hopeless. The song's melancholic tune and heartbreaking lyrics reveal the pain, sadness, and utter loneliness that comes with losing someone so dear to you.
Line by Line Meaning
Annie doesn't live here anymore. (Annie, where's Annie?)
The person being asked about Annie is informed that she no longer resides in the place where the conversation is taking place
It's too bad you didn't call before. (Where's Annie?)
The person is informed that it is unfortunate that they did not contact Annie earlier while she was still living in the aforementioned location
She just bought a gown that ties with ribbons above, Brand new shoes, a pretty hat, and latest style glove. She really looked so alluring, and just waiting for your love, But Annie doesn't live here anymore.
Annie had recently purchased new clothes and was eagerly anticipating esctatic reception by the person, but moved away before they could meet her
It was spring. There was romance in the air, And ev'rything seemed for loving hearts to share, And there was she, just as lonely and as blue As she could be. That's the reason—
Annie doesn't live here anymore.
During spring, the atmosphere was set for romance, but Annie was feeling down because the person being referred to was not able to meet her, making it difficult for her to continue living in that location
Might have been your picture that she tore. She was oh so faithful. What a pitiful sight! Waited for the letter that you promised to write. A gentleman with a top hat called around the other night, And Annie doesn't live here anymore.(Annie, where's Annie?)
Annie waited long and hard for a letter that was promised and was so affected by it that she destroyed a picture, indicating that the person in question was very important to her but sent a gentleman as a proxy to convey their regards before moving away
Annie doesn't live here anymore. (Annie, where's Annie?)
The person asking about Annie is again informed that she no longer resides in the place where the conversation is taking place
You must be the one she waited for. She said I would know you by the blue in your eye, Checkered suit, a fancy vest, and polka-dot tie. You answer to that description, so I guess that you're the guy. Well, Annie doesn't live here anymore. (Annie, where's Annie?)
The person being referred to matches the description provided by Annie, indicating that they were the one she was waiting for, but they had already moved away by the time they reached the location
Annie doesn't live here anymore.
The song concludes with the final affirmation that Annie is no longer living in the place where the conversation is taking place
Writer(s): J. YOUNG, H. SPINA, J. BURKE
Contributed by Tyler O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.