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.
Autumn Leaves
Eartha Kitt Lyrics
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The autumn leaves of red and gold
I see your lips, the summer kisses
The sun-burned hands I used to hold
Since you went away the days grow long
And soon I'll hear old winter's song
But I miss you most of all my darling
C'est une chanson, qui nous ressemble
Toi tu m'aimais et je t'aimais
Nous vivions tous deux ensemble
Toi qui m'aimais moi qui t'aimais
Mais la vie separe ceux qui s'aiment
Tout doucement sans faire de bruit
Et la mer efface sur le sable les pas des amants desunis
The lyrics to Eartha Kitt's "Autumn Leaves" evoke the feeling of nostalgia and heartbreak. The falling leaves represent the passage of time, and the changing seasons are a reminder of a lost love. The imagery of summer kisses and sun-burned hands is bittersweet, a reminder of a happy time that has passed. As the days grow longer and winter approaches, the singer misses their beloved most of all when the autumn leaves start to fall. The song is also sung in French, with the lyrics expressing the same regret and longing for a lost love.
The lyrics are a poignant reminder of the transience of life and love, and how easily things can change. The changing seasons and the passing of time are universal themes that can be felt by anyone who has loved and lost. The song's imagery is simple but powerful, painting a vivid picture of a love that has faded away. It speaks to the human experience of longing and regret, and the pain of letting go.
Line by Line Meaning
The falling leaves drift by the window
The leaves that have changed color and fallen from the trees float past the window, carried by the wind.
The autumn leaves of red and gold
The leaves that have fallen are colored in shades of red and gold, symbolic of the changing of the seasons.
I see your lips, the summer kisses
I remember the sweet kisses we shared during the summer, which now seem distant and unattainable.
The sun-burned hands I used to hold
I recall the feeling of holding your hands that were sun-kissed from our time spent under the warm sun.
Since you went away the days grow long
The days seem to be dragging on since you left and time appears to be moving slower.
And soon I'll hear old winter's song
The upcoming season of winter reminds me that time keeps moving forward and the cycle of the seasons continues, bringing a sense of melancholy.
But I miss you most of all my darling
Of all the things I miss about you, my beloved, the strongest and most persistent feeling is loneliness.
When autumn leaves start to fall
Fallen leaves during autumn remind me of the memories we shared and the loss that comes with the passage of time.
C'est une chanson, qui nous ressemble
This song is a reflection of the emotions and experiences we share, as lovers and human beings.
Toi tu m'aimais et je t'aimais
You loved me, and I loved you in return.
Nous vivions tous deux ensemble
We lived together and shared a past that is now gone.
Toi qui m'aimais moi qui t'aimais
You loved me, and I loved you in return.
Mais la vie separe ceux qui s'aiment
The harsh reality of life is that those who love each other can still be separated by circumstances beyond their control.
Tout doucement sans faire de bruit
This separation can happen slowly and quietly, without any grand gestures or announcements.
Et la mer efface sur le sable les pas des amants desunis
The metaphorical waves of time and change can wash away the marks of our love and the paths we once walked together, leaving us as strangers once again.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., BMG Rights Management
Written by: Jacques Prevert, Johnny Mercer, Joseph Kosma
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind