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 CafΓ© 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.
Dinner For One Please James
Eartha Kitt Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The Madame will not be dining
Yes, you may bring the wine in
Love plays such funny games
Dinner for one please, James
Close Madame's room, we've parted
Please, don't look so downhearted
Seems my best friend told her of another
I had no chance to deny
You know there has never been another
Someday she'll find out the lie
Maybe she's not to blame
Leave me with silent hours
No, don't move her favorite flowers
Dinner for one please, James
Maybe she's not to blame
Leave me with silent hours
No, don't move her favorite flowers
Dinner for one please, James
The lyrics of Eartha Kitt's song Dinner for One Please James depict a heartbreaking scene of a jilted lover having a solitary dinner, as the Madame will not be dining. The song is a tale of unreciprocated love and betrayal, as Kitt sings about how her supposed friend told her Madame of another love interest despite there being no chance to deny it. The chorus of "love plays such funny games" highlights the irony of how love can lead to heartbreak and lead to solitary dinners for one.
The Madame's room is being closed, indicating that their relationship is now over, and James is instructed to bring the wine in. Kitt's self-pity and disappointment are palpable in the lyrics, particularly when she sings "no, don't move her favorite flowers" indicating that she is still holding onto the memories of her love.
In one sense, the song could be seen as a testament to the pain of loving someone unrequitedly. The Madame is not to blame for Kitt's sadness, but the pain remains, and only dinner for one henceforth. The song strikes a chord with anyone who has known heartbreak or lost love, making it a timeless classic.
Line by Line Meaning
Dinner for one please, James
I would like to have dinner by myself, without the company of the Madame
The Madame will not be dining
The Madame has declined the invitation to join me for dinner
Yes, you may bring the wine in
I would like to have wine with my dinner
Love plays such funny games
Love can be unpredictable and strange
Close Madame's room, we've parted
The Madame and I have separated, please close her room
Please, don't look so downhearted
Please do not feel sad or disheartened about the situation
Seems my best friend told her of another
It appears that my friend told the Madame about my infidelity
I had no chance to deny
I was not given the opportunity to explain or deny the accusation
You know there has never been another
There has never been anyone else before the Madame
Someday she'll find out the lie
Eventually the Madame will discover that the accusation is false
Maybe she's not to blame
Perhaps the Madame is not at fault for the situation
Leave me with silent hours
Allow me to have some quiet time to contemplate the situation
No, don't move her favorite flowers
Please do not remove the Madame's favorite flowers, despite the situation
Dinner for one please, James
I am still requesting to have dinner alone, without the Madame's company
Lyrics Β© Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: MICHAEL CARR
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind