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.
Je Cherche Un Homme
Eartha Kitt Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Un Pierre, un Paul, un Jacques ou Tom
Peu m'importe comment il se nomme
S'il est un homme, un homme, un homme
Je n'exige pas un Apollon
Qui sait briller dans les salons
Ni un type fort comme un Samson
Il n'a pas besoin d'être un milliardaire
Qu'il soit beau, non, ça m'est égal
Il n'a pas besoin d'être une grande lumière
Star du cinéma ni prince royal
Je cherche un homme, un homme, un homme
Qu'il s'appelle Pierre ou Paul ou Tom
Pourvu qu'il donne son maximum
Je cherche un homme, un homme, un homme
Doesn't have to be prince or movie star
A Texas oil man or a french marquis
Doesn't have to be handsome as a picture
An ordinary guy's all right with me
Je cherche un homme, un homme, un homme
Qu'il s'appelle Pierre ou Paul ou Tom
Pourvu qu'il donne son maximum
Je cherche un homme, un homme, un homme
Je cherche un homme, un homme, un homme
The lyrics to Eartha Kitt's "Je cherche un homme" (I Search for a Man) show a woman in search of a man. She doesn't necessarily care about his name, but rather that he is a man who can offer her some qualities that she seeks. She mentions that she doesn't need an Apollon (Apollo) who can shine in salons, nor a strong guy like Samson. She only wants a mate that is good for her.
The song's main message is that a woman doesn't need a man who is rich, famous, or perfect. All she wants is a good man who will give his best to the relationship. The woman is not looking for a man to be her savior or to provide her with everything she ever wanted. Instead, she simply wants a man who is real, honest, and committed to their relationship.
Overall, "Je cherche un homme" is a celebration of simplicity and realness in a relationship. The woman in the song seems to be tired of men who are showy, complex, or unable to offer her the essential things she craves in a partner. She values authenticity above all and desires a true connection with someone who is willing to put in the effort to make a relationship work.
Line by Line Meaning
Je cherche un homme, un homme, un homme
I am looking for a man, a man, a man
Un Pierre, un Paul, un Jacques ou Tom
Whether his name be Pierre, Paul, Jacques or Tom
Peu m'importe comment il se nomme
I don't care about his name
S'il est un homme, un homme, un homme
As long as he's a man, a man, a man
Je n'exige pas un Apollon
I'm not asking for an Apollo
Qui sait briller dans les salons
Who knows how to shine in high society
Ni un type fort comme un Samson
Nor a guy as strong as Samson
Pourvu que j'aie un mate un bon
As long as I have a good companion
Il n'a pas besoin d'être un milliardaire
He doesn't need to be a billionaire
Qu'il soit beau, non, ça m'est égal
Whether he's handsome or not, it doesn't matter
Il n'a pas besoin d'être une grande lumière
He doesn't need to be a big shot
Star du cinéma ni prince royal
A movie star or prince won't do
Qu'il s'appelle Pierre ou Paul ou Tom
Whether he's called Pierre, Paul or Tom
Pourvu qu'il donne son maximum
As long as he gives his all
Je cherche un homme, un homme, un homme
I am looking for a man, a man, a man
Lyrics © BEUSCHER ARPEGE
Written by: Georges Pazman, Yves Bruyere, Michel Emer
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@Wolfhoundersful
Je cherche un homme, un homme, un homme
Un Pierre, un Paul, un Jacques ou Tom
Peu m'importe comment il se nomme
S'il est un homme, un homme, un homme
Je n'exige pas un Apollon
Qui sait briller dans les salons
Ni un type fort comme un Samson
Pourvu que j'aie un mate un bon
Il n'a pas besoin d'être un milliardaire
Qu'il soit beau, non, ça m'est égal
Il n'a pas besoin d'être une grande lumière
Star du cinéma ni prince royal
Je cherche un homme, un homme, un homme
Qu'il s'appelle Pierre ou Paul ou Tom
Pourvu qu'il donne son maximum
Je cherche un homme, un homme, un homme
Doesn't have to be prince or movie star
A Texas oil man or a french marquis
Doesn't have to be handsome as a picture
An ordinary guy's all right with me
Je cherche un homme, un homme, un homme
Qu'il s'appelle Pierre ou Paul ou Tom
Pourvu qu'il donne son maximum
Je cherche un homme, un homme, un homme [2x]
@margouep135
🇫🇷 Magnifique !
Je ne savais qu’Eartha kitt avait chanté en français… Quelle classe ! ❤️👏
@infrantasi
This was a very old song she dug up from the days of Mistinguett and Fréhel, and she does a gorgeous job with it. There really are a few perfect beings in the world, and Eartha Kitt is one of them. When she dissed Lady Bird at a luncheon by protesting the war, Eartha won my heart forever, but she already had with C'est si bon" which I found in a junk store for 10 cents about 10 years after it was published. I played that sucker til it broke in two.
@theboldeststatement4005
did it really break in two?
@infrantasi
No, buy you could not hear the last 20 bars though, cause I wore it out. Scouts' honor!
@theboldeststatement4005
infrantasi lol I believe you.
@chaosswa-ee-ty5911
THE BOLDEST STATEMENT lol
@user-io5fq3jv8q
I remember she made poor old Lady Bird cry at a luncheon, but I think her influence put a bug in Lady Bird's ear and made LBJ de-escalate the war, so it worked out alright. Lady Bird was a fragile thing though and I'm sorry she cried. Eartha always did what she thought was right, and no man controlled her.
@janbaer3241
How could anyone not like this?
@nieceofhiphop4eva
jan baer I had a 26 year old call Eartha Kitt ugly. To answer your question one of these Kim K. wannabes, they wouldn't like it....no plastic body and REAL VOCALS.
@infrantasi
elle chante d'une voix de vraie francophone, pleine de couleur et d'esprit de tentatrice!