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.
Le danseur de charleston
Eartha Kitt Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A une poule dans un bar
Offrait champagne et caviar
Et entrouvrait sa mémoire
Ce gentleman dans son frac
Disait poupée si je claque
Je veux qu'ce soit dans un lac
Un lac d'cognac
J'avais trente ans
Ecoute-moi bien
J'étais tentant
Je n'avais pas encore
De dents en or
Les femmes se battaient
Pour m'approcher
Regarde-moi bien
Qu'est-c'que t'en penses
Regarde-moi bien
Tu m'trouve l'air rance
Mais fallait fallait m'voir
Danser le charleston
Quand j'avais trente ans
A Cannes au Carlton
Ce gentleman un peu noir
A tout cassé dans le bar
Puis a sorti ses dollars
Et distribué des pourboires
Ce gentleman dans son frac
A dit : pianiste v'là dix sacs
Joue les vieux airs sans entr'acte
Eh ! joue en vrac
Ecoute-moi bien
Gard' la cadence
Ecoute-moi bien
Qu'est-c'que t'en penses
Il fallait fallait m'voir
Danser le charleston
Quand j'avais trente ans
A Cannes au Carlton
The lyrics of Eartha Kitt's song "Le Danseur de Charleston" tell a story about a black gentleman who enters a bar and indulges in champagne and caviar while reminiscing about his past. He is dressed in a tuxedo (frac) and asserts that if he were to die suddenly (claquer), he wants it to be in a lake of cognac. The gentleman reflects on his younger days when he was thirty years old, describing himself as irresistible and without gold teeth. He boasts that women used to fight for his attention as he performed the Charleston dance at the Carlton Hotel in Cannes. The gentleman causes trouble in the bar, breaking things, but then generously hands out dollars as tips to the staff. He instructs the pianist to play the old songs without any breaks (entr'acte) and with a sense of chaos (en vrac).
"Le Danseur de Charleston" explores themes of nostalgia, self-importance, and the fleeting nature of youth. The gentleman, now older, looks back on his past glory days when he was desired and admired. The song captures the essence of his persona, emphasizing his charm, charisma, and love for extravagant experiences. It also touches on the idea of the passage of time and the longing to relive moments from the past. Eartha Kitt's performance adds a touch of playfulness and seductiveness, enhancing the character of the gentleman and the overall atmosphere of the song.
Line by Line Meaning
Un gentleman un peu noir
A distinguished man with a touch of darkness
A une poule dans un bar
Had a lady companion in a bar
Offrait champagne et caviar
Offered champagne and caviar
Et entrouvrait sa mémoire
And opened up his memory
Ce gentleman dans son frac
This gentleman in his formal attire
Disait poupée si je claque
Would say, 'Doll, if I pass away'
Je veux qu'ce soit dans un lac
I want it to be in a lake
Un lac d'cognac
A lake of cognac
Ecoute-moi bien
Listen to me closely
J'avais trente ans
I was thirty years old
Ecoute-moi bien
Listen to me closely
J'étais tentant
I was enticing
Je n'avais pas encore
I did not yet have
De dents en or
Golden teeth
Les femmes se battaient
Women fought
Pour m'approcher
To get close to me
Regarde-moi bien
Look at me closely
Qu'est-c'que t'en penses
What do you think?
Regarde-moi bien
Look at me closely
Tu m'trouve l'air rance
You find me stale
Mais fallait fallait m'voir
But you should have seen me
Danser le charleston
Dancing the Charleston
Quand j'avais trente ans
When I was thirty years old
A Cannes au Carlton
In Cannes at the Carlton
Ce gentleman un peu noir
This distinguished man with a touch of darkness
A tout cassé dans le bar
Broke everything in the bar
Puis a sorti ses dollars
Then took out his dollars
Et distribué des pourboires
And distributed tips
Ce gentleman dans son frac
This gentleman in his formal attire
A dit : pianiste v'là dix sacs
Said: 'Pianist, here are ten bags'
Joue les vieux airs sans entr'acte
Play the old tunes without interruption
Eh ! joue en vrac
Hey! Play in a disorderly manner
Ecoute-moi bien
Listen to me closely
Gard' la cadence
Keep the rhythm
Ecoute-moi bien
Listen to me closely
Qu'est-c'que t'en penses
What do you think?
Il fallait fallait m'voir
You had to see me
Danser le charleston
Dancing the Charleston
Quand j'avais trente ans
When I was thirty years old
A Cannes au Carlton
In Cannes at the Carlton
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, EDITIONS METROPOLITAINES
Written by: JEAN MOULIN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Loulou Fildezinc
Merci, merci, Govecomm !
Un petit bijou, un trésor, ce partage !
This is the show, and among the best show. There are only a few people like that, little gems that must be cherished who reconcile us with the human in all its senses. Still, Eartha gives me more than a smile, good vibrations everywhere.
Heureusement que Eartha a existé, continue d'exister et lutter dans ce monde de tristes cinglés. She is so... purrrrrrr, en vie pour l'éternité !
Beyond the show, and if it was she, the incarnation of true distinction ? Lovely person
danceteachersince73
She was awesome!
steevworld2
What a performance!!!!!!
Animalkisser
She is such a good entertainer!!!
John Doe
Thanks you so much for posting this vdeio govecomm. I just saw her perform this past Monday -- her 80th birthday celebration here in NY. At 80, she is still amazing. Her voice is shockingly good! I hope someone has a clip of that to post! Thanks again. She was older than 65 in this performance here!!!
John Thorpe.
I also saw her do this in Melbourne at the Hylton. No one else can do this stuff . Could you imagine Britney Spears? NO!
Loulou Fildezinc
Merci, merci, Govecomm !
Un petit bijou, un trésor, ce partage !
This is the show, and among the best show. There are only a few people like that, little gems that must be cherished who reconcile us with the human in all its senses. Still, Eartha gives me more than a smile, good vibrations everywhere.
Heureusement que Eartha a existé, continue d'exister et lutter dans ce monde de tristes cinglés. She is so... purrrrrrr, en vie pour l'éternité !
Beyond the show, and if it was she, the incarnation of true distinction ? Lovely person
day light
she is a master!
Loulou Fildezinc
Cette femme sait tout faire, une artiste complète. Une clairvoyance et un humour comme j'aime ! Purrrrrrrrr...
espeder
I just saw her here in Portland, Oregon, USA. She turned 81 in January, and is absolutely fantastic! An amazing and talented performer. Thanks for this video, I got to see the same song live here in Portland.
sherreebee010
je l'aime! magnifique!