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.
Let's Do It
Eartha Kitt Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Even educated fleas do it
Let's do it, let's fall in love
In Spain the best upper sets do it
Lithuanians and Letts do it
Let's do it, let's fall in love
Not to mention the Finns
Folks in Siam do it
Think of Siamese twins
Some Argentines, without means do it
People say in Boston even beans do it
Let's do it, let's fall in love
Romantic sponges they say do it
Oysters down in Oyster Bay do it
Let's do it, let's fall in love
Cold Cape Cod clams, 'gainst their wish, do it
Even lazy jellyfish do it
Let's do it, let's fall in love
Electric eels, I might add, do it
Though it shocks 'em I know
Why ask if shad do it
Waiter, bring me shadroe
In shallow shoals, English soles do it
Goldfish in the privacy of bowls do it
Let's do it, let's fall in love
Eartha Kitt's song "Let's Do It" is a playful and witty celebration of the universal human experience of falling in love. The lyrics are a tribute to the idea that love is not confined by race, nationality or social standing. The first verse sets the tone: "Birds do it, bees do it, even educated fleas do it. Let's do it, let's fall in love." From there, the song explores the romantic possibilities of different nations and creatures around the world.
The second verse highlights the sultry seductions of Spain, and the Baltic states of Lithuania and Latvia. The third verse mentions the Dutch and the Finns, while the fourth verse adds a touch of exotic wonder with a nod to Siamese twins. The fifth verse looks to South America with a reference to Argentina, and then brings it back to America with a playful mention of beans in Boston. But it's not just human beings that fall in love - even "romantic sponges" and "lazy jellyfish" can't resist the urge.
The final verse includes a nod to the electric eel, and even brings in an order for shadroe from the waiter. English soles and goldfish round out the list of creatures that fall in love. The overall effect is to celebrate the universality of love, and to acknowledge that it is something that transcends borders, cultures, and even species.
Line by Line Meaning
Birds do it, bees do it
Making love is common in the animal kingdom
Even educated fleas do it
Even the small and insignificant creatures are capable of making love
Let's do it, let's fall in love
We should also make love and fall in love together
In Spain the best upper sets do it
Even the elite and high-class people in Spain make love
Lithuanians and Letts do it
People in Lithuania and Latvia also make love
The Dutch in old Amsterdam do it
Even the Dutch in Amsterdam make love
Not to mention the Finns
And also the people from Finland
Folks in Siam do it
People in Siam (Thailand) also make love
Think of Siamese twins
Even twins who are physically attached can make love
Some Argentines, without means do it
Even those who are poor in Argentina make love
People say in Boston even beans do it
Even in Boston, it is said that even beans (a reference to the Boston Baked Beans dish) make love
Romantic sponges they say do it
Even the sea creatures like romantic sponges engage in love-making
Oysters down in Oyster Bay do it
Even oysters in Oyster Bay make love
Cold Cape Cod clams, 'gainst their wish, do it
Even cold clams in Cape Cod make love, even though they may not want to
Even lazy jellyfish do it
Even jellyfish, known for their laziness, can make love
Electric eels, I might add, do it
Even electric eels engage in love-making, despite the fact that it shocks them
Why ask if shad do it
It is redundant to ask if even shad (a type of fish) can make love, because all creatures do it
Waiter, bring me shadroe
The singer orders a dish made from shad eggs, implying that she is also in the mood for love-making
In shallow shoals, English soles do it
Even English sole fish in shallow waters make love
Goldfish in the privacy of bowls do it
Even goldfish, kept as pets in bowls, are capable of making love
Let's do it, let's fall in love
The singer emphasizes the idea that we should make love and fall in love together
Lyrics © TuneCore Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Actual Music, S.L., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Cole Porter
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind