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.
Lilac Wine
Eartha Kitt Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I gave myself in that misty light
Was hypnotized by a strange delight
Under a lilac tree
I made wine from the lilac tree
Put my heart in its recipe
It makes me see what I want to see
When I think more than I want to think
Do things I never should do
I drink much more that I ought to drink
Because it brings me back you
Lilac wine is sweet and heady
Like my love
Lilac wine, I feel unsteady
Like my love
Listen to me, I cannot see clearly
Isn’t that she, coming to me, nearly here
Lilac wine is sweet and heady
Where’s my love
Lilac wine, I feel unsteady
Where’s my love
Listen to me, why is everything so hazy
Isn’t that she, or am I just going crazy, dear
Lilac wine, I feel unready for my love
Feel unready, for my love
The lyrics to Eartha Kitt's Lilac Wine are a haunting testimony to the power of love and intoxication. The opening lines, "I lost myself on a cool damp night/I gave myself in that misty light/Was hypnotized by a strange delight/Under a lilac tree" describe a moment of surrender to passion, where the singer loses control and is seduced by the beauty of the world around her. The lilac tree becomes a symbol of this enchantment, representing the deep desire that can take hold of a person when they are fully open to the possibilities of life.
From this moment of enchantment, the singer moves on to talk about the creation of wine from the lilac tree. This becomes a metaphor for the way in which love and desire can transform a person, making them see the world in a new way and empowering them to be who they want to be. The words "It makes me see what I want to see/And be what I want to be" capture the deep connection between the wine and the singer's desire, explaining how they are both linked in a powerful way.
The final verses of the song continue this exploration of the power of love and obsession, with the singer admitting that they drink too much and do things they never should because it brings them back to the one they love. There's a sense of desperation in these words, as if the singer is a person who is lost without the embrace of their lover. The lilac wine is sweet and heady, just like the love that the singer feels, but it also makes them feel unsteady and unready for what's to come. The final words of the song, "I feel unready, for my love" convey a sense of vulnerability and uncertainty, suggesting that even the most powerful of emotions can sometimes leave a person feeling unsure.
Line by Line Meaning
I lost myself on a cool damp night
I was emotionally and mentally lost on a chilly and damp evening
I gave myself in that misty light
I let my guard down and surrendered to my emotions under the cover of misty light
Was hypnotized by a strange delight
I was enchanted by an inexplicable and unusual pleasure
Under a lilac tree
While I was under a lilac tree
I made wine from the lilac tree
I created wine using lilac flowers from the tree
Put my heart in its recipe
I poured my heart and soul into making the wine
It makes me see what I want to see
Drinking the lilac wine lets me see what I want and not what is real
And be what I want to be
It also lets me be who I desire to be, even if it's not my true self
When I think more than I want to think
When I overthink
Do things I never should do
And do things that I shouldn't do
I drink much more that I ought to drink
I drink more wine than what's good for me
Because it brings me back you
As the wine makes me delusional, I drink more as it takes me back to a time with the person I love
Lilac wine is sweet and heady
The taste and aroma of the lilac wine is intoxicating and powerful
Like my love
Similar to my feelings towards my love
Lilac wine, I feel unsteady
Drinking the wine makes me emotionally unbalanced and bewildered
Listen to me, I cannot see clearly
I am unable to see the situation clearly and with clarity
Isn’t that she, coming to me, nearly here
Perhaps the person I love is coming to me or nearby
Where’s my love
Where is the person I love now?
Listen to me, why is everything so hazy
Why do I feel confused and delusional?
Or am I just going crazy, dear
Could it be that I'm losing my mind?
Lilac wine, I feel unready for my love
Drinking the wine makes me unprepared and hesitant for my love
Feel unready, for my love
I am not yet ready to love
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: James H. Shelton
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Stephen Hunt
Superb musician who deserves much more recognition these days. And was there ever a naughtier laugh on record? Thanks to debuizen for this special piece.
Spookysoup
Everytime she says "heady" or "unsteady" i always think she's gonna rhyme it with spaghetti for some reason and then she doesn't AND IT DRIVES ME INSANE
mamatibbors cassady
She was so wonderful, talented, beautiful and intelligent............and strong.
Jim Chevallier
I saw her at the Cafe Carlyle - a memorable moment - then several years later was standing right next to her at a bar and didn't even realize it. :)
One of a kind. Apparently she had an immediate physiological effect on Orson Welles.
A Man Has No Name
“Immediate physiological effect” 🤣🤣🤣
Tony Whitburn
She sounds exactly like she looks
Moleratical
Gorgeous? I agree
Lester Falcon
Catwomen
Patrick Mcmanus
Eartha exudes talent and sex. one of my favourite female singers. not the best catwomen. but ....ohh LA LA !
D
What??? She's known for being the BEST Catwoman.