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.
Monotonous
Eartha Kitt Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
If they don’t get a chance to change the scene
I could not be wearier
Life could not be drearier
If I lived in Siberia
I’ll tell ya what I mean
I met a rather amusing fool
While on my way to Istanbul
Monotonous
For thirty days, salt air I sniffed
While I was shipwrecked and cast adrift
With a man who looked like Montgomery Clift
Monotonous
For what it’s worth, throughout the earth
I’m known as femme fatale
But when the yawn comes up like thunder, brother
Take back your Taj Mahal
Jack Fath made a new style for me
I even made Johnny Ray smile for me
A camel once walked a mile for me
Monotonous, monotonous
I could not be wearier
Life could not be drearier
If I lived in Siberia
Traffic has been known to stop for me
Prices even rise and drop for me
Harry S.Truman plays bop for me
Monotonous, monotone-eous
T.S. Elliott writes books for me
King Farouk’s on tenterhooks for me
Sherman Billingsley even cooks for me
Monotonous, monotonous
I could not be wearier
Life could not be drearier
If I lived in Siberia
Though I know I’ve acres of dough
I’m not sure of the amount
It might be exciting some day if I learned to count
Chian Kai-Shek sends me pots of tea
Gaylord Hauser sends me vitamin D
And, furthermore, Ike likes me
Monotonous, monotonous
Monotonous
In Eartha Kitt's song Monotonous, she sings about being tired of her mundane and boring life. She complains that life could not be drearier and that she could not be wearier. She discusses how everyone gets into a routine, and if they don't get a chance to change the scene, life can become monotonous. In an effort to escape her boredom, she reminisces about some exciting experiences she has had, including meeting an amusing fool on her way to Istanbul, being shipwrecked and cast adrift for 30 days with a man who looked like Montgomery Clift, and having a camel walk a mile for her. Throughout the song, she is making the point that life can be monotonous, but it is up to us to find ways to make it interesting.
Kitt takes her displeasure with her dull life and pokes fun at herself and her wealthy lifestyle. She mentions receiving pots of tea from Chian Kai-Shek, vitamin D from Gay Lord Hauser, and having Harry S. Truman play bop music for her. She also mentions that prices rise and drop for her, and how King Farouk is on tenterhooks for her. She takes these quirky experiences and relates them back to how monotonous life can be. Finally, Kitt suggests that although she has a lot of money, she still doesn't know exactly how much, hinting at how pointless it all may be. The song is a lighthearted jab at the mundane parts of life that we all experience.
Line by Line Meaning
Everyone gets into a dull routine
Everyone falls into the same boring patterns in life
If they don’t get a chance to change the scene
If they don't get the opportunity to try something new
I could not be wearier
I am extremely tired and bored
Life could not be drearier
My life is incredibly dull and uninteresting
If I lived in Siberia
If my life was any more boring, it would be like living in Siberia
I’ll tell ya what I mean
Let me explain what I'm talking about
I met a rather amusing fool
I encountered an entertaining person
While on my way to Istanbul
During my travels to Istanbul
He bought me the Black Sea for my swimming pool
He did something extravagant for me
Monotonous
Life is boring and unchanging
For thirty days, salt air I sniffed
I spent thirty days by the sea
While I was shipwrecked and cast adrift
During a time when I was stranded at sea
With a man who looked like Montgomery Clift
With a man who resembled Montgomery Clift
Monotonous
Life is boring and unchanging
For what it’s worth, throughout the earth
For whatever recognition it brings me around the world
I’m known as femme fatale
I am notorious as a seductive and dangerous woman
But when the yawn comes up like thunder, brother
When boredom hits me hard
Take back your Taj Mahal
Your extravagant gestures mean nothing when I'm bored
Jack Fath made a new style for me
Jack Fath created a new fashion style for me
I even made Johnny Ray smile for me
I was able to charm singer Johnny Ray
A camel once walked a mile for me
A camel did something ridiculous for me
Monotonous, monotonous
Life is boring and unchanging
Traffic has been known to stop for me
I cause a commotion wherever I go
Prices even rise and drop for me
People are willing to pay anything for my attention
Harry S.Truman plays bop for me
Even the President of the US has catered to me
T.S. Elliott writes books for me
A famous author writes for me
King Farouk’s on tenterhooks for me
A monarch is nervous in my presence
Sherman Billingsley even cooks for me
Even a renowned chef is at my service
Monotonous, monotonous
Life is boring and unchanging
Though I know I’ve acres of dough
Although I am wealthy
I’m not sure of the amount
I don't even know how much money I have
It might be exciting some day if I learned to count
Learning how to manage my wealth might bring some excitement into my life
Chian Kai-Shek sends me pots of tea
Even a political leader sends me gifts
Gaylord Hauser sends me vitamin D
Even a health expert sends me health advice
And, furthermore, Ike likes me
Even a US President is fond of me
Monotonous, monotonous
Life is boring and unchanging
Monotonous
Life is boring and unchanging
Contributed by Gabriel M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Allen Fitzpatrick
"Monotonous", a popular song written by June Carroll & Arthur Siegel for Leonard Sillman's Broadway revue "New Faces of 1952". The song was written based on the experiences of Eartha Kitt. It was performed "at the insistence of Kitt on three chaise longues (Kitt tried originally for six and was given three in compromise), crawling cat-like from one to the other, demonstrating her flexibility and her dance training from the Katherine Dunham Company". The song also includes references to many well-known people of the 1950s.
Montgomery Clift
Jacques Fath (the song states that he made a new style for Eartha Kitt, based on when she opened the club Le Perroquet, and Fath provided her with a completely new wardrobe as he admired her body).
Johnnie Ray ("I even made Johnnie Ray smile for me")
Harry S. Truman
T. S. Eliot
Farouk of Egypt
Sherman Billingsley
Chiang Kai-shek
Gayelord Hauser
Dwight David Eisenhower, referred to as "Ike"
Jerry A. O'Neill Ballads
That's really fascinating. Thanks for all that background Allen.
Garthastro Healing Arts
Arturo Toscanini as well. "Toscanini played bop for me."