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.
My Heart Belongs to Daddy
Eartha Kitt Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I may make a play for the caddy
But when I do, I don't follow through
'Cause my heart belongs to Daddy.
If I invite a boy some night
To dine on my fine finnan haddie
I just adore his asking for more
Yes my heart belongs to Daddy
So I simply couldn't be bad
Yes, my heart belongs to Daddy
Da-da-da, da-da-da, da-da-da
So I want to warn you, laddie
Though I know you're perfectly swell
But my heart belongs to Daddy
'Cause my Daddy he treats it so well
There was a dame that a football game
Made long for the strong undergraddie
I never dream of making the team
'Cause my heart belongs to daddy
Yes, my heart belongs to Daddy
So I simply couldn't be bad
Yes, my heart belongs to Daddy
Da-da-da, da-da-da, da-da-da
So I want to warn you, laddie
Though I know you're perfectly swell
That my heart belongs to Daddy
'Cause my Daddy, he treats it so well
Eartha Kitt's "My Heart Belongs to Daddy" is a song that has been interpreted in different ways by different people. One way of interpreting the lyrics is that the song is about a woman who is in a romantic relationship but is committed to her father. The woman is saying that even though she may flirt with other men or be courted by them, her heart belongs solely to her father. She warns men not to try to take her heart away from her father because her father treats it so well.
Another interpretation of the song is that it is about a woman who is in love with her father. The song suggests that she prefers spending time with her father over spending time with other men. The lyrics mention the woman's love of golf, which may symbolize the love that her father has for her. The woman may be torn between her love for her father and her desire for a romantic relationship with someone else.
Overall, "My Heart Belongs to Daddy" is a complex and intriguing song that can be interpreted in many different ways, depending on the listener's perspective.
Line by Line Meaning
While tearing off a game of golf
While playing golf and having fun
I may make a play for the caddy
I may flirt with the caddy
But when I do, I don't follow through
But I don't take it any further
'Cause my heart belongs to Daddy.
Because I am loyal to my father and he has my heart.
If I invite a boy some night
If I invite a boy over one evening
To dine on my fine finnan haddie
To share my delicious haddock dish
I just adore his asking for more
I love it when he asks for more
But my heart belongs to Daddy
But I only have eyes for my father
Yes my heart belongs to Daddy
I am devoted to my father
So I simply couldn't be bad
So I couldn't be unfaithful
Da-da-da, da-da-da, da-da-da
N/A
So I want to warn you, laddie
So I must caution you, young man
Though I know you're perfectly swell
Though I know you are charming
But my heart belongs to Daddy
I am committed to my father, not you.
'Cause my Daddy he treats it so well
Because my father takes such good care of my heart.
There was a dame that a football game
There was a woman who, during a football game
Made long for the strong undergraddie
Longed for the handsome college student
I never dream of making the team
I never dream of becoming a football player
'Cause my heart belongs to daddy
Because I am devoted to my father.
Lyrics © Kanjian Music, BMG Rights Management, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Cole Porter
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
lalagonegaga
Marilyn Monroe, Julie London and Eartha Kitt all created absolutely phenomenal versions of this song.
HumongousFungusAmongUs!
You forgot Dorothy Dandridge & Ella Fitzgerald! I love their versions as well.
FormerlyARandomProperNameButNobodyGotTheJoke Sighhh
Add Lena Horne.
-𝔏𝔦𝔦𝔰𝔲- 𝐕
Don't forget Joey Heatherton as well!
duet for herbivores
I love her voice
eden
Eartha Kitt and Dorothy Dandridge are my favorite versions of this song 😍
daniel silva
Goddess of everything.
Dennis Pearson
Well Said !!!!!.....
Candace Pratt
Eartha Kitt has a beautiful remarkable voice. She hits those notes🎙️🎶🎶🎼🎵🎤
Dennis Pearson
The Ultimate Vixen In Her Glorious Prime !!!.....IT CAN'T GET ANY BETTER THAN THIS !!!!!.....