Eartha Kitt

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Eartha Kitt (2007)

Eartha Kitt , actually Eartha Mae Keith , (born January 17, 1927 in North , South Carolina , † December 25, 2008 in New York City ) was an American singer and actress . She was called "the queen of nightclubs ".

life and work

Eartha Kitt (1973)
Eartha Kitt (1952)

Her father, a cotton picker, called her Eartha "the earth-born". She lost her mother at the age of six. She lived with various relatives until, at the age of eight, she came to live with an aunt in New York. She grew up in the Puerto Rican-Italian district, where she caused a stir as a child. She won several prizes as a dancer and sang in the church choir. Her dreams were aimed at a career as a dancer, actress and singer. After finishing school, Eartha Kitt first worked in a clothing factory. She paid for her piano lessons with most of her meager wages.

One day Eartha Kitt read posters announcing a Katherine Dunham guest appearance for which dancers were still wanted. She introduced herself, and Katherine Dunham was so fascinated by the 15-year-old with the peculiarly rough, yet delicate and expressive voice as well as by her feline movements that she immediately engaged Eartha Kitt. After several years of training in dance, singing and acting at the Dunham School of Dance and Theater, Eartha Kitt then went on tours around the world with the Katherine Dunham Ensemble. During this time she was given the opportunity to appear as a singer in individual scenes for the first time.

In 1951, the owner of the Carrols nightclub in Paris introduced her to her prominent guests from politics, business and culture. The artist returned to New York, where Orson Welles engaged her for the role of Helena in his theater production of Christopher Marlowe's drama The tragic history of Doctor Faustus , which was later shown in Germany.

Eartha Kitt had her final breakthrough in the Broadway show New Faces Of 1952 , in which she sang the song "Monotonous". In 1954/55 she starred in Mrs. Patterson on Broadway , in 1957 in Shinbone Alley and in the 1960s in The Owl and the Pussycat . In addition, she also appeared in films and on television, u. a. 1958 in St. Louis Blues and in the television series Batman as the successor to Julie Newmar in the role of Catwoman , 1965 in a guest role in Tennis Rackets and Cannons as a drug addict singer and in 1967 in a guest role in Mission Impossible . In 1992 she was seen in a supporting role in the US comedy Boomerang ; In 1996 she made a cameo on an episode of the sitcom The Nanny . In 2000 she played the role of Yzma in the animated film A Kingdom for a Lama for the Walt Disney Company .

Two of her songs in particular achieved world fame: C'est si bon and Uska Dara . In addition, she created an extensive repertoire with which several evening programs could be filled. These include: Mack the Knife , Jambo Hippopotami , Santa Baby , Let's Do It , as well as Yellow Bird , Tierra va tembla , Good Little Girls , Never on Sunday , Love for Sale , Lola-Lola .

After critical remarks about the Vietnam War at lunch in the White House in 1968, she was shunned by the American entertainment business and was only able to successfully establish herself there again decades later. The boycott of her plays by the American television stations led her to orientate herself more towards Europe. That boycott ended in 1978 with rehabilitation by Jimmy Carter. It made a big comeback in Europe in the mid-1980s, when it hit the charts with disco titles like Where is My Man (1983), I Love Men (1984) and This is My Life (1986) . In 1989 there was a final success with the British synth-pop group Bronski Beat . The joint single Cha Cha Heels reached the top 40 in the UK. Regular successful tours, also in Germany , followed. At the invitation of Rolf and Joachim Kühn , she recorded the album Thinking Jazz (1991). Even in the last years of her life she was still active. In 2004 she gave a concert at the BB King Blues Club & Grill and appeared in 2006 alongside Annie Golden in the musical Mimi Le Duck .

From 1960 to 1964 Eartha Kitt was married to real estate agent Bill McDonald; the marriage resulted in a daughter named Kitt Shapiro. Eartha Kitt died of colon cancer .

Discography

Chart positions
Explanation of the data
Albums
Revisited
  UK 17th 02/11/1961 (1 week)
I love men
  DE 34 08/06/1984 (11 weeks)
Singles
Under the Bridges of Paris
  UK 7th 04/07/1955 (10 weeks)
Where is My Man
  DE 31 02/06/1984 (11 weeks)
  UK 36 11/26/1983 (12 weeks)
I love men
  DE 26th 07/30/1984 (12 weeks)
  UK 50 07/07/1984 (3 weeks)
This is my life
  UK 73 03/22/1986 (5 weeks)
Cha Cha Heels (with Bronski Beat )
  UK 32 07/01/1989 (7 weeks)
If I Love Ya Then I Need Ya
  UK 43 03/05/1994 (2 weeks)
Santa baby
  DE 73 December 29, 2017 (3 weeks)
  CH 94 December 29, 2019 (1 week)
  UK 55 
silver
silver
12/22/2007 (10 weeks)

Albums

  • 1952: New Faces of 1952 - Original Broadway Cast ( RCA Victor )
  • 1953: Eartha Kitt Sings (RCA Victor)
  • 1954: RCA Victor Presents Eartha Kitt (RCA)
  • 1954: Mrs. Patterson - Original Broadway Cast (RCA)
  • 1955: Down to Eartha (RCA)
  • 1955: That Bad Eartha ( His Master's Voice )
  • 1956: Thursday's Child (RCA)
  • 1957: That Bad Eartha (with Henri René and His Orchestra; RCA)
  • 1958: St. Louis Blues (with Shorty Rogers ; RCA)
  • 1959: The Fabulous Eartha Kitt (Kapp)
  • 1960: Eartha Kitt Revisited (Kapp)
  • 1961: At the Plaza ( GNP Crescendo Records )
  • 1962: Bad But Beautiful ( MGM )
  • 1962: The Romantic Eartha (World Record Club)
  • 1964: The Great Successes (RCA)
  • 1965: Love for Sale ( Columbia / EMI)
  • 1966: Portrait in Music ( Vogue )
  • 1968: Folk Tales of the Tribes of Africa (Caedmon)
  • 1968: Eartha Kitt at Tivoli ( Metronome Records )
  • 1970: Sentimental Eartha (Spark)
  • 1970: Not so Old Fashioned (Music for Pleasure)
  • 1983: C'est Si Bon (Milan Records)
  • 1984: I Love Men (SOHO, Sunnyview Records)
  • 1984: Down to Eartha (RCA)
  • 1984: Thursday's Child (with Henri René and His Orchestra; RCA)
  • 1989: I'm Still Here ( Arista Records )
  • 1989: Mink Shmink (Official Record Company APS)
  • 1990: Live in London ( Ariola )
  • 1991: EARTHA KITT THINKING JAZZ (with Joachim Kühn , Rolf Kühn , Jerry Bergonzi , Jesper Lundgaard , and Daniel Humair ; ITM 1477)
  • 1992: Miss Kitt, to You (RCA)
  • 1993: Eartha-Quake (5-CD set, Bear Family Records )
  • 1995: Eartha Kitt (Déjá Vu After Dark)
  • 1998: My Heart Belongs to Daddy (BMG UK & Ireland)
  • 2007: Live at the Cafe Carlyle
  • 2012: The Best of Me

Singles and EPs

  • 1953: C'est Si Bon / African Lullaby (with Henri René and His Orchestra)
  • 1953: Uska Dara - A Turkish Tale / Two Lovers
  • 1953: I Want to Be Evil / Annie Doesn't Live Here Anymore
  • 1954: Eartha Kitt (EP)
  • 1954: RCA Victor Presents Eartha Kitt (with Henri René and His Orchestra; 2 × 7inch, EP)
  • 1954: Somebody Bad Stole De Wedding Bell / Lovin 'Spree (with Henri René and His Orchestra)
  • 1955: My Heart's Delight / The Heel
  • 1955: Under the Bridges of Paris
  • 1955: Fredy / Sweet and Gentle (Me Lo Dijo Adela) (and Pérez Prado )
  • 1956: Easy Does It / Mink Shmink
  • 1957: Yomme, Yomme / Take My Love, Take My Love
  • 1957: Lovin 'Spree (with Henri René and His Orchestra; EP)
  • 1958: Just an Old-Fashioned Girl (with Henri René and His Orchestra)
  • 1958: If I Can't Take it with Me (When I Go) (with Henri René and His Orchestra)
  • 1959: Just Eartha (EP)
  • 1962: Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend
  • 1962: Just an Old-Fashioned Girl (with Henri René and His Orchestra; EP)
  • 1968: Che Vale Per Me / Eccomi
  • 1970: Hurdy Gurdy Man
  • 1983: Where is My Man
  • 1984: I Love Men
  • 1986: I Don't Care
  • 1986: This is My Life
  • 1987: Arabian Song
  • 1989: Cha Cha Heels (with Bronski Beat )
  • 1989: Primitive Man
  • 1990: Where is My Man / I Love Men
  • 1993: Where is My Man '93
  • 1994: If I Love Ya, Then I Need Ya, If I Need Ya, I Want'Cha Around
  • 1998: Where is My Man '98
  • 2000: Where is My Man 2000
  • 2001: This is My Life (vs. Joe T. Vannelli)
  • 2007: Santa Baby (US:goldgold)

Filmography (selection)

Autobiographical works

  • Thursday's Child . Duel, Sloan and Pearce, New York 1956
  • Alone with Me. A New Autobiography . H. Regnery Co., Chicago 1976
  • I'm Still Here / Confessions of a Sex Kitten . Sidgwick & Jackson, London 1989

swell

  1. ↑ Eartha Kitt . In: Der Spiegel . No. 15 , 1964, pp. 100 .
  2. ↑ a b Chart sources: DE CH UK
  3. ↑ Music Sales Awards: UK US

Web links

Commons : Eartha Kitt  - Collection of Images
personal data
SURNAME Kitt, Eartha
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Keith, Eartha Mae (real name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American singer, actress, dancer
DATE OF BIRTH January 17, 1927
PLACE OF BIRTH North , South Carolina , United States
DATE OF DEATH December 25, 2008
Place of death New York City , New York , United States