Eartha Kitt

American singer Eartha Kitt was born Eartha Mae Keith on 17 January 1927 of Cherokee and African descent. She became known for her highly distinctive singing style and her 1953 recordings of C’est si bon and the Christmas novelty song Santa Baby.

In the early 1950s, she had six US Top 30 entries, including Uska Dara (1953) and I Want to Be Evil (1953). Her other recordings include the UK Top 10 songs Under the Bridges of Paris (1954), Just an Old Fashioned Girl (1956), and Where Is My Man? (1983).

She starred as Catwoman in the third and final season of the television series Batman in 1967.

Her career in the US deteriorated after she made anti-Vietnam War statements at a White House luncheon hosted by Lady Bird Johnson on 18 January 1968.

In 1975, the Times reported that shortly after the 1968 incident, President Johnson ordered the CIA to compile a dossier on Kitt. In the resulting document – which amounted to little more than gossip – Kitt was called a “sadistic nymphomaniac”, which she joked about for the rest of her career.

She made a triumphant return to Broadway in the 1978 original production of the musical Timbuktu! for which she received the first of her two Tony Award nominations. Her second was for the 2000 original production of the musical The Wild Party.

In 1978, Kitt accepted President Jimmy Carter’s invitation to return to the White House. According to Kitt, Carter said to her: “Welcome home, Eartha.”

Eartha Kitt died of colon cancer on Christmas Day 2008 at her home in Weston, Connecticut. She was 81.