44 Facts About Eartha Kitt

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

Eartha Kitt's second was for the 2000 original production of the musical The Wild Party.

Eartha Kitt found a new generation of fans through her roles in the Disney films The Emperor's New Groove, in which she voiced the villainous Yzma, and Holes.

Eartha Kitt reprised the role as Yzma in the direct-to-video sequel Kronk's New Groove, as well as the animated series The Emperor's New School.

Eartha Kitt Mae Keith was born in the small town of North, South Carolina, on January 17,1927.

Eartha Kitt was raised by a relative named Aunt Rosa, in whose household she was abused.

Eartha Kitt began her career as a member of the Katherine Dunham Company in 1943 and remained a member of the troupe until 1948.

Eartha Kitt spoke four languages and sang in eleven, which she demonstrated in many of the live recordings of her cabaret performances.

Eartha Kitt had a minor hit in Sweden in 1956 with her record in Swedish, "Rosenkyssar".

In 1964, Eartha Kitt helped open the Circle Star Theater in San Carlos, California.

Eartha Kitt appeared in a 1967 Mission: Impossible episode "The Traitor," as a contortionist.

In 1956, Eartha Kitt published an autobiography called Thursday's Child, which would later serve as inspiration for the name of the 1999 David Bowie song "Thursday's Child".

On 18 January 1968, during Lyndon B Johnson's administration, Kitt encountered a substantial professional setback after she made anti-war statements during a White House luncheon.

Eartha Kitt was asked by First Lady Lady Bird Johnson about the Vietnam War.

In February 2022, Catwoman vs the White House, The New Yorker short documentary, directed by Scott Calonico used photos, clippings and footage to show how Kitt disrupted the White House luncheon, taking Lyndon B Johnson to task.

Eartha Kitt was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her performance.

In 2000, Eartha Kitt again returned to Broadway in the short-lived run of Michael John LaChiusa's The Wild Party.

Eartha Kitt reprised her role as the Fairy Godmother at a special engagement of Cinderella, which took place at Lincoln Center during the holiday season of 2004.

From October to early December 2006, Eartha Kitt co-starred in the off-Broadway musical Mimi le Duck.

In 1978, Eartha Kitt did the voice-over in a television commercial for the album Aja by the rock group Steely Dan.

Eartha Kitt voiced the villain Vexus in the Nickelodeon series My Life as a Teenage Robot.

In 1984, Eartha Kitt returned to the music charts with a disco song titled "Where Is My Man", the first certified gold record of her career.

In 1988, Eartha Kitt replaced Dolores Gray in the West End production of Stephen Sondheim's Follies as Carlotta, receiving standing ovations every night for her rendition of "I'm Still Here" at the beginning of act 2.

Eartha Kitt went on to perform her own one-woman show at The Shaftesbury Theatre to sold-out houses for three weeks in early 1989 after Follies.

Eartha Kitt appeared with Jimmy James and George Burns at a fundraiser in 1990 produced by Scott Sherman, an agent from the Atlantic Entertainment Group.

In 1991, Eartha Kitt returned to the screen in Ernest Scared Stupid as Old Lady Hackmore.

In 1995, Eartha Kitt appeared as herself in an episode of The Nanny, where she performed a song in French and flirted with Maxwell Sheffield.

Eartha Kitt did a series of commercials for Old Navy.

In 2000, Eartha Kitt won an Annie Award for her starring voice role as "Yzma" in the Disney feature film The Emperor's New Groove, later reprising the role in 2005 in Disney's Kronk's New Groove.

Eartha Kitt returned to the silver screen in 2003 with the charming role of Madame Zeroni in the film Holes based on the book by the same name, by author Louis Sachar.

Eartha Kitt re-recorded "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" for the occasion, was showcased on the MAC website, and the song was played at all MAC locations carrying the collection for the month.

Eartha Kitt appeared in the 2007 independent film And Then Came Love opposite Vanessa Williams.

Eartha Kitt was a guest star in "Once Upon a Time in Springfield" of The Simpsons, where she was depicted as one of Krusty's past marriages.

Eartha Kitt later moved to Pound Ridge, New York, but returned in 2002 to the southern Fairfield County, Connecticut town of Weston, in order to be near her daughter Kitt and family.

Eartha Kitt was active in numerous social causes in the 1950s and 1960s.

Eartha Kitt was involved with a group of youths in the area of Anacostia in Washington, DC, who called themselves "Rebels with a Cause".

Eartha Kitt supported the groups' efforts to clean up streets and establish recreation areas in an effort to keep them out of trouble by testifying with them before the House General Subcommittee on Education of the Committee on Education and Labor.

Eartha Kitt added that "the Rebels could act as a model for all urban areas throughout the United States with similar problems".

Eartha Kitt was a member of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom; her criticism of the Vietnam War and its connection to poverty and racial unrest in 1968 can be seen as part of a larger commitment to peace activism.

Eartha Kitt later became a vocal advocate for LGBT rights and publicly supported same-sex marriage, which she considered a civil right.

Eartha Kitt died of colon cancer on Christmas Day 2008, three weeks shy of her 82nd birthday at her home in Weston, Connecticut.

Eartha Kitt left this world literally screaming at the top of her lungs.

Eartha Kitt was home for the last few weeks when the doctor told us there was nothing they could do any more.

Eartha Kitt thought I could see them too, but, of course, I couldn't.