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She
personified a certain irresistibly devilish, feline
sexiness. Dressed in tight leather bodysuit and mask, she
slowly exhaled the word 'purrr-fect' with a delightfully
playful precision in her signature role as Catwoman on the hit
television series Batman. The many qualities that endeared
her to the public were all present in that one gesture: strength
and vulnerability, elegance and kitsch, and a certain kittenish
mischievousness. Born in 1927 in South Carolina, Kitt moved
to New York as a young girl where she eventually rose to become a
Broadway, cabaret, television and film star. The
African-American Kitt used her stardom to fight for civil rights
and against all forms of discrimination, and was famously banned
from the White House in 1968 by Lady Bird Johnson for expressing
her views on the Vietnam War.
Kitt
could infuse the slightest bit of innocent bawdiness into almost
any performance. In her rendition of Santa Baby, her raspy
voice teases Old St. Nick himself:
Santa
baby, just slip a sable under the tree, for me
Been an awful good girl
Santa baby, so hurry down the chimney tonight
…Think of all the fun I've missed
Think of all the fellas that I haven't kissed
Next year I could be just as good
If you'd check off my Christmas list...
Kitt's
versatility was remarkable: she began her career as a dancer for
the Katherine Dunham Company, starred in the 1978 Broadway hit Timbuktu!
and even climbed the disco charts with the 1983 hit Where
is my Man? She learned and recorded in several foreign
languages, including French. In her splendid rendition of
the Turkish song Üsküdara, Kitt effortlessly switches
between English and Turkish:
Üsküdara
"Gideriken bir mendil buldum
Mendilimin icinede lokum doldurdum
On the way to Üsküdar I found a kerchief
And I filled the kerchief with Turkish Delight
Then after finishing her English narration of this sensual and
playful song in a uniquely Kittian gesture she adds the following
personalized rasping coda to the song: "Oh those crazy
Turks!" To which one can only add: "Oh that crazy
Eartha!" Earth
Kitt, an American legend, passed away in 2008.
Listen:
Eartha
Kitt, Purr-fect Greatest Hits
Listen:
Eartha
Kitt, l'album on iTunes
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