EARTHA Kitt was some hot momma, back in the day when African-American women were still not accepted by mainstream American white society. But she broke the colored barrier with her fabulous voice ("C'est si Bon," "Santa Baby", and wouldja believe, our very own "Waray-Waray"?), and her witty characterization of Catwoman in the old Batman series.
She was my favorite villain in the show and rooted for her whenever she would put one over Batman or Batgirl. Hah! She would become one of the most respected singers, dancers and actresses in the United States. Wouldn't it have been great if she had sung at Barack Obama's inaugural?
Here are a few great videos of Ms. Eartha I found on the Net. Enjoy.
Singing C'est si Bon
As Catwoman (Walang sinabi si Halle Berry ke Ms. Eartha)
Singing Waray-Waray. (Sorry, audio only. But it's still a fun listen.)
Aaaaay! This was such a blow to hear about her death at Christmas dinner. You know, she had a concert date in SF in May that I was planning to see! I heard that Waray-waray was still a part of her concert repertoire. If you can get your hands on her auto-bio (Alone With Me), it's very well written.
ReplyDeleteBTW, that ad lib in C'est Si Bon was because she forgot the words when she premiered the song in Paris and it sort of became her signature. She is one amazing woman and I will miss her!!!