Eartha Kitt Dies from Cancer, aged 81:(

This woman was a REAL character, larger than life and twice as sultry. The world is a sadder place today without her in it. She did live large however and was loved by generations of fans:

Eartha Kitt, the sultry singer, dancer and actress who rose from South Carolina cotton fields to become an international symbol of elegance and sensuality, has died. Skip related content
Related photos / videos Eartha Kitt dies after cancer fight Family friend Andrew Freedman said Kitt, 81, died of colon cancer. She was recently treated at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in New York.

Kitt, a self-proclaimed "sex kitten" famous for her catlike purr, was one of America's most versatile performers, winning two Emmys and a third nomination. She also was nominated for several Tonys and two Grammys.

Her career spanned six decades, from her start as a dancer with the famed Katherine Dunham troupe to cabarets and acting and singing on stage, in movies and on television.


She persevered through an unhappy childhood as a mixed-race daughter of the southern US and made headlines in the 1960s for denouncing the Vietnam War during a visit to the White House. Through the years, Kitt remained a picture of vitality and attracted fans less than half her age even as she neared 80.

When her book Rejuvenate, a guide to staying physically fit, was published in 2001, Kitt was featured on the cover in a long, curve-hugging black dress with a figure that some 20-year-old women would envy. She also wrote three autobiographies.


Once dubbed the "most exciting woman in the world" by Orson Welles, she spent much of her life single, though brief romances with the rich and famous peppered her younger years.

After becoming a hit singing Monotonous in the Broadway revue New Faces of 1952, Kitt appeared in Mrs Patterson in 1954-55. Some references say she earned a Tony nomination for Mrs Patterson, but only winners were publicly announced at that time.

Her first album, RCA Victor Presents Eartha Kitt, came out in 1954, featuring such songs as I Want to Be Evil, C'est Si Bon and the saucy gold digger's theme song Santa Baby.

Kitt also acted in movies, playing the lead female role opposite Nat King Cole in St Louis Blues in 1958 and more recently appearing in Boomerang and Harriet The Spy in the 1990s. On television, she was the sexy Catwoman on the popular Batman series in 1967-68, replacing Julie Newmar who originated the role.