I would kill to be like Eartha when I’m an old woman.
The Summit.
Lena Horne, Eartha Kitt, Pearl Bailey, Josephine Baker, Rachel Robinson, Dorothy Dandridge, Marian Anderson, Ethel Waters
Watching Friday Foster and practicing being evil in honor of The Incomparable Ms. Kitt’s birthday. It’s streaming on Netflix, so if you can I suggest you watch it while acting as fancy and untouchable as possible.
Oh hell no. This is a blatant damn lie. Like many black performers who had to make a living in segregated areas, she performed in clubs that excluded black people from attending. This does not mean she was an “honorary white,” and this is straight up whitewashing bullshit.
I suggested a deletion of that sentence(though the rest of the “biography” is terrible as well), and submitted this addendum:
“Eartha Kitt was outspoken about the issues of her time, including war and racism. During a luncheon with President Lyndon B. Johnson’s wife, she was quoted as saying, on the topic of the Vietnam war, ‘You send the best of the country off to be shot and maimed. No wonder the kids rebel and take pot.’ A supporter of Nelson Mandela, Mz. Kitt addressed those who were critical of her decision to perform in apartheid era South Africa by pointing out that she used her success there to open schools for black children and encourage racial tolerance.”
Today In History We Honor Eartha Mae Kitt
‘Eartha Mae Kitt was an international star who gave new meaning to the word versatile. She distinguished herself in film, theater, cabaret, music and on television. Miss Kitt was one of only a handful of performers to be nominated for a Tony (three times), the Grammy (twice), and Emmy Award (twice). She regularly enthralled New York nightclub audiences during her extended stays at The Cafè Carlyle and these intimate performances have been captured in her recording, Eartha Kitt, Live at The Carlyle.’
(photo: Eartha Mae Kitt)
- CARTER Magazine
Happy Birthday Mz. Kitt!
