A personal tribute to the late Ms. Kitt, “Santa Baby”

By: Stephen Carter  –  one of her biggest fans

 

I received the sad news on an otherwise lovely Christmas Day that my

favorite performer and personal idol, a fabulous human being and true

American legend passed away at the ripe age of 81.  Almost apropos for the

woman who first recorded one of the world’s best-loved playful holiday

songs, “Santa Baby,” Eartha Kitt left us this season as her sultry, purring

voice rang over TV and radio.

 

Though many of you may never have known much if anything about her long and

colorful career of many, many decades (or perhaps only recognized her as

Catwoman from the Batman television series in the 60s), Eartha Kitt was a

multi-talented virtuoso that epitomized what a true entertainer should be –

she sang, acted, danced and lit up stages and screens around the world with

her very unique and energy-filled presence.  She was, in my opinion, the

last of a dying breed.

 

Truly, many Americans may have been deprived of the first decades of this

woman’s career because of her heartfelt words of protest during the Vietnam

War that had her blacklisted from the U.S. entertainment machine.  Yet in a

turn of fate (what I feel to be poetic justice), Eartha made her way instead

across Europe and beyond during these otherwise challenging times, increased

her fame abroad and became an international star during times when there was

no World Wide Web/online community, and when cold war politics usually

prevented such sharing of knowledge, let alone entertainment talent, across

borders.

 

I luckily had the opportunity to meet Ms. Kitt twice in my life when I saw

her perform her one-woman cabaret-type show – the latest just a few years

ago when she was in her very late 70s, in San Francisco.  Though she was

exhausted from dancing and singing for nearly 2 hours straight, she still

mustered enough strength to face a long line of eager fans seeking to either

meet her for the first time, see her close up once again (like me), score an

autograph, or almost speechlessly praise her fabulous performance (again, as

I did).  I told her that I didn’t know how she did it…she had more energy

at 78 or 79 than I could ever muster then in my late 30s.  As always, I was

blown away by her vivacity and in awe at her persona.

 

Ms. Kitt’s last words to me as I left the green room that night were “Thank

you for supporting me.”  Although seemingly a simple and obligatory

acknowledgement of me as a paying fan, those words rang in my head as those

of a sadly bygone era of American entertainment when actors, singers, and

other performers forged a real unity with their fans who give them life and

energy.  Eartha was part of that “old school” theatre mentality that

appreciated those that gave her the opportunity to perform, and despite diva

status to almost humbly bow to them in recognition of her success. 

 

For that and for many other things that made her my idol, I cherish the

memory of those personal words to me even beyond the lyrics of her songs and

lines from movies and plays I know so well….words which I hope will live

on as the unmatched signature of a truly legendary woman.