
Eartha Kitt, a sultry singer, dancer and actress who rose from South Carolina cotton fields to become an international symbol of elegance and sensuality, has died, a family spokesman said. She was 81.
Andrew Freedman said Kitt, who was recently treated at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital, died Thursday in Connecticut of colon cancer.
Kitt, a self-proclaimed "sex kitten" famous for her catlike purr, was one of America's most versatile performers, winning two Emmys and nabbing 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 South and made headlines in the 1960s for denouncing the Vietnam War during a visit to the White House.

Comments (1)
She was really pretty good ... (Below threshold)1. Posted by Paul Hooson | January 2, 2009 9:35 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
She was really pretty good playing Catwoman on the 1960's BATMAN series. (By the way few people know this, but current horror movie great, Sid Haig, was one of King Tut's villains. That was a great old series, and I love collecting die cast vehicles from that show. Funny but the 1960's DC Comics Batmobile looked strangely similar to the TV car which was based off on old prototype show car built by Ford Motor Company.)
1. Posted by Paul Hooson | January 2, 2009 9:35 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on January 2, 2009 21:35