A sad note on Christmas, legendary singer/actress Eartha Kitt died today @ 81 years of age. Like most people in my generation I first encountered her purrrfection as one incarnation of "Catwoman" on syndicated reruns of the campy 60s Batman series. I always meant to attend one of her cabaret shows here in NYC but never did (pricey $) but I was able to see her on Broadway once in The Wild Party where she stopped the show with the 11th hour eventual classic (just wait) "When It Ends." Though she was always more of a celebrity and TV star than a film actress, she did that too: recent credits included Holes and voicing Yzma for Disney's The Emperor's New Groove. You'll also undoubtedly remember her great purring cameo in the Isaac Mizrahi documentary Unzipped.Here's Eartha doing her classic "Santa Baby". She was still performing in her early 80s. Here's to indisputable longevity and individuality. Eartha had both.
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