Thoughts on a Catwoman

I only saw the late Eartha Kitt perform in person twice: in the Broadway production of The Wild Party and then at the Drama Desk Awards later the same season. She was nominated for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical and did one of her two show-stopping numbers for the ceremony. She perfomed "When It Ends" with a combination of sultry sexiness and defiant anger. When she finished she glowered at the audience as if daring them not to give her a standing ovation--which we did! It was an electrifying moment and an example of sheer star power.

Kitt was a unique talent who followed her instincts rather than the herd. She was also the ultimate survivor. After watching her club bookings dry up in the United States when she spoke against the Vietnam War during a White House luncheon, Kitt reinvented herself with a European career. She soon had the last laugh on Lyndon and Lady Bird Johnson by becoming the most memorable of the Catwomen on the hit TV show Batman and returning to the New York stage in triumph in 1978 in Timbuktu. 

She was actually on about three episodes of Batman and took over the part when Julie Newmar was unavailable. (Lee Merriwether played the Countess of Criminality in the movie version derived from the TV show and Michelle Pfeiffer essayed the role in the 1990s Batman Returns.) You may recall that with Kitt, an African-American actress as Catwoman, all romance was dropped with the Caucasian Batman. This was in the days when Lt. Uhura couldn't kiss Capt. Kirk unless she was forced to by mind-controlling aliens.Yet Kitt maintained a sexual tension with the comically stiff (not that way!) Adam West.

She also guest starred on Mission:Impossible, I Spy, and Miami Vice, did cartoon voice-overs for The Emperor's New Groove and American Dad, and was queen of the cabaret circuit. She still pulled off the sex kitten image into her 80s and her sly voice--somewhere between a growl and a purr--will be sorely missed. 

--David Sheward