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Kitt's Purr Wore Down Racial Barriers

By Neal Colgrass,  Newser Staff

Posted Dec 26, 2008 7:00 PM CST

(Newser) – Eartha Kitt camped it up in Batman episodes and stirred live crowds with her crooning, but also nudged "Hollywood's color barrier several feet from the dominant crude stereotypes," Reed Johnson writes in the Los Angeles Times. The performer who danced with Katherine Dunham's troupe and acted alongside Sidney Poitier altered race relations on a more direct level, showing that a black woman could "inflame the great Middle American libido."

The gritty, South Carolina girl was also ahead of her time politically, Kilian Meloy writes on EDGEBoston. "I happen to have a great appreciation for the gay audiences," Kitt said. When the federal government hounded her for opposing the Vietnam war, "it was the gay guys who kept my name alive." She supported same-sex marriage, too, saying, "It’s a civil-rights thing, isn’t it?"

This  Dec. 13, 1977 file photo shows Eartha Kitt with her daughter Kitt McDonald.
This Dec. 13, 1977 file photo shows Eartha Kitt with her daughter Kitt McDonald.   (AP Photo/Carlos Rene Perez, File)
In this  May 11, 1978 file photo, Eartha Kitt is at New York's Waldorf Astoria.
In this May 11, 1978 file photo, Eartha Kitt is at New York's Waldorf Astoria.   (AP Photo/Ira Schwarz, File)
In this 1955 file photo, Eartha Kitt dances in a televised treatment of Oscar Wilde's play, Salome.
In this 1955 file photo, Eartha Kitt dances in a televised treatment of Oscar Wilde's play, "Salome".   (AP Photo/File)
In this May 12, 1993 file photo, Eartha Kitt performs at the Groschenoper (Penny opera) in Frankfurt, Germany.
In this May 12, 1993 file photo, Eartha Kitt performs at the Groschenoper (Penny opera) in Frankfurt, Germany.   (AP Photo/Bernd Kammerer, File)
This Dec. 13, 1977 file photo shows singer Eartha Kitt. A family friend says Kitt has died Thursday, Dec. 25, 2008 of colon cancer. She was 81.
This Dec. 13, 1977 file photo shows singer Eartha Kitt. A family friend says Kitt has died Thursday, Dec. 25, 2008 of colon cancer. She was 81.   (AP Photo/Carlos Rene Perez, file)
Eartha Kitt poses in character as Catwoman for the television show Batman in this 1967 file photo.
Eartha Kitt poses in character as Catwoman for the television show "Batman" in this 1967 file photo.   (AP Photo/File)
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COMMENTS
Showing 2 of 2 comments
Michael_CT
Jan 2, 2009 3:18 AM CST
Long live Eartha!
Shannonals
Dec 27, 2008 2:07 AM CST
Best of wishes to her family

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