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My interview with Eartha Kitt

The world lost an extraordinary personage when Eartha Kitt passed away on Christmas.

Her literal rags-to-riches life story was an inspiration to generations and her legendary camp portrayal of Catwoman in the Batman TV series made her a gay icon.

I was fortunate to have the opportunity to interview her years ago when she was in Denver performing as the Fairy Godmother in Cinderella.

I hadn’t had much experience interviewing celebrities at the time and from the research I had done I had seen that Eartha could be prickly.

I was nervous to say the least.

But I was relieved and surprised when the two of us hit it off right from the start and ended up talking on the phone for close to two hours.

And then I was lucky enough to be invited to the cast party at Strings after opening night and was thrilled to be introduced to her. She was adorable and tiny and was incredibly gracious and beautiful.

“Oh, you’re the one I had that lovely conversation with,” she said.

I just nodded my head like a nincompoop.

Read my interview with Eartha Kitt that originally ran in Out Front Colorado in 2001 after the jump.


On the phone with Eartha Kitt, chanteuse/actress/singer/dancer/author/, she’s much like what you’d expect from the persona she’s cultivated over the years - a little bit salty, a little bit sultry, a tiny bit vulnerable and just a wee bit (to use one of Eartha’s favorite words) naughty. What I didn’t expect was just how much I would enjoy my conversation with this pioneering entertainer who is as bright, opinionated and informed as she proved to be (dare I say) down to Earth.

Currently touring in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella as the Fairy Godmother, I asked what it was like to be appearing as one of the “goodiest of two shoes” after having built a career as the quintessential bad girl, but she’s heard this question before and I barely have the words out when THE VOICE, equal parts growl and purr, cuts in.

"I’m just glad to be working,” she says. “It doesn’t matter whether it’s the good guy or the bad guy, the point is, I’m still in demand and I’m very happy about that. People in general are used to seeing me as the naughty girl because that’s what they’ve always cast me as. I’m capable of being both."

Eartha has been playing Godmother to the Sopranos’ star Jamie-Lynn Sigler as the original rags to riches gal but by the time the production makes it way to Denver, former teen singing sensation Deborah (she’ll always be Debbie to me) Gibson will be appearing in the title role, rounding out a pleasantly multi-cultural cast that includes handsome Paolo Montalban as the Prince. It’s a role he is quite familiar with, having played the same part in the TV version starring Brandy and Whitney Houston from a few years back.

When I remarked on the show’s diverse cast, Ms.Kitt replies, "This is not a surprise to me, it’s the way I’ve always lived my life. I’ve always been multi-cultural myself. I’m not black and I’m not white and I’m not pink and I’m not green. Eartha Kitt has no color, and that is how barriers are broken."

As with her diametrically opposed turn as the Wicked Witch of the West in the Wizard of Oz, Kitt brings a new perspective to her latest role.

"When I played the witch I didn’t think of her as evil, I thought of her as naughty. She only wanted her shoes! And even though she threatened to put the dog in the pot, I don’t think she’d have really done it. As for the fairy godmother, the bible says that God helps those that help themselves and she’s the same way. This fairy godmother says, ‘If you want to get to the ball, honey, you’ve got to make it on your own!’"

In addition to her recent stage and movie projects (you may have heard that unmistakable voice as Yzma in Disney’s The Emperor’s New Groove), Eartha has also written a new book called Rejuvenate: It’s Never Too Late (Scribner; $24) a guide to staying mentally and physically vital in which she holds forth on such favored topics as aging and sex.

On aging she says, "It seems to have become an enemy instead of an asset. Aging has a wonderful beauty and we should have respect for that."

As for sex, "I don’t understand Viagra. I guess some people need it and Mr. Dole is doing a very good job of selling it but I think that just having a wonderful meal and a nice glass of champagne or good wine and watching the sun go down with your partner is all you need. Then when you get into the bedroom you just play with one another and have a lot of fun! Although not too much wine or else you can go the other way!"

As the conversation progressed we also discussed such varied and esoteric topics as Halle Berry’s topless scene in the movie Swordfish (“she’s such a dignified, beautiful woman and very capable of becoming a fantastic actress, but once you take your clothes off that’s all people remember”) her own nude photographs taken way back in Turkey (“they are probably floating around somewhere but you can’t see anything”) gay marriage (“I do think that same gender partners should be able to be married, why not? If you share a life together than who in the world should have anything to say about it?”) and religion (“I respect religion in general but not when it’s harmful to another group of people. You should always have respect for each other’s ways”) as well as our shared racially mixed heritage – we’re both white, black, and Native American (“Nothing has changed. Well, maybe a little bit, but we haven’t gotten through that barrier yet”).

We also touch briefly on Eartha’s tragic childhood. Born Eartha Mae in 1928 on a plantation in South Carolina, the light “yella-skinned” girl never knew her father and was rejected by both whites and blacks and ultimately abandoned by her mother.
I asked her if she’s ever gotten over her childhood pain.

"No. A hurt like that never disappears. It stays. But you try to use it constructively. Now people come out and say ‘I’m your cousin. I’m your uncle.’ But where were those people when I was being rejected and nobody wanted me because I’m illegitimate? Nobody knows who my father is. Well, some people know who my father is but they don’t talk because they think that he was the son of the plantation owner and therefore if I was to claim I was a relative of theirs I might be able to prove that they owe me some territory! I don’t hold anything against them, because I did OK, but I just don’t know who’s who and I never have."

As to whether she plans to continue performing, she replies, "Of course, why not? I love performing and I love live shows because it keeps me young. I love my work and I take my work very seriously but I don’t take Eartha Kitt very seriously, I think she’s a very funny woman and I think that that is why both Eartha Mae and Eartha Kitt have survived so well."