NEW YORK (AP) — A family friend says 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. She was 81.
Andrew Freedman says Kitt died Thursday of colon cancer and was recently treated at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in New York.
Kitt, a self-proclaimed "sex kitten" famous for her catlike purr, was one of America's most versatile performers, winning two Emmys and getting a third nomination. She also was nominated for two Tony Awards and a Grammy.
She was one of three actresses who played The Catwoman on TV.
She was an Emmy winner and was also nominated for Tony and Grammy Awards.
And she was a singer most associated with an infamous Christmas song.
So it's ironic that she died on December 25th.
Eartha Kitt was an actress, dancer and a chanteuse whose most famous song may well be "Santa Baby," a sexy ode to St. Nick that still gets played on radio stations worldwide every year. She succumbed to colon cancer on Thursday.
Kitt began life as a poor child who worked in South Carolina cotton fields and rose to become a sophisticated symbol of elegance and sensuality.
She was a frequent guest on talk shows, like Johnny Carson, and became famed for her often sexy responses to provocative questions.
But Kitt is best remembered by modern generations as one of three women to have played Batman's nemesis on the iconic 60s TV show named after the cowled crusader.
Lee Meriwether and Julie Newmar also essayed the famous role, but it was Kitt who put her infamous trademark 'purr' to work and for many, she was the greatest of the trio.
Eartha Kitt was 81.
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