# The growl is silenced - Eartha Kitt dies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 25, 2008, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-growl-is-silenced-eartha-kitt-dies/478681 "2008-12-25T22:36:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2008, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-growl-is-silenced-eartha-kitt-dies/478681/1 "2008-12-25T22:36:23Z")
[Colon cancer, at the age of 81.](http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28386832/) From Santa Baby to Catwoman, quite a performer. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2008, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-growl-is-silenced-eartha-kitt-dies/478681/2 "2008-12-25T22:40:50Z")
My kids also loved her as Yzma in The Emperor’s New Groove. A very versatile lady who seemed to have a good sense of humor. ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2008, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-growl-is-silenced-eartha-kitt-dies/478681/3 "2008-12-25T22:45:32Z")
Aw, man. She was one of the greats, with the sexiest voice ever. What a loss. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2008, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-growl-is-silenced-eartha-kitt-dies/478681/4 "2008-12-25T22:59:57Z")
The only Catwoman worth a damn is gone. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2008, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-growl-is-silenced-eartha-kitt-dies/478681/5 "2008-12-25T23:07:21Z")
I’ve read that Orson Welles considered her the greatest love of his life save perhaps for Rita Hayworth, and that she had a major flame for him as well. They met when he cast her out of hundreds of unknown actresses as Helen of Troy in a production of Faustus he directed and starred in. It’s an odd twosome- she was so tiny and he was so not- but I can see the sensuality of both, especially in their prime. Somewhere Ladybird Johnson is incensed over her Christmas Party being crashed. ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2008, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-growl-is-silenced-eartha-kitt-dies/478681/6 "2008-12-25T23:23:40Z")
Beautiful lady. May she rest in peace. Q ---
**Author:** ![Mississippienne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d2c977/32.png) [@Mississippienne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mississippienne)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2008, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-growl-is-silenced-eartha-kitt-dies/478681/7 "2008-12-25T23:32:16Z")
Heartbreaking. I was just reading some interviews of hers and looking at photos earlier today! [Here’s a photo](http://pro.corbis.com/popup/Enlargement.aspx?mediauids=%7B8bff5439-796d-410d-b24e-f6c938ab63e2%7D%7C%7Bffffffff-ffff-ffff-ffff-ffffffffffff%7D&qsPageNo=3&fdid=&Area=Search&TotalCount=158&CurrentPos=11&WinID=%7B8bff5439-796d-410d-b24e-f6c938ab63e2%7D) of her and her then-husband Bill McDonald holding their infant daughter Kitty, in 1961. Eartha looks so happy. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2008, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-growl-is-silenced-eartha-kitt-dies/478681/8 "2008-12-26T00:06:30Z")
Aw, she was wonderful. She had a helluva life! I had to laugh at this part of the OP’s link: > [@](#): > > For four years afterward, Kitt performed almost exclusively overseas. She was investigated by the FBI and CIA, which allegedly found her to be foul-mouthed and promiscuous. Ooooh, scary lady! > [@Mississippienne](#): > > Heartbreaking. I was just reading some interviews of hers and looking at photos earlier today! [Here’s a photo](http://pro.corbis.com/popup/Enlargement.aspx?mediauids=%7B8bff5439-796d-410d-b24e-f6c938ab63e2%7D%7C%7Bffffffff-ffff-ffff-ffff-ffffffffffff%7D&qsPageNo=3&fdid=&Area=Search&TotalCount=158&CurrentPos=11&WinID=%7B8bff5439-796d-410d-b24e-f6c938ab63e2%7D) of her and her then-husband Bill McDonald holding their infant daughter Kitty, in 1961. Eartha looks so happy. My first thought was “Kitty Kitt” Really? Cool!" but then I realized she would be Kitty McDonald. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2008, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-growl-is-silenced-eartha-kitt-dies/478681/9 "2008-12-26T00:56:54Z")
“Santa Baby…” And here’s the little tyke, all growed up: > **[KITT MCDONALD IS WED TO CHARLES L. SHAPIRO (Published 1987)](https://www.nytimes.com/1987/06/14/style/kitt-mcdonald-is-wed-to-charles-l-shapiro.html)** ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2008, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-growl-is-silenced-eartha-kitt-dies/478681/10 "2008-12-26T01:01:53Z")
When “The Emperor’s New School” was created, I thought the guy they got as Kuzco did a pretty passable David Spade impression. I cannot imagine they could ever do that for Eartha Kitt in a million years. ---
**Author:** ![Mississippienne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d2c977/32.png) [@Mississippienne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mississippienne)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2008, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-growl-is-silenced-eartha-kitt-dies/478681/11 "2008-12-26T01:20:02Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > “Santa Baby…” > > And here’s the little tyke, all growed up: > > [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DE1DF103EF937A25755C0A961948260](http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DE1DF103EF937A25755C0A961948260) Kitt now goes by her ex-husband’s name, Shapiro (she had two children with him). She’s married to a Rothschild now, but I don’t know if he’s one of THE Rothschilds. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2008, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-growl-is-silenced-eartha-kitt-dies/478681/12 "2008-12-26T01:45:33Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > When “The Emperor’s New School” was created, I thought the guy they got as Kuzco did a pretty passable David Spade impression. > > I cannot imagine they could ever do that for Eartha Kitt in a million years. Eartha received two Daytime Emmys and three Annies for her work as Yzma (and Principal Amzy)- strangely, she didn’t get many other awards in her lifetime. Either way, an unforgettable voice no matter how she used it. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2008, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-growl-is-silenced-eartha-kitt-dies/478681/13 "2008-12-26T03:47:07Z")
“Santa Baby” gets played a lot on radio over here this time of year. RIP. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2008, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-growl-is-silenced-eartha-kitt-dies/478681/14 "2008-12-26T03:57:59Z")
I’m firmly convinced that her death was a hit. Cats were jealous of the fact that her purr could reduce any man to a puddle. ---
**Author:** ![Daffyd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daffyd/32/8923_2.png) [@Daffyd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daffyd)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2008, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-growl-is-silenced-eartha-kitt-dies/478681/15 "2008-12-26T04:34:34Z")
[Here’s](http://earthakitt.tribe.net/photos/ffd1d25d-7825-4f33-bf3c-ce410fa733ea) a pic of Eartha and Kitt… Eartha was loved by the Gay community in the 80’s… She will be missed… ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2008, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-growl-is-silenced-eartha-kitt-dies/478681/16 "2008-12-26T05:48:33Z")
> [@Mississippienne](#): > > Kitt now goes by her ex-husband’s name, Shapiro (she had two children with him). She’s married to a Rothschild now, but I don’t know if he’s one of THE Rothschilds. [Doesn’t appear to be](http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990CE0D7163BF935A15756C0A9649C8B63). Rest in peace, Catwoman. =^..^= ---
**Author:** ![choie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/choie/32/7829_2.png) [@choie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choie)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2008, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-growl-is-silenced-eartha-kitt-dies/478681/17 "2008-12-26T07:27:19Z")
Aw man. Another woman who reminded me of my late mom, gone – joining Suzanne Pleshette and Anne Bancroft. She was one of a kind. I remember as a youngster seeing her in _Timbuktu_, an all-black revival of _Kismet_ on Broadway. She played the Vizier’s wife, a seductive, supremely confident dame (in other words, a pretty typical Kitt role). I’ll never forget her entrance–borne aloft by a set of hunky, barely dressed courtiers, she rode silent, calm and supine amid tremendous pomp and tumbling acrobatics. Finally the procession stopped when her chair was set down and – in the sudden quiet–she stared into the audience, smiled like a well-sated cat, and murmured in That Voice: _“I’m here.”_ Needless to say, the audience went wild. I’d kinda like to think that if there’s a heaven, that’s precisely how she made her entrance. ---
**Author:** ![Uvula\_Donor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e19adc/32.png) [@Uvula\_Donor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uvula_Donor)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2008, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-growl-is-silenced-eartha-kitt-dies/478681/18 "2008-12-26T07:50:07Z")
\ **Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2008, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-growl-is-silenced-eartha-kitt-dies/478681/19 "2008-12-26T10:21:28Z") > [@Daffyd](#): > > [URL=“[http://earthakitt.tribe.net/photos/ffd1d25d-7825-4f33-bf3c-ce410fa733ea](http://earthakitt.tribe.net/photos/ffd1d25d-7825-4f33-bf3c-ce410fa733ea)”]Eartha was loved by the Gay community in the 80’s.. She will be missed… Not just in the 80s; she has always been one of our Divas, and always will be. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2008, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-growl-is-silenced-eartha-kitt-dies/478681/20 "2008-12-26T12:26:07Z")
I didn’t realize that catwoman sang Santa Baby until I heard of her passing. Dang. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-growl-is-silenced-eartha-kitt-dies/478681.md?page=2)