Five Things Unsung Taught Us: Eartha Kitt
1. Catfight on "Boomerang" Set
OK, we may have exaggerated a bit but turns out Grace Jones and Eartha literally tried to out “cat” each other with a series of “meows” and claw-fingers. We hear Eartha won.
2. Secret Lovers
Word on the “St. Louis Blues” movie set was that Eartha and Nat King Cole were a little too close and while she denied it for years, Eartha apparently copped to an affair with her married co-star later in life.
3. Singing in Tongues
Rihanna is no joke. Bey is a queen but neither of them could sing like Eartha — literally. As “Creed” and “Selma” actress Tessa Thompson tells us in the episode. Ms. Kitt could speak four languages and sing in seven.
4. Don't Cross This Black Cat
While we’ve seen some superhero geeks rage as Nick Fury and Spider-Man were recast as people of color on screen and in comics, the world barely blinked when Eartha Kitt put on the tights to play Catwoman on the 1960’s “Batman” TV series.
5. Colorblind Love
Eartha didn’t discriminate when it came to finding her next boo which was saying something in the 1950s and 60s. She was connected to prominent white men like Orson Wells (pictured) and was engaged to the heir of MGM studios only to be rejected by the family matriarch.
