Eartha Kitt: An Original Black Girl in Paris

Eartha Kitt appeared in a play with Orson Welles in Paris

We all know that Eartha Kitt, the beloved entertainer, passed away on Christmas Day. Her death struck me harder than the typical celebrity passing, because just 4 months ago I had the privilege of seeing a live taping of her HistoryMakers special, “An Evening with Eartha Kitt.  She didn’t seem anywhere near her 81 years (my two Grandmas certainly weren’t wearing slinky velvet gowns at that age). And her high kicks, purrs, and bluntness made the interview unforgettable.

It was during this interview that I learned how critical the city of Paris was to her success as an entertainer. Like Josephine Baker, Eartha Kitt had come to Paris as a member of a dance troupe, and left as a star. She was an original “Black Girl in Paris,” whose time in the city transformed her life.

Eartha Kitt began her career as an entertainer with the Katherine Dunham dance troupe. The troupe had the opportunity to perform in Paris in 1950. For three months, Eartha and the troupe performed into the wee night. Kitt wrote of her Paris experience in her autobiography, Thursday’s Child.

"For three months we went to bed at dawn. It was inevitable that I was awakened practically every morning by a bottle of perfume, champagne, flowers, or just a date for lunch….Of course I could have refused a lot of dates and hospitality, but I didn’t want to miss anything."

Near the end of her engagement a nightclub owner offered her $245 a week to sing as his nightclub just off the Champs Elysées. She couldn’t resist the opportunity to begin her solo career.

"I looked at myself in the mirror, thinking I looked innocent enough for a cabaret act. As I was about to go on stage, Frede came in, took one look at me, and declared, 'Mon Dieu, where do you think you are going like that?' Rip went my angelic dress up the left lef to the middle of the thigh. Before I could say Jack Robinson, I was pushed on stage as the music blared up and I was being announced. “Ladies and gentlemen, we present to you a new discovery, Miss Eartha Kitt."

Movie director Orson Welles (of Citizen Kane fame) discovered Eartha during this nightclub stint and cast her as Helen Troy in his 1951 Paris production of the play Faust.

"After rehearsing all night, Orson would walk me up the Champs-Elysée to my hotel with the sun coming up. We would look at the sights, window-shop, and he would recite Shakespeare to me…Orson really introduced me to a marvelous gourmet type of living.”

Welles later called Eartha the “most exciting woman in the world.”

Unlike the Josephine Baker, Eartha Kitt didn’t make Paris her home.

"Paris always gave me the feeling of wanting to take everything you have: She will tease you into making love with her, but she won't let you stay too long . . ."

She returned to the United States to perform on Broadway and eventually she became a recording, television, and film star.

RIP Original Black Girl in Paris.

Comments

[kris]

i live in los angeles and laid pink roses on eartha's star in hollywood. loved her. been researchng paris for several years now. going june '09. big on the french afro-caribbean communities.

[Clara]

I knew she was older, but it still came as a shock. Not too many left from her generation.

Nice to see you're blogging again!

[Blackgirl on Mars]

Thanks for reminding us--she truly was a trail-blazer! For so many of us, she was like one of the few Black women to be seen on television.
Hugs from Cph,
the lab

[Ibou]

Eartha Kitt was a great performer and artist.