Batmania United Kingdom Eartha Kitt as Catwoman

"We felt it was a very provocative idea," recalled producer Charles FitzSimons about executive producer Bill Dozier's selection of Eartha Kitt as Catwoman. "She was a cat woman before we ever cast her as Catwoman. She had a cat-like style. Her eyes were cat-like and her singing was like a meow. This came as a wonderful off-beat idea to do it with a black woman." Noted Yvonne Craig, "I thought Eartha was perfect because she was very catlike anyway. And I liked that she was my size. I could beat her up. I come up to Julie [Newmar]'s bellybutton. Not good in a fight." But Kitt lacked Julie Newmar's statuesque sexiness. The usual romance between Catwoman and Batman was missing in Kitt's episodes, in part, probably due to Kitt's race.

Alan Napier (Alfred) : " Julie Newmar was the best Catwoman, but Eartha Kitt was kind of marvelous. She did complain a lot on the set though."

~* Eartha Kitt *~

Eartha Kitt was born on January 26th 1928 in South Carolina. When she was eight she went to live with her auntie in Harlem. In high school she got involved in productions, performing arts and studied dance, she took piano lessons and sang in her school choir. When she was 16 she joined theKatherine Dunham Dance Troupe and toured Europe. While in Europe she decided she enjoyed singing rather than acting. Orson Wells named her "the most exciting women in the world" and signed Eartha up to star as Helen of Troy in his production of Dr. Fraust in France, Paris. Eartha's first film she starred in was Time Runs, an Osten Wells film. I think one of her most remebering roles of Eartha Kitt's career is most probably Catwoman which she acted at the end of 1967 and into 1968, i'm not sure if this is true but she apprently she played this role so Batman could fall in love with Batgirl (who appered in the same season as when Batgirl arrived) instead of Catwoman who was origionally performed by Julie Newmar!! While in a lunchoen at the White House in 1968 she denounced the Vietnam War in front of Mrs Johnson (the 36th president of USA), which led her to blacklisting which meant that she could not get a job in America for 6 years. She now lives I think in Westchester, New York where she still performs even today at the age of 74, in broadway musicals like "The Wild Party".

A Quote by Eartha Kitt:
"As long as that audience gives me the type of applause that they gave me tonight, why shouldn't I go on?"

~* Trivia *~

1. Eartha Kitt's Catwoman drove around in a "Catmobile"
2. Eartha Kitt only appeared in three episodes!

~* Sounds *~

Catwoman (Eartha Kitt) : "The mere thought of pulling a caper without your masked meddling would be most purrrrrturbing to me !!" (Requires Real Player) From David Sutton's Website!