Kitt Eartha, *26 January 1928 North (South Carolina), †25 December 2008 Weston, American singer, actress and dancer. She grew up on her father’s farm; when she was nine years old, she began studying dance at the High School of Performing Arts in Harlem. She also learned to play the piano and sang in the church choir. In 1944, she received a scholarship that enabled her to continue her dance training with the famous Katherine Dunham Company, which brought together African-American artists. She soon received an engagement and an offer to tour South America and Europe, and it was then that she made a name for herself as a talented singer. In 1950, while performing in Paris, she decided to leave the company and remain in Europe. She began her solo career in small nightclubs in Paris; over time, her dramatic vocal interpretations (also in foreign languages), stage presence, exotic beauty, personal charm, and sensual voice timbre won her a large following throughout Europe. Kitt’s acting potential was noticed by director O. Welles, who cast her in the role of Margaret in his 1950 production of Faust (Time Runs). After her successes in Europe, she returned to the United States; in 1952, she made her American debut at the Village Vanguard club in New York, where she performed, among others, the song C’est si bon. In 1953, she recorded this song with H. René’s orchestra, gaining worldwide fame. From the mid-1950s almost until her death, she remained a constant presence in American musical life – in film, television, recording studios, theatres, and clubs. She published two volumes of memoirs: Thursday’s Child (1956) and Alone With Me (1975).
