An Evening With Eartha Kitt

This hour-long, one-on-one interview program is unique and one of a kind because it is the last interview and performance recorded of entertainment legend, Eartha Kitt. The program provides a rare, inside look into the life and career of Eartha Kitt. Taped live in Chicago, Illinois at Northwestern University School of Law’s Thorne Auditorium on Saturday, September 20, 2008, this program is the fourteenth in The HistoryMakers’ An Evening With. . . series. PBS journalist Gwen Ifill interviewed Kitt, while McDonald’s Corporation served as the event’s presenting sponsor.

Born in the South of mixed parentage but raised in Harlem, New York, Kitt was one of only a handful of performers to be nominated for a Tony (three times), a Grammy (twice), and an Emmy Award (twice). She distinguished herself in film, theater, cabaret, music and on television. The interview covers her childhood, her musical and acting careers in the U.S. and abroad, and her experiences working with such greats as Sidney Poitier and Orson Welles. The program ends with three musical performances by Kitt (“Ain’t Misbehavin’,” “La Vie En Rose,” “Here’s to Life”). Eartha Kitt, an international star, gave new meaning to the word versatile. She helped pave the way for the successes of future African American entertainers. Kitt’s life provides a strong example of how someone’s dreams and hard work combine to create a successful career. She is an American icon and will be truly missed! Produced by The HistoryMakers, the nation’s largest African American video oral history archive, An Evening With Eartha Kitt is enlightening, engaging and provides rich insight on one of entertainment’s all-time greats.

The HistoryMakers would like to thank Kitt’s publicist, Andrew Freeman, Kitt’s pianist for twenty years, Daryl Waters, Kitt’s daughter and manager, Kitt Shapiro and Gwen Ifill. The HistoryMakers would also like to thank its staff, interns, volunteers, event co-chairs, benefit committee members and corporate sponsors for making An Evening With Eartha Kitt possible.

To see when An Evening With Eartha Kitt will air on PBS in your area click here to go to the PBS website (Click Check Local Listings)

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Kitt and Ifill enjoy a clip from Batman.

Eartha Kitt performing for the last time (“Ain’t Misbehavin’”)

Back stage with Gwen Ifill, Kitt Shapiro, Eartha Kitt, Margaret Richardson and Julieanna Richardson

Eartha Kitt

A performer in the truest sense of the word, Eartha Kitt’s career has spanned over six decades making her legendary in the world of entertainment. Growing up in South Carolina during the Great Depression, Kitt eventually moved to New York City where she started her career as a Katherine Dunham Dancer. Performing in Blue Holiday, Bal Negre, and Casbah allowed Kitt to travel the world, prompting her to leave the Dunham Dance Troupe to pursue a solo career. In Paris, Kitt played Helen of Troy in Orson Welles’ production of Faust. Welles called Kitt the most exciting woman in the world. Returning to America, Kitt performed in New Faces of 1952, and appeared on the silver screen in: St. Louis Blues, Ana Lucasta, The Mark of the Hawk, and Boomerang. In 1953, Kitt signed a five year recording contract with RCA records.

Kitt is not just an entertainer; she is also the author of three autobiographies: Thursday’s Child, Alone With Me, and Confessions of a Sex Kitten, as well as a health book: Rejuvenate! It’s Never Too Late. Most recently, Kitt appeared in the Disney movie The Emperor’s New Groove, and Disney Channel’s spin off The Emperor’s New School. Kitt just finished performing to sold out audiences at the Café Carlyle, New York. We are pleased to have her as our 2008 celebrity HistoryMaker.

Gwen Ifill

Pioneering journalist Gwen Ifill was born in Queens, New York in 1955. After earning her B.A. degree in Communications from Simmons College in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1977, Ifill was hired by The Boston Herald American in the midst of the city’s notorious busing crisis. Starting out as a food critic, Ifill had her first taste of politics while covering school board meetings in Boston. After joining the Baltimore Evening Sun, she moved to covering national politics. In 1984, Ifill was hired by The Washington Post; and in 1991, she became the White House correspondent for The New York Times. In 1994, she was named the chief Congressional correspondent for NBC; and in 1999, she became the moderator of PBS’ Washington Week in Review, as well as a correspondent for The News Hour with Jim Lehrer. In October of 2004, Ifill became the first African American woman to moderate a vice-presidential debate.