Eartha Kitt (1928-2008)

[tonyw]

Sadly, this distinguished actress, former dance performer with the Katherine Dunham Group, cabaret singer, and collaborator with Orson died today.

[Glenn Anders]

You beat me to it, tonyw.

Eartha Kitt, in her own way, was a kind of talent and human being fit to be at the side of Orson Welles. She was another of those rare artists, like Welles, who it is hard to imagine being imitated, scarcely equaled, certainly not replaced.

The NY Times obit noted:

"Orson Welles famously proclaimed her 'the most exciting woman alive' in the early ’50s, apparently just after that excitement prompted him to bite her onstage during a performance of “Time Runs,” an adaptation of “Faust” in which Ms. Kitt played Helen of Troy."

She had recently appeared on stage at a benefit with a protegee of mine, Nellie McKay.

Glenn

[Harvey Chartrand]

They're already talking about who should star in her biopic.
The following comment is in response to ABC News Online story headlined "Eartha Kitt, Sultry 'Santa Baby' Singer, Dies":

"I hope that the entertainment industry considers making a film that will accurately chronicle the life Eartha lived. I always thought that Thandie Newton favored Eartha; perhaps she could portray her in the biopic. Liev Schreiber could even reprise his Orson Welles portrayal..."

[Alan Brody]

I would love to have heard Eartha Kitt sing Duke Ellington's songs for Time Runs, but I don't think they were ever recorded. You would think that a theatrical collaboration between Orson Welles, Duke Ellington and Eartha Kitt would have drawn some attention from a recording studio, but apparently not.

[The Night Man]

This is somewhat tangential (maybe completely tangential), but I've been reading Whitney Balliett's "American Musicians: 56 Portraits in Jazz" and one of those portraits is of Duke Ellington. Written in 1970, and covering a day with the Duke (who was operating on only a few hours sleep), it ends thus:

Joe Morgen [Ellington's publicist] said, "Hey, Duke, you're on television now, with Orson Welles on the David Frost show."

Ellington opened his eyes, heaved himself to his feet, and moved rapidly out of the room, saying, "Oh, he's one of my favorite people - Orson Welles. I've got to see him."

It really is a shame that there's no record of their work together. Ah, well - another Welles project lost to the ages.

[Glenn Anders]

Well, we know that Orson Welles signed Duke Ellington to a contract, at $1000 a week, to musically supervise It's All True, which eventually evolved into Welles' Brazillian project. Our spiritual leader, Lawrence French, provided us with a contemporary timeline, back in 2007:

"July, 1941 Duke Ellington’s Jump for Joy opens at Mayan Theatre, Los Angeles. Reports of Ellington in a deal with Orson Welles for The Story of Jazz project make news.July 29, 1941 It’s All True registered by Welles as title for omnibus film incorporating The Story of Jazz, My Friend Bonito, John Fante’s Love Story and Robert Flaherty’s The Captain’s Chair. September 4, 1941Welles joins Norman Foster in Mexico to scout locations for My Friend Bonito, which Foster is to direct from a Robert Flaherty story.September 14, 1941 The four Jangadeiros set off from Iracema Beach in Z-1 Colony of Fortaleza in the Brazilian state of Ceará en route to Rio to see President Vargas. September 25, 1941 First test shots done for the Tienta sequence of My Friend Bonito at La Punta hacienda in Aguascalienies, Mexico.October 15, 1941 Downbeat Magazine carries It’s All True as title of Duke Ellington’s project with Orson Welles . . . . "

The American Jazz portion of this cultural medley stumbled out of the Hollywood jungle as NEW ORLEANS, in 1947, with another musical figure of interest to Welles in 1941, Louis Armstrong, as a main character, and in charge of the Dixieland band.

Glenn

[The Night Man]

Oops. What I meant to say was: It really is a shame that there's no recording of their work together (echoing Alan Brody's post).

Where the heck was that "edit" button when I needed it?