Eartha Kitt Dies

Eartha Kitt died today at the age of 81 from colon cancer.

Known worldwide as a self-proclaimed "sex kitten", famous for her catlike purr, Kitt was an incredibly versatile performer, winning two Emmys and nabbing a third nomination, as well as Tony and Grammy nominations, but probably best known for her role as Catwoman on the 1960’s Batman TV series, replacing Julie Newmar in 1967; and for singing the song "Santa Baby". She was once dubbed the "most exciting woman in the world" by Orson Welles– an assessment that’s hard to dispute.

She said in an interview for Harper’s Bazaar that "a gentleman who wrote [the late 1960s TV series] Batman said he wrote that character especially for me. He said, ‘You are a cat, you look like a cat, you act like a cat.’ "

If only she had eight more lives…