Q & A

GEORGE WAYNE

Back to Eartha

Eartha Kitt made an indelible turn on TV as Catwoman in Batman, but she will always be most celebrated for her cabaret persona as a gold-digging vamp, still making married men nervous in Cafe Carlyle appearances. This summer Kitt augments her cabaret schedule with a nationwide tour in a stage version of Cinderella, playing the Fairy Godmother. Fittingly, the performer with the ageless feline snarl, who was orphaned at an early age, found out the exact date of her birth only two years ago. And here Kitt, who recently published her fifth book, Rejuvenate! It's Never Too Late, shows how, at age 74, c'est si ton—and just getting better.

George Wayne:From reading your latest book, its obvious that Ms. Kitt at 74 still maintains a rigorous workout regimen. She is still even able to do somersaults!

Eartha Kitt:Yes, so what are you asking me?

GW.It seems that Ms. Kitt is almost fanatical about her jogging and her stretching.

E.K. No, I'm not fanatical about anything. I just believe in keeping myself physically fit.

G.W.Eartha Kitt can be haughty; she can be aloof, as cold as ice, and that's when she is being pleasant.

She is not an easy person to warm up to.

E.K. Yes, because I don't like wallowing in a lot of nonsense, and people meandering up to me because of who I am.

G.W.Like it or not, Eartha Kitt will go to her grave being described as a "sex kitten." In your new book, you say, "A great meal can bring on a desire for sex"For Ms. Kitt, a green salad with a vinegarand-olive-oil dressing is enough to make her homy.

E.K. It's enough to make anyone homy if you like what you're eating.

G.W.She even considers a baked potato an aphrodisiac.

E.K. Did I say that?

G.W.Yes.

E.K. A baked sweet potato.

G.W.Isn't it one of your best-kept secrets that you had sex with Orson Welles circa 1950?

E.K. I never had sex with Orson Welles. I played opposite him in his production of Dr. Faustus, as Helen of Troy. It was a working situation and nothing else.

G.W.Another interesting revelation from your new book is that you like to walk around your house naked, even outdoors.

E.K. Yes, it's true, because I like the fresh air breathing on my body. And I like the feeling of being reju venated through the auspices of the gods.

FOR DETAILS, SEE CREDITS PAGE

G.W.Tell me about January 18, 1968: the White House luncheon you probably wish you had never gone to.

E.K. I'm glad I did go to it. I was asked to go to give my opinions about the problems among the young people at the time, and getting involved with the Vietnam War. And when I raised my hand and was given the floor by Mrs. Johnson, that is what I told her. G.W.You expressed your opposition to the war, which upset the F.B.I. and C.I.A. and got you blacklisted for years. Where did you gather the strength and courage to move on, knowing in your heart that you didn't do anything wrong?

E.K. That I didn't do anything wrong—that gave me the strength. Parents still thank me for helping to stop the war.

G.W.Do you ever have any regrets for not having a significant other for any lengthy period of time? You were married once, but for only five years.

E.K. Once was enough. And I had the most beautiful child from that marriage. So whatever the marriage was like, I was tremendously rewarded for that. G.W.Of your more than 30 albums, which is the definitive Eartha Kitt? E.K. Eartha Kitt at the Plaza—that's my favorite.

G.W.You've met some remarkable minds in your time, including Albert Einstein.

E.K. I was going down a list of orphanages that I give money to. Every year I close my eyes and I go down the line with my finger, and where it stops is the one I give the money to. It happened that that year I wanted to meet Dr. Einstein. Everybody told me it was impossible. But as I was writing the check to this orphanage, I asked if there was anybody there who could introduce me to Dr. Einstein. It so happened that the mistress of the orphanage knew his secretary, and that's how I got to meet him. And I went to see him in Princeton and had tea with him. I think it was on December 11, 1954. G.W.And what was your first impression?

E.K. It was as if I had known him all my life. We talked about American musical theater and German theater. He was wearing a gray Mickey Mouse Tshirt, and his hair was sticking out as if he had just put his finger in an electric plug. I remember he spoke in German to me standing at the top of the stairs—"Why does such a young person want to meet such an old man like me?"

G.W.You have said that if someone gave you a diamond you would probably hock it.

E.K. I probably would because I like land better. To hold on to material things is an aberration.