Catwomen: Eartha Kitt

Ranking my top five Catwoman performances in film and television.

Click here for the previous entry in the Catwomen rankings.

3. Eartha Kitt, Batman (1966–1968)

In the 1960s, casting Eartha Kitt as Catwoman in Batman had to be considered a bold move. Women of color were rarely given prominent roles on television before this. With Julie Newmar (stay tuned, she's still to come in the countdown) unable to don the sleek and sexy cat-suit for the series' third and final season (due to a movie commitment), talented performer and singer Kitt stepped into the stiletto boots and turned in a memorable series of appearances. From Bat-Mania:

'We felt it was a very provocative idea,' recalled producer Charles FitzSimons about executive producer Bill Dozier’s selection of Eartha Kitt as Catwoman; 'She was a cat woman before we ever cast her as Catwoman. She had a cat-like style. Her eyes were cat-like and her singing was like a meow. This came as a wonderful off-beat idea to do it with a black woman.'

Wonderfully off-beat as it may have been for the times, Kitt's turn as Catwoman also brought new dimensions to the live-action version of the character. She was fierce and independent, cunning and at times ruthless. Unfortunately, this being the 1960s, there was zero flirtation between Adam West's Batman and Kitt's Catwoman. Not long after Batman's final season concluded, Star Trek would boldly go where no American show had gone before, with Captain Kirk (William Shatner) and Uhuru (Nichelle Nichols) historically locking lips in prime time.

Kitt was a fine match for the series' high camp tone and aesthetic. When she purred and rolled her "r's" she actually sounded like a cat. From the voice, to the look, to how she carried herself, Kitt was confident and assured in her one season of Cat-action.

Ultimately though, she stood as a symbolic breakthrough for countless women of color, and especially those of my generation who grew up watching Kitt in reruns in the 1970s and 1980s. She was an early example of representation in twentieth-century popular culture, and how representation helps kids to dream and to reach for the stars, because they see someone who looks like them doing something as awesome as playing Catwoman. Even today, she continues to inspire legions of fans.

For cultural and societal impact alone, Eartha Kitt ranks high on the list of best Catwoman performances. On top of that, she's charismatic and memorable in the part, which only adds to her Cat-greatness.

Comments

Paul SAugust 12, 2018 at 5:24 AM
Eartha Kitt camped it up purrfectly. She even lived at 32 Pussyfoot road. It doesn't get much better than this.
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