His Master's Voice is a famous trademark in the music business, and for many years was the name of a large record label. The name was coined in 1899 as the title of a painting of the dog Nipper listening to a wind-up gramophone. In the photograph on which the painting was based, the dog was listening to a cylinder phonograph.

Origins

The famous trademark image comes from a painting by English artist Francis Barraud, A.R.A. and titled His Master's Voice. It was acquired from the artist in 1899 by the newly-formed Gramophone Company. According to contemporary Gramophone Company publicity material, the dog, a fox terrier called Nipper, had originally belonged to Barraud's brother Mark. When Mark Barraud died, Francis inherited Nipper, along with a cylinder phonograph and a number of recordings of Mark's voice. Francis noted the peculiar interest that the dog took in the recorded voice of his late master emanating from the trumpet, and conceived the idea of committing the scene to canvas.

In early 1899, Francis Barraud applied for copyright of the original painting using the descriptive working title Dog looking at and listening to a Phonograph. He was unable to sell the work to any cylinder phonograph company, but The Gramophone Company purchased it later that year, under the condition that Barraud modify it to show one of their disc machines. The image was first used on the company's publicity material in 1900, and additional copies were subsequently commissioned from the artist for various corporate purposes.

Later, at the request of the gramophone's inventor Emile Berliner, the American rights to the picture became owned by the Victor Talking Machine Company. Victor used the image more aggressively than its UK partner, and from 1902 on all Victor records had a simplified drawing of the dog and gramophone from Barraud's painting on their label. Magazine advertisements urged record buyers to "Look for the dog".

The Gramophone Company becomes "His Master's Voice"

released by HMV]] In Commonwealth countries, the Gramophone Company did not use this design on its record labels until 1909. The following year the Gramophone Company replaced the Recording Angel trademark in the upper half of the record labels by the famous picture painted by Frances Barraud, commonly referred to as Nipper or The Dog.

The company was not formally called "HMV" or His Master's Voice, but was identified by that term because of its use of the trademark. Records issued by the Company before February 1908 were generally referred to as "G&Ts;", while those after that date are usually called "HMV" records.

This image continued to be used as a trademark by Victor in the USA, Canada and Latin America, and then by Victor's successor RCA. In Commonwealth countries (except Canada) it was used by subsidiaries of the Gramophone Company, which ultimately became part of EMI.

The trademark's ownership is divided among different companies in different countries, reducing its value in the globalised music market. The name HMV is used by a chain of music shops owned by HMV Group plc, mainly in the UK, Ireland, Canada, Singapore, Australia, Hong Kong, and Japan.

In 1921 the Gramophone Company opened the first HMV shop in London. In 1929 RCA bought Victor, and with it a major shareholding in the Gramophone Company which Victor had owned since 1920.

In 1931 RCA was instrumental in the creation of EMI, which continued to own the "His Master's Voice" name and image in the UK. In 1935 RCA sold its stake in EMI but continued to own Victor and the rights to His Master's Voice in the Americas. HMV continued to distribute RCA recordings until RCA severed its ties with EMI in 1957 which led EMI to buy Capitol Records.

World War II fragmented the ownership of the name still further, as RCA Victor's Japanese subsidiary The Victor Company of Japan (JVC) became independent, and today they still use the "Victor" brand and Nipper in Japan only. Nipper continued to appear on RCA Victor records in America (except for a period from around 1968 to 1977), while EMI owned the His Master's Voice label in the UK until the 1980s, and the HMV shops until 1998.

In 1967, EMI converted the HMV label into an exclusive classical music label and dropped its POP series of popular music. HMV's POP series artists' roster was moved to Columbia Graphophone and licenced American POP record deals to Stateside Records.

The globalised market for CDs pushed EMI into abandoning the HMV label in favour of "EMI Classics", a name they could use worldwide; however, it was revived in 1988 for Morrissey recordings. The HMV trademark is now owned by the retail chain in the UK. The formal trademark transfer from EMI took place in 2003.

Meanwhile, RCA went into a financial decline. The dog and gramophone image, along with the RCA name, is now licensed by RCA Records and RCA Victor owner Sony Music Entertainment from Thomson SA, which operates RCA's consumer electronics business (still promoted by Nipper the dog) that it bought from General Electric in 1986, after GE bought RCA. The image of "His Master's Voice" now exists in the United States as a trademark only on radios and radios combined with phonographs, a trademark owned by Thomson subsidiary RCA Trademark Management SA.

With that exception, the "His Master's Voice" dog and gramophone image is in the public domain in the USA, its United States trademark registrations having expired in 1989 (for sound recordings and phonograph cabinets), 1992 (television sets, television-radio combination sets), and 1994 (sound recording and reproducing machines, needles, and records).

Additional notes

The "His Master's Voice" logo was used around the world, and the motto became well-known in different languages. In Europe these include "La Voix de son Maître" (France), "La Voz de su Amo" (Spain), "A Voz do seu Dono" (Portugal), "La Voce del Padrone" (Italy), "Die Stimme seines Herrn" (Germany), "Husbondens Röst" (Sweden) and "Sahibinin Sesi" (Turkey).

On 1 April, 2007, HMV Group announced that Gromit, the animated dog of Wallace and Gromit fame, would stand in for Nipper for a three-month period, promoting children's DVDs in its UK stores.

The 1958 LP album "Elvis' Golden Records" shows pictures of various RCA 45s with Nipper on their labels. On the British version, these images were blacked out, for obvious copyright reasons. This editing took place with many other RCA releases in England.

The movie Superman Returns (2006) contains a scene early on set in Kansas, in which a "His Master's Voice" radio is clearly shown. His Master's Voice radios have never been sold in the USA, due to RCA holding the "Nipper" copyright. The movie was made in Australia, and the nearest "prop" was obviously used.

Homage is played to the iconic dog and gramophone image in the 1999 feature film Wild Wild West where in a dog resembling Nipper runs to the side of a recently departed character and looks into an ear horn. The film however, is set in 1869, 30 years before Barraud created his work.

HMV Group PLC

The name HMV is still used by the chain of entertainment shops founded by Gramophone Company in the UK and Canada, which continued to expand internationally through the 1990s.

In 1998 HMV Media was created as a separate company leaving EMI with a 43% stake. The firm bought the Waterstone's chain of bookshops and merged them with Dillons.

In 2002 it floated on the London Stock Exchange as HMV Group plc, leaving EMI with only a token holding. HMV shops in Australia, Ireland and the UK also use Nipper. HMV has applied for trademark status in order to use Nipper at HMV stores in Canada.

As of August 2006, there are over 400 HMV stores worldwide, plus the website hmv.com, which is operated by HMV Guernsey.

See also

Victor Talking Machine Company

EMI

RCA Records

List of record labels

Nipper

The Gramophone Company

List of HMV POP artists

References

External links

Musée des ondes Emile Berlliner

Category:British record labels Category:EMI RCA Category:Thomson SA

Name	Leona Lewis
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Leona Louise Lewis
Born	April 03, 1985 Islington, London, England
Genre	Pop, R&B;
Occupation	Singer-songwriter
Years active	2006–present
Label	Syco, J
Url

Leona Louise Lewis (born 3 April 1985) is a British

Lewis's debut single "A Moment Like This" became the fastest selling UK single after being downloaded over 50,000 times within thirty minutes of its release. In November 2008 she set a record in the UK for the fastest selling download-only release with her cover version of the Snow Patrol song "Run" which sold 69,244 copies in two days. Lewis's debut tour, The Labyrinth, took place in 2010.

Early life

Lewis was born in the London Borough of Islington, to Aural Josiah "Joe" Lewis of Afro-Guyanese descent, and Maria Lewis of Welsh, Italian and Irish descent. Her parents enrolled her at the Sylvia Young Theatre School, and from there she attended the Italia Conti Academy and the BRIT School, where she learned to play instruments such as the guitar and piano, in the hope of becoming a singer-songwriter. Lewis wrote her first full-length song at the age of 12. She initially trained in opera, but went on to singing jazz and blues, eventually leading to popular music, citing Minnie Riperton, Eva Cassidy and Stevie Wonder as her main influences. recording a demo album called Twilight. The album, almost exclusively comprising her own compositions, was recorded under Spiral Music, a production company based in Fulham. "I tried to secure a record deal by doing things my own way. I worked very hard but I never managed to land a contract", said Lewis. Other demos were recorded under licence from UEG Entertainment, later included on an album called Best Kept Secret.

Music career

2006: The X Factor

, November 2006.]] Lewis auditioned for the third series of The X Factor in 2006, singing "Over the Rainbow". She was mentored by Simon Cowell and was announced the winner on 16 December 2006, winning a £1 million recording contract.

Her debut single, a cover of Kelly Clarkson's "A Moment Like This", was released on CD on 20 December 2006, and was available as a digital download from midnight on 17 December. It broke a world record after it was downloaded 50,000 times in thirty minutes. On 24 December, "A Moment Like This" was crowned the 2006 UK Christmas number-one single, having sold 571,253 copies, outselling the rest of the Top 40's sales combined. The single became the most downloaded song in 2006; it stayed at number one for four weeks and stayed at the top spot in the Irish Singles Chart for six weeks.

2007–2009: Spirit and international breakthrough

In February 2007, Lewis signed a £5 million ($9.7 million) five-album contract in the United States with Clive Davis's record label, J Records, and showcased for several American music executives. A press release was sent out revealing that Cowell and Davis would work together in a first-of-its-kind partnership on both the song and producer selection for Lewis's debut album, entitled Spirit. Lewis recorded tracks for the album in London, Miami, Los Angeles, New York City, and Atlanta, where she worked with several songwriters and record producers including Dallas Austin, Walter Afanasieff, Salaam Remi, Stargate and Ne-Yo. It was released in November 2007 and entered both the Irish Albums Chart and the UK Albums Chart at number one, becoming the fastest-selling debut album in both countries, and the United Kingdom's fourth fastest selling album of all time. It was released in several other nations in January 2008, and went to number one in New Zealand, Australia, Austria, Germany, South Africa and Switzerland. Two further tracks were recorded in 2008 for the US release of the album: "Forgive Me", produced by Akon, and "Misses Glass", produced by Madd Scientist. It was released in the United States in April 2008 and entered the Billboard 200 at number one, making Lewis the first British artist to reach number one with a debut album. A special edition of Spirit was re-released in November 2008 in Europe, including the songs "Forgive Me", "Misses Glass" and a cover of the Snow Patrol song "Run". The album again went to number one in the UK Albums Chart. To date the album has sold over 6.5 million copies worldwide

Pre Grammy Gala in 2009]] Lewis's second single, "Bleeding Love", produced by Ryan Tedder and written by Tedder and Jesse McCartney, was released in October 2007 in the UK, where it sold 218,805 copies in its first week, giving it the biggest first-week sales of 2007 to date. It entered the UK Singles Chart at number one, where it stayed for seven weeks, and in the Irish Singles Chart it remained at number one for eight weeks. It reached number one in the singles charts of New Zealand, Australia, France, Germany, Norway, Switzerland, Belgium, The Netherlands, Austria, Canada and the United States. "Bleeding Love" won The Record of the Year in December 2007. In February 2008, "Bleeding Love" entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 85 and then went on to peak at number one for four non-consecutive weeks. The song became the first track by a UK female to reach number one since Kim Wilde's "You Keep Me Hangin' On" in 1987. Lewis's third single, a double A-side featuring "Better in Time" and "Footprints in the Sand", was released in the United Kingdom in March 2008, in aid of Sport Relief, and she visited South Africa for the charity. The single reached a peak of number two in the UK singles chart selling over 40,000 copies in its first week of physical release. "Better in Time" was released as Lewis's second single in the US, where it peaked at number 11 in the Billboard Hot 100. "Forgive Me" was released as Lewis's fifth single in November 2008; it reached number five in the UK. "Run" was released as a download-only single in the UK, reaching number one, and becoming the UK's fastest-selling download-only single with 69,244 copies sold in two days. Lewis's last single from Spirit, "I Will Be", was released in January 2009, only in North America; it peaked at number 66 on the Billboard Hot 100.

In August 2008, she performed "Whole Lotta Love" with guitarist Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin at the 2008 Summer Olympics closing ceremony in Beijing, representing the handover to London as the host of the 2012 Summer Olympics. In September 2008, she joined several female singers to perform a single for the anti-cancer campaign Stand Up to Cancer. The single, titled "Just Stand Up!", was performed live during the one-hour telethon that aired on all major US television networks. Lewis received three nominations for the 51st Grammy Awards in December 2008. "Bleeding Love" was nominated for Record of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and Spirit was nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album. She was nominated for four BRIT Awards, in the categories British Female Solo Artist, British Breakthrough Act, British Album for Spirit, and British Single for "Bleeding Love", but despite being the favourite to win the most awards, she received none. She won two awards at the 2008 MOBO Awards: Best Album for Spirit and Best Video for "Bleeding Love". In December 2008 Lewis was named 'Top New Artist' by Billboard magazine.

2009–2010: Echo and The Labyrinth

Lewis's second album, Echo, was given a worldwide release in November 2009. Production took place throughout 2009, including work with Ryan Tedder, Justin Timberlake, Max Martin, Arnthor Birgisson, Kevin Rudolf, and John Shanks. It was recorded in Los Angeles and took nine months to produce. Lewis described the album as "more guitar-driven" compared to Spirit. Lewis performed her first full UK show at the Hackney Empire in London on 2 November 2009, performing songs from Spirit and Echo. Echo reached number one in the UK Albums Chart and the top ten of Austria, Ireland and Switzerland.

Despite previous attempts from Lewis's lawyers to ban the release of Best Kept Secret by UEG Music, claiming that the singer had not given her consent, the album was released in January 2009 when the label insisted it owned the rights to the music and Lewis would receive a 50% share of the album's profits. However, a television advert for the album was banned by the Advertising Standards Authority, who said in a statement: "We considered that the claim 'Leona Lewis's new album' misleadingly implied it was the singer's latest recording rather than a new CD of tracks recorded some years ago." The album was released to iTunes in standard and deluxe editions, and two EPs, "Private Party" and "Dip Down"/"Joy", were released in September 2009.

The first single released from Echo was "Happy", which was written by Lewis, Tedder and Evan Bogart and produced by Tedder. The single was released on 15 September 2009, peaking at number two in the UK, and reaching the top ten in Austria, Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Japan and Switzerland. Lewis also recorded the theme song for the 2009 science fiction film Avatar, directed by James Cameron. The song, "I See You (Theme from Avatar)", was written by James Horner and Simon Franglen. It was nominated for Best Original Song at the 67th Golden Globe Awards. In January 2010, Lewis provided vocals on a cover of "Everybody Hurts", released to help raise money for victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake. The second single from Echo, "I Got You", was released in February 2010. The song "My Hands" was used as the theme song for Final Fantasy XIII In April 2010, she featured on a duet with Italian singer Biagio Antonacci, called "Inaspettata (Unexpected)", from his album Inaspettata. They performed the song on the Italian TV show Io Canto on 22 October 2010.

Lewis performed a 13-piece set list at the Rock in Rio festival in Lisbon, Portugal, on 22 May 2010, including songs from Spirit and Echo. Her first tour, titled The Labyrinth supporting Spirit and Echo, started in May 2010, with a theme based on the film Labyrinth. Lewis was scheduled to tour North America from July to August 2010 supporting Christina Aguilera's Bionic Tour, however, Aguilera postponed the tour until 2011, leaving Lewis's plans unknown. A DVD of the tour, along with a ten-track CD, was released with the title The Labyrinth Tour Live from The O2 on 29 November 2010.

2010–present: Third album

Lewis began working on her third album after the Labyrinth tour. She said the album would be "a bit different from what people have heard from me before," adding that she plans to "go in and create and just see what happens." MTV reported that Ne-Yo is writing material for the album. She is also working again with Dallas Austin and has recorded a song with David Guetta. Hurts and Jessie J have also been asked to write material for the album. It has been reported that Cowell has set a deadline for the album for summer 2011 release. A lead single will be released in early 2011.

Voice

A mezzo-soprano, Lewis is often compared with other singers such as Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey. Lewis is also known to sing opera, stating that she practises opera scales every week. In the same vein, Slant describes Lewis's vocals as "technically unimpeachable".

Other activities

In October 2008, The Times reported that Lewis had turned down a $1 million deal with Mohamed Al Fayed to open a Harrods sale. Lewis commented in the press that she turned down the deal on the grounds that Harrods is the only UK department store which continues to stock clothing made from animal fur. She announced in October 2008 that she was in the "bargaining period" of launching her own ethical line of accessories through Topshop, and that she is in the late stages of releasing her own perfume for Europe.

Lewis signed a book deal in January 2009 to release an illustrated autobiography in October 2009. The book, entitled Dreams, contains mostly pictures taken by photographer Dean Freeman. In 2010, it was reported Lewis was offered a cameo role in the second series of the American television programme Glee.

Personal life

Lewis lives in Hackney. She lived with her boyfriend Lou Al-Chamaa until their split in June 2010. Lewis and Al-Chamaa knew each other since she was approximately ten years old. A vegetarian since she was 12, Lewis won PETA's Sexiest Vegetarian along with Red Hot Chili Peppers frontman Anthony Kiedis in 2008, and Europe's Sexiest Vegetarian in 2009 with actor Scott Maslen. She also was named PETA's Person Of The Year for 2008. Lewis is a supporter of the World Society for the Protection of Animals.

At a book signing for Dreams on 14 October 2009 at the Piccadilly branch of Waterstone's book store in central London, Lewis received a punch to the head from Peter Kowalczyk, a 29-year-old man from south London. Eyewitnesses said Lewis ran out with her hand covering her face, whilst security wrestled the attacker, who was reportedly laughing, to the floor. She cancelled a scheduled appearance on the BBC's The One Show and a two-day promotional trip to Germany. She later released a statement, saying "Thank you so much for your support, it is truly overwhelming. Yesterday was a horrible shock and left me extremely hurt and upset. I'm very sorry to those I wasn't able to meet at the signing. Thank you again for all of the lovely messages. Love you all." Kowalczyk was subsequently sectioned under the Mental Health Act. It was reported that he had a history of mental health problems and may have attacked Lewis due to jealousy, as he had attempted to enter The X Factor but was rejected by producers. On 14 December 2009, Kowalczyk admitted common assault and was ordered to remain in hospital for an indeterminate period.

Discography

;Studio albums

Spirit (2007)

Echo (2009)

;Live albums

The Labyrinth Tour Live from The O2 (2010)

Tours

2010: The Labyrinth

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Category:1985 births Category:2000s singers Category:2010s singers Category:Living people Category:Black British musicians Category:English female singers Category:English-language singers Category:English people of Guyanese descent Category:English people of Welsh descent Category:English people of Irish descent Category:English people of Italian descent Category:English pop singers Category:English rhythm and blues singers Category:English singer-songwriters Category:English soul singers Category:English vegetarians Category:Former students of the BRIT School Category:Ivor Novello Award winners Category:J Records artists Category:Musicians from London Category:People from Islington Category:Sony BMG artists Category:Sylvia Young Theatre School pupils Category:X Factor series winners Category:World Music Awards winners Category:The X Factor (UK) contestants

Background	temporary
Name	Jack Hylton (born John Greenhalgh Hilton)
Alias	Jack Elton
Born	July 02, 1892, Great Lever, Bolton, Lancashire, England, U.K.
Died	January 29, 1965 Marylebone, London, England, U.K.
Occupation	Band leader, impresario
Years active	1917–1965}}

Jack Hylton (2 July 1892, Bolton, Lancashire – 29 January 1965, London) was a British band leader and impresario.

He was born John Greenhalgh Hilton in the Great Lever area of Bolton, Lancashire, the son of George Hilton, a cotton yarn twister. His father was an amateur singer at the local Labour Club and Jack learned piano to accompany him on the stage. Jack later sang to the customers when his father bought a pub in nearby Little Lever, becoming known as the "Singing Mill-Boy". He also performed as a relief pianist for various bands.

His early career involved moving to London as a pianist in the 400 club and playing with the Stroud Haxton Band. During the first world war he moved to be a musical director of the band of the 20th Hussars and the Director of the Army Entertainment Division. After the war he went on to play with the Queen's Dance Orchestra where he wrote arrangements of popular songs and had them recorded under the label 'Directed by Jack Hylton'. He went on from here to form his own band, recording the new style of jazzy American dance music under the Jack Hylton name from 1923. Hylton became a respected band leader with a busy schedule; his band had developed into an orchestra and toured America and Europe into the 1940s until it disbanded due to the war. He became a director and major shareholder of the new Decca record label.

At this point in his career he became an impresario discovering new stars and managing radio, film and theatre productions from Ballets to Circuses. His productions dominated the London theatres with such productions as The Merry Widow, Kiss Me Kate and Kismet.

Contracted as Advisor of Light Entertainment to Associated-Rediffusion (A-R), winners of the London weekday franchise in the recently established ITV network, he founded Jack Hylton Television Productions Ltd in that same month to produce a range of light entertainment programming exclusively for that company. At the same time he was still producing stage shows, as well as taking a leading role in organising various Royal Command Performances, until his final stage production "Camelot" in 1965. He helped to develop the careers of many famous performers such as Shirley Bassey, Maurice Chevalier, Morecambe and Wise, Arthur Askey, the Crazy Gang, George Formby and Liberace.

In 1965 a televised tribute to Hylton, The Stars Shine for Jack, was held in London on Sunday 30 May at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane with many artists including Arthur Askey, The Crazy Gang, Marlene Dietrich, Dickie Henderson, and Shirley Bassey.

He was married twice; firstly in 1922 to bandleader Ennis Parkes (they separated in 1929) and secondly, in Geneva in 1963, to Australian model and beauty queen Beverley Prowse (1932–2000).

He had a son, Jack (b.1947), by Pat Taylor, a singer and actress and two daughters, Frederika (b.1932) and Georgina (b.1938), by model Frederika Kogler ("Fifi").

Death

On 26 January 1965, complaining of chest and stomach pains, Hylton was admitted to the London Clinic. He died there three days later, on 29 January, from a heart attack, aged 72.

Hylton's spending habits and generosity left his estate with £242,288 gross, despite the many millions which he earned during his illustrious career. With duty (taxes) of £83,484, this left £151,160 to be distributed among his heirs, with the first £30,000 reserved for his widow, Beverley. As Hylton said to his son during his latter years, "I won't leave you much, but we'll have a good laugh spending it while I'm here!"

External links

Lancaster University Library — Jack Hylton Archive

Jack Hylton Music Downloads

You Tube: Jack Hylton plays "Say Yes" February 1931

References

Category:1892 births Category:1965 deaths Category:British bandleaders Category:Deaths from myocardial infarction Category:Musicians from Manchester Category:Music from Bolton Category:People from Great Lever Category:People from London

Name	Eartha Kitt
Caption	Kitt in 2006,
Birth name	Eartha Mae Keith
Birth date	January 17, 1927
Birth place	North, South Carolina, U.S.
Death date	December 25, 2008
Death place	Weston, Connecticut, U.S.
Years active	1943–2008
Occupation	Actress/Singer
Spouse	John "Bill" McDonald (June 6, 1960–1965)

Eartha Mae Kitt (January 17, 1927 – December 25, 2008) was an American actress, singer and cabaret star. She was perhaps best known for her highly distinctive singing style and her 1953 hit Christmas song "Santa Baby". Orson Welles once called her the "most exciting woman in the world." She took over the role of Catwoman for the third season of the 1960s Batman television series, replacing Julie Newmar, who was unavailable for the final season.

Biography

Early years

Kitt was born on a cotton plantation in the town of North, South Carolina, a small town in Orangeburg County near Columbia, South Carolina. Kitt's mother was of Cherokee and African-American descent and her father of German or Dutch descent. Kitt was conceived by rape.

Kitt was raised by Anna Mae Riley, an African-American woman whom she believed to be her mother. Anna Mae went to live with a black man when Eartha was 8. He refused to accept Kitt because of her relatively pale complexion.

Career

, October 1952]] Kitt began her career as a member of the Katherine Dunham Company in 1943 and remained a member of the troupe until 1948. A talented singer with a distinctive voice, her hits include "Let's Do It", "Champagne Taste", "C'est si bon", "Just an Old Fashioned Girl", "Monotonous", "Je cherche un homme", "Love for Sale", "I'd Rather Be Burned as a Witch", "Uska Dara", "Mink, Schmink", "Under the Bridges of Paris", and her most recognizable hit, "Santa Baby", which was released in 1953. Kitt's unique style was enhanced as she became fluent in the French language during her years performing in Europe. Her English-speaking performances always seemed to be enriched by a soft French feel. She had some skill in other languages too, as she spoke four languages and sang in seven, which she effortlessly demonstrated in many of the live recordings of her cabaret performances.

Career peaks

In 1950, Orson Welles gave Kitt her first starring role, as Helen of Troy in his staging of Dr. Faustus. A few years later, she was cast in the revue New Faces of 1952 introducing Monotonous and Bal, Petit Bal, two songs with which she continues to be identified. In 1954, 20th Century Fox filmed a version of the revue simply titled New Faces, in which she performed "Monotonous", "Uska Dara" and "C'est si bon". Though it is often alleged that Welles and Kitt had an affair during her 1957 run in Shinbone Alley, Kitt categorically denied this in a June 2001 interview with George Wayne of Vanity Fair. "I never had sex with Orson Welles," Kitt told Vanity Fair, "It was a working situation and nothing else". Her other films in the 1950s included The Mark of the Hawk (1957), St. Louis Blues (1958) and Anna Lucasta (1959).

Throughout the rest of the 1950s and early 1960s, Kitt would record, work in film, television and nightclubs, and return to the Broadway stage in "Mrs. Patterson" during the 1954-55 season, "Shinbone Alley" in 1957, and the short-lived "Jolly's Progress" in 1959. In 1964, Kitt helped open the Circle Star Theater in San Carlos, California. Also in the 1960s, the television series Batman featured her as Catwoman after Julie Newmar left the role.

Anti-War Controversy

In 1968, during the administration of President Lyndon B. Johnson, Kitt encountered a substantial professional setback after she made anti-war statements during a White House luncheon. Kitt was invited to a White House luncheon and was asked by Lady Bird Johnson about the Vietnam War. She replied: "You send the best of this country off to be shot and maimed. No wonder the kids rebel and take pot." During a question and answer session, Ms. Kitt stated "The children of America are not rebelling for no reason. They are not hippies for no reason at all. We don’t have what we have on Sunset Blvd. for no reason. They are rebelling against something. There are so many things burning the people of this country, particularly mothers. They feel they are going to raise sons—and I know what it’s like, and you have children of your own, Mrs. Johnson—we raise children and send them to war.” Her remarks reportedly caused Mrs. Johnson to burst into tears and led to a derailment in Ms. Kitt's career. The public reaction to Kitt's statements was extreme, both pro and con. Publicly ostracized in the US, she devoted her energies to performances in Europe and Asia.

Broadway

During that time, cultural references to her grew, including outside the United States, such as the well-known Monty Python sketch "The Cycling Tour", where an amnesiac believes he is first Clodagh Rodgers, then Trotsky and finally Kitt (while performing to an enthusiastic crowd in Moscow). She returned to New York in a triumphant turn in the Broadway spectacle Timbuktu! (a version of the perennial Kismet set in Africa) in 1978. In the musical, one song gives a "recipe" for mahoun, a preparation of cannabis, in which her sultry purring rendition of the refrain "constantly stirring with a long wooden spoon" was distinctive.

Later years

In 1978, Kitt did the voice-over in a TV commercial for the album Aja by the rock group Steely Dan. She wrote three autobiographies — Thursday's Child (1956), Alone with Me (1976) and I'm Still Here: Confessions of a Sex Kitten (1989).

In 1984, she returned to the music charts with a disco song, "Where Is My Man", the first certified gold record of her career. "Where Is My Man" reached the Top 40 on the UK Singles Chart, where it peaked at #36; The song also made the Top 10 on the US Billboard dance chart, where it reached #7. The single was followed by the album I Love Men on the Record Shack label. Kitt found new audiences in nightclubs across the UK and the US, including a whole new generation of gay male fans, and she responded by frequently giving benefit performances in support of HIV/AIDS organizations. Kitt appeared with Jimmy James and George Burns at a fundraiser in 1990 produced by Scott Sherman, Agent from The Atlantic Entertainment Group. It was arranged that James would impersonate Kitt and then Kitt would walk out to take the microphone. This was met with a standing ovation. Her 1989 follow-up hit "Cha-Cha Heels" (featuring Bronski Beat), which was originally intended to be recorded by Divine, received a positive response from UK dance clubs and reached #32 in the charts in that country.

In 1992, Kitt had a supporting role as Lady Eloise in the film Boomerang starring Eddie Murphy. In the late 1990s, she appeared as the Wicked Witch of the West in the North American national touring company of The Wizard of Oz. In November 1996, she appeared on an episode of Celebrity Jeopardy. In 2000, Kitt again returned to Broadway in the short-lived run of Michael John LaChiusa's The Wild Party opposite Mandy Patinkin and Toni Collette. Beginning in late 2000, she starred as the Fairy Godmother in the US national tour of Cinderella alongside Deborah Gibson and then Jamie-Lynn Sigler. In 2003, she replaced Chita Rivera in Nine. She reprised her role as the Fairy Godmother at a special engagement of Cinderella, which took place at Lincoln Center during the holiday season of 2004.

One of her more unusual roles was as Kaa the python in a 1994 BBC Radio adaptation of The Jungle Book. Kitt lent her distinctive voice to the role of Yzma in Disney's The Emperor's New Groove, for which she won her first Annie Award, and returned to the role in the straight-to-video sequel Kronk's New Groove and the spin-off TV series The Emperor's New School, for which she won two Emmy Awards and two more Annie Awards (both in 2007–08) for Voice Acting in an Animated Television Production. She had a voiceover as the voice of Queen Vexus on the animated TV series My Life as a Teenage Robot.

In her later years Kitt made annual appearances in the New York Manhattan cabaret scene at venues such as the Ballroom and the Café Carlyle.

She was also a guest star in The Simpsons episode "Once Upon a Time in Springfield", where she was depicted as one of Krusty's past marriages.

From October to early December, 2006, Kitt co-starred in the Off-Broadway musical Mimi le Duck. She also appeared in the 2007 independent film And Then Came Love opposite Vanessa Williams.

Kitt was the spokesperson for MAC Cosmetics' Smoke Signals collection in August 2007. She re-recorded "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" for the occasion, was showcased on the MAC website, and the song was played at all MAC locations carrying the collection for the month.

Personal life

After romances with the cosmetics magnate Charles Revson and banking heir John Barry Ryan III, she married John William McDonald, an associate of a real-estate investment company on June 6, 1960. They divorced in 1965. Their only child, a daughter named Kitt, was born on November 26, 1961. Kitt McDonald married Charles Lawrence Shapiro in 1987 and had two children, Jason and Rachel Shapiro. A long-time Connecticut resident, Ms. Kitt lived in a converted barn on a sprawling farm in the Merryall section of New Milford for many years and was active in local charities and causes throughout Litchfield County. Subsequently moving to Pound Ridge, New York, then in 2002, Kitt moved to the southern Fairfield County, Connecticut town of Weston to be near her daughter's family.

Activism

Ms. Kitt became a vocal advocate for homosexual rights and publicly supported same-sex marriage, which she believed to be a civil right. She had been quoted as saying: "I support it [gay marriage] because we're asking for the same thing. If I have a partner and something happens to me, I want that partner to enjoy the benefits of what we have reaped together. It's a civil-rights thing, isn't it?"

Death

Kitt died from colon cancer on Christmas Day, 2008 at her Weston, Connecticut, home.

Awards and nominations

;Awards 1960 Hollywood Walk of Fame — 6656 Hollywood Boulevard.

2001 Annie Award for Best Voice Acting by a Female Performer in a Featured Film — The Emperor's New Groove

2007 Annie Award for Best Voice Acting in an Animated Television Production — The Emperor's New School

2007 Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program — The Emperor's New School

2008 Annie Award for Best Voice Acting in an Animated Television Production — The Emperor's New School

2008 Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program — The Emperor's New School

2010 Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program — The Wonder Pets

;Nominations

1966 Emmy Award for Outstanding Single Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Drama — I Spy

1978 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical — Timbuktu!

1996 for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series — Living Single

2000 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical — The Wild Party

2000 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical — The Wild Party

Filmography

Features:

Casbah (1948)

New Faces (1954)

The Mark of the Hawk (1957)

St. Louis Blues (1958)

Anna Lucasta (1959)

Saint of Devil's Island (1961)

Uncle Tom's Cabin (1965)

Synanon (1965)

Up the Chastity Belt (1971)

Friday Foster (1975)

All by Myself: The Eartha Kitt Story (1982) (documentary)

The Serpent Warriors (1985)

The Pink Chiquitas (1987)

Dragonard (1987)

Master of Dragonard Hill (1989)

Erik the Viking (1989)

Living Doll (1990)

Ernest Scared Stupid (1991)

Boomerang (1992)

Fatal Instinct (1993)

Unzipped (1995) (documentary)

Harriet the Spy (1996)

Ill Gotten Gains (1997)

I Woke Up Early the Day I Died (1998)

(1998) (direct-to-video)

The Emperor's New Groove (2000) (voice) (Yzma)

The Making and Meaning of We Are Family (2002) (documentary)

The Sweatbox (2002) (documentary)

Anything But Love (2002)

Holes (2003)

Preaching to the Choir (2005)

Kronk's New Groove (2005) (voice) (direct-to-video) (Yzma)

And Then Came Love (2007)

Short Subjects:

All About People (1967) (narrator)

Television work

I Spy - "Angel" (1965)

(1967) (Tina Mara, Season 1, Episode 27)

Batman (recurring cast member from 1967 - 1968)

The Eartha Kitt Show (1969)

Lieutenant Schuster's Wife (1972)

The Protectors - Episode - A Pocketful of Posies (1973)

To Kill a Cop (1978)

A Night on the Town (1983)

Living Single (1995)(As herself)

The Nanny (1996)

The Feast of All Saints (2001) (miniseries)

Santa Baby! (2001) (voice)

Holes (2003) (Madame Zeroni)

My Life as a Teenage Robot: Vexus (recurring from 2003 - 2009)

The Emperor's New School: Yzma (2006 - 2008)

Wonder Pets: Cool Cat (1 episode, 2009)

The Simpsons (season 21, Once Upon a Time in Springfield) (2010)

: The Snow Queen (voice)

Discography

"C'est Si Bon" (1954)

"Santa Baby" (1954)

"Under the Bridges of Paris" (1955) (UK #7)

"Just an Old Fashioned Girl" (1958)

"Che Vale Per Me" (1968)

"Where Is My Man" (1983) (Sweden #5; US Dance #7; Netherlands #20; UK #36)

"I Love Men" (1984) (UK #50)

"I Don't Care" (1986)

"This Is My Life" (1986) (UK #73)

"Arabian Song" (1987)

"Cha Cha Heels" (featuring Bronski Beat) (1989) (UK #32)

"If I Love Ya Then I Need Ya" (1994) (UK #43)

"Santa Baby" (2007) (UK #84)

Stage work

Blue Holiday (May 21 - May 26, 1945) (Broadway)

Carib Song (September 27 - October 27, 1945) (Broadway)

Bal Negre (November 7 - December 22, 1946) (Broadway and European tour)

Time Runs (1950)

Dr. Faustus (1951) (Paris and European tour)

New Faces of 1952 (May 16, 1952 - March 28, 1953) (Broadway)

Mrs. Patterson (December 1, 1954 - February 26, 1955) (Broadway)

Shinbone Alley (April 13 - May 25, 1957) (Broadway)

Jolly's Progress (December 5 - December 12, 1959) (Broadway)

The Owl and the Pussycat (1965 - 1966) (national tour)

The High Bid (1970) (London)

Bunny (1972) (London)

A Musical Jubilee (1976) (national tour)

Timbuktu! (March 1 - September 10, 1978) (Broadway and national tour from 1979 - 1980)

New Faces of 1952 (Revival) (1982) (Off-Off-Broadway)

Blues in the Night (1985) (national tour)

Follies (1987) (London) (replacement for Dolores Gray)

Eartha Kitt in Concert (1989) (London)

Yes (1994) (One Woman Show) (Edinburgh)

Sam's Song (1995) (Benefit Concert) (Unitarian Church of All Souls)

Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill (1996) (Chicago)

The Wizard of Oz (1998) (national tour)

The Wild Party (April 13 - June 11, 2000) (Broadway)

Cinderella (2001) (Madison Square Garden)

Nine (replacement for Chita Rivera from October 5 - December 14, 2003) (Broadway)

Mimi le Duck (2006) (Off-Broadway)

References

http://www.emmyonline.org/mediacenter/daytime_37th_nominations_data_only_nominees.html

External links

Eartha Kitt official website

Eartha Kitt at TV Guide

"Eartha Kitt Talks About Her Early Childhood" on the WGBH-TV series Basic Black (formerly "Say Brother")

EARTHA KITT AS CATWOMAN TRIBUTE

Eartha Kitt: "The Real Catwoman" R&B; Showcase News, April 2004

Remembrance by NPR, with streaming audio of interview (Dec. 31, 2007)

Harold Pinter and Eartha Kitt, artists and opponents of imperialist war

Obituary in the New York Times

Remembering Eartha Kitt on Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz

The History Makers

Eartha Kitt's oral history video excerpts at The National Visionary Leadership Project

Eartha Kitt: The Feline Femme Fatale life story from Marie Claire Magazine Australia

Category:African American actors Category:African American singers Category:African American female singers Category:American people of Native American descent Category:American anti-Vietnam War activists Category:American female singers Category:American film actors Category:American musical theatre actors Category:American television actors Category:American voice actors Category:American people of Cherokee descent Category:Annie Award winners Category:Cabaret singers Category:Deaths from colorectal cancer Category:Native American actors Category:Native American singers Category:RCA Victor artists Category:Musicians from South Carolina Category:Actors from South Carolina Category:Vocal jazz musicians Category:Cancer deaths in Connecticut Category:1927 births Category:2008 deaths