McDonald in 1960, and the couple had a daughter named Madison in 1961 before getting divorced in 1965. . Eartha Mae Kitt (born Keith) was born on month day 1927, at birth place, South Carolina. Kitt's mother was a sharecropper of African-American and Cherokee Native American descent. Tell us something we dont know, and Im certainly not throwing a pity party here or feeling sorry for myself. Eartha Kitt passed away on Christmas Day 2008, never knowing her father's name. Judicial Circuit," Stokes continued. I have in fact done my DNA testing and it is EXACTLY what both my parents had always told me. Enjoy your life may God bless you. However, a bi-racial woman and a mostly white man could produce a peach-skinned child or a brown-skinned child; the skin shades would typically have a wider range and encompass more of the lighter tones, eyes and hair colors; because genetically the child is more like 75% white, as opposed to 50% white. The father's name was blacked out. NBA Bans Donald Sterling For Life after Racist Comments. Richard was the son of John Casper/Caspar Sturkie and Martha Ann Rickenbacker. When I look at this misguided comment that is at the center of this article, it just makes me wonder at just how far we have come. Born Eartha Mae Keith, she was raised in South Carolina and New York City, joined the Katherine Dunham Company and made her film debut with them in 1948's Casbah. I am only making reference to, A bedtime story my mother often read to me, Its the story about a group who felt superior to others because they had stars on their bellies. My mother raised me to respect EVERY thing and EVERY one, So, when a person says to me that I was adopted, and my mother hid that from me all my life, because I dont possess the features that person feels I should have, is in a way, denying my very existence. People used to say to my mother when I was a small child oh why did you adopt that little girl? Eartha and Kitt- would know how Eartha was treated in the black community in her day because she was light skinned. 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If you anticipate a speedy answer, include a self-addressed, sealed envelope. It is a dialogue that needs to be had. I do not bring up this person, whose real name I do not know as he or she only identifies themselves as Truth (which in itself is telling), to gang up or embarrass him or her. There is a problem with your email/password. Alone with Me: A New Autobiography (1976, memoir)Rejuvenate! Youre such a classy mutt. Mixed raced people prove the connectedness we all have. Its your blog but people should be able to express their own thoughts if its dialogue you want to create. Translation on Find a Grave is an ongoing project. Her daughter, Kitt Shapiro, in an interview with The Guardian, says her mother was denied access to her birth certificate up until then and had to even go through legal procedures to try to gain access. However, the famous singer never knew it as she died without knowing the identity of her father, reported The Guardian. Sorry! Winning a spot on the troupe provided Kitt with the opportunity not only to showcase her talent, but to also see the world. Her mixed heritage made life difficult for the young woman who endured racism . cemeteries found within miles of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list. I have the one of your mom in the mermaid gown throwing something into the air on a vision board. Another woman had parents whose mother was a blonde, brown eyed Italian and father was Japanese. She dropped out of high school when she was 15 and began working in a factory in Brooklyn. Commons continue but I love who I am. Kitt, once called the most exciting woman in the world, led an extraordinary life as a world-famous singer and dancer, but her life really came under spotlight five years after her death with the biography Americas Mistress: Eartha Kitt, Her Life and Times by British journalist John Williams. As you wrote, mixed race people, especially when we present as just one race, dont fit a simple narrative. 2017-2023 Tribute Archive. Black genes do dominate. Heidi Klume is about as white as anyone can get and her mixed children look MIXED and LOOK LIKE HER. Eartha's mother, Annie . To find out the depth of your history and through that, you could find Mrs. Eartha Kitts family. Uh Oh! I cannot lie, I was and still am one of those that could not bring myself to believe that Eartha carried you. She was also vocal about challenging topics. I will write about it soon . Pearl was dark-skinned and pretty, but Eartha had bushy red hair, which she later dyed, and lighter skin; she was dubbed "that yella gal". You have inherited your mothers eyes, compassionate spirit and radiate her boundless love. Eartha Kitt. A talented singer with a distinctive voice and cadence that reflected her foreign language fluency (her repertoire included songs in ten languages), her hits include "C'est si bon", "Monotonous", "Love for Sale", and her most recognizable hit, "Santa Baby". I know that. I had an afro as a kid, now I have hair that is almost straight. -XX-This web page was last updated on January 15, 2014 at 10:00 AM. Eartha Kitts many phone numbers have been released on Google and the internet, but none of them truly function. The audiences loved Kitts sultry renditions of her signature songs like Monotonous and Bal, Petit, Bal and she was able to perform these and many other numbers in a national tour of the show, as well as in the 1954 film, New Faces. She succeeded Julie Newmar in the character of Catwoman during the third and last season of the Batman (1966) television series, which she began playing that year. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. The man was Italian. They had several children and they all ranged in skin tone from darker brown to almost white. xox, As someone who lost their her mother as a young child..the pain you must have felt to have someone (who doesnt know you or your mother) deny your bond makes me so deeply sad. However, well let you know as soon as weve located an exact number. . John Williams, a British journalist, wrote a biography about Kitt in 2013, in which he made the assertion that Kitts father was a white man called Daniel Sturkie, a local physician. Try again later. Truth was very on-the-nose and a flat out bully about it but most people (if theyre honest with themselves) probably agree with them. Click on the link above if youre willing to tweet it. The right to choose for oneself. I was surprised to find that I was also 30% Caucasian. The link above is the only way to get in touch with her on Twitter. Kitt told Vanity Fair, I never had sex with Orson Welles; it was a working arrangement and nothing else. It was a working situation and nothing else, Kitt continued. In 1958, Kitt appeared with Sidney Poitier in "The Mark of the Hawk". I have a first cousin, half-white, who looks nothing like his mother. Thank you. Elijah Liege Jeffcoat/Jefcoat and Jerushia/Jerusha Dollie/Dolly Hoover. It meant someone who thought they were better than everyone else even though my mother was just a child at the time. Your account has been locked for 30 minutes due to too many failed sign in attempts. cemeteries found within kilometers of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list. For example, the CEO of my company is of black descent but he looks like a white man. I had the pleasure of meeting your mother a few times in NYC and treasure the memories. It is clear she adored and loved you. The famous Monty Python sketch called The Cycling Tour centered on an amnesiac who believed he was Clodagh Rodgers, then Trotsky, and finally, Eartha Kitt. strengths and weaknesses of interpersonal communication; importance of set design in theatre; biltmore forest country club membership cost. I e always been asked if Im adopted? I adored Eartha kit, and now that Ive discovered her daughter, Im certain I adore her too; especially after having just seen a terrific 8-year-old interview of her via YouTube. This truth person needs to expand his/her surroundings. Some looked black. Eartha Kitt Parents. Born Eartha Mae Keith, she was raised in South Carolina and New York City, joined the Katherine Dunham Company and made her film debut with them in 1948's "Casbah". Kitt's distinctive voice led to work in animation, including the role of Yzma in the Disney film "The Emperor's New Groove" and its spin-off TV series "The Emperor's New School", for which she won an Emmy Award. (AP) Singer, January. You are beautiful and your mother was beautiful inside and out. To accuse you of being adopted is sillyyour mom couldnt go into certain places because of her skin color at the time,but they allowed her to adopt a white baby??? My mother raised me to not be afraid of having a dialogue and sharing opinions. In 1950, she made her dbut in the film Time Runs, a version of Faust directed by Orson Welles. Aimee Carreros Husband Tim Rock Is an Actor - Inside His Career & Marriage, Steven Craig Lived in a Commune Facts about Sally Field's Ex-husband, John Schneider Shares a Dream He Had of Late Wife Alicia a Week after Her Death, Bobby Darin & Sandra Dee's 2 Grandkids Are All Grown up & Resemble Their Famous Grandparents Meet Them, Baby Abandoned by White Parents for Being Black Finds a Letter from Her Birth Mom 14 Years Later, On Her First Day in New School Girl Enters Classroom and Meets Her Carbon Copy Story of the Day. Kian and Remee biracial twins. #JMT, Thanks for posting this. She had six entries that reached the top 30 in the US during the early 1950s, including I Want to Be Evil and Uska Dara. Her other recordings include the song Under the Bridges of Paris, which peaked at number 10 in the UK in 1954, Just an Old Fashioned Girl, which peaked in 1956, and Where Is My Man, which peaked in 1958. She was beaten, mistreated, emotionally and physically.. My mother raised me to respect EVERY thing and EVERY one, and see the beauty in ALL. window.addEventListener( 'loadOrInteraction', function() { I know that. No, I do not sound like her or have her vocal abilities. You are a big girl now. . I wish I could have met her. She was visibly nervous about what she was going to see. There was an error deleting this problem. Silliest comment ever. I thought you might like to see a memorial for Eartha Kitt I found on Findagrave.com. Eartha's mother, Annie Mae Keith (later Annie Mae Riley), soon went to live . And, I feel, it is that need to , Please dont get on me saying that theres nothing wrong with adoption. I used to scour the web looking for photos of Eartha pregnant. I am a mixed-race human from my mothers womb and genetically speaking, I carry equally my father a and mother. Eartha had a daughter with her former husband, businessperson John William McDonald. XXKitt. Kitt was brought in to play the feline femme fatale, adding her own distinct voice and mannerisms to the comic book villain. It was said that Kitts biological father was the son of the owner of the farm where she was born and that she was created as a result of rape, despite the fact that Kitt had very little knowledge of her biological father. Deal with it. You have no idea what theyre actually going to look like. And since your mother was mixed on the lighter side and your father was white your skin tone is lighter. Please know this is not shared by many, just those of a narrow mind and heart. Her children with Jefferson ranged in skin tone from white to brown. One of them showed Kitts firstborn, Jason Shapiro. Besides, your mom had mixed DNA anyway. I had not seen or heard the word, Sneetches since some 40 years ago. Blues, and she fought that need to be categorized. After all that Eartha went through, I think she would have told Kitt if she was adopted. Please enable JavaScript in your browser's settings to use this part of Geni. Ex-wife of John William McDonald Here is the comment left on November 3, 2017: Im sorry, but just like your mothers biological father was kept from her, your real mother was kept from you. Looking at her childhood pictures, it looks like Kitt tans easily and her hair appeared to have a coarser texture. Thank you for being you. Eartha Kitt in a TV series in 1975 during her stay in Britain. For most people, we only know what race someone was a few generations back and not what our genetics carry from centuries ago. Learn more about managing a memorial . Kitts mother, Annie Mae Keitt, abandoned her daughter at an early age when she found a new man with little time for the light-skinned Eartha. "for an enchore engagement early in September. Eartha Mae Kitt was an American singer and actress who was most known for her highly unusual singing style and her recordings from 1953 of Cest si bien and the Christmas novelty tune Santa Baby. Kitt was born Eartha Mae Keith on January 17, 1927, and passed away on December 25, 2008. Not much is known about the mother of Eartha Kitt, Annie Mae. Like my mother, I believe that we need to share in order to bring awareness and effect change. The email does not appear to be a valid email address. Your childhood pics are of a little WHITE girl..not a biracial girl. Becoming the toast of Europe and mastering the French language to boot Kitt soon caught the attention of Hollywood power players, including Orson Welles, who called her the most exciting girl in the world, and ended up casting her as Helen of Troy in his production of Dr. Faust (1950). Nearly always, when someone expresses an opinion based on ignorance, the motivation is not what they are really saying, but rather a prejudice of some sort. I wish there was some way to affirm the story, because it was something passed along in my family for years. Sorry (not sorry) we dont all fit someone elses preconceived stereotypes! I saw Black people with light hair colors and blue and hazel eyes. She was awarded a third Emmy after her death in 2010 for her role as a guest star on the show Wonder Pets! It was a female judge who stepped aside while we read the records on her desk. Both of these performances were met with tremendous acclaim. A bedtime story my mother often read to me The Sneetches, by Dr Seuss. I took one look at the picture of you and your mother and said, Thats definitely her mother. Then I read the paragraph below where you said that you do look like your mother except for hair color and skin tone. And later, the singer came to believe that this woman might've secretly been her true, biological mother. Eartha Kitt: Ways to Contact or Text Eartha Kitt (Phone Number, Email, Fanmail address, Social profiles) in 2022- Are you looking for Eartha Kitt 2022 Contact details like her Phone number, Email Id, WhatsApp number, or Social media account information that you have reached on the perfect page. British journalist John Williams claimed that Kitt's father was a white man, a local doctor named Daniel Sturkie. Kitt joined the Katherine Dunham Company in 1943, the same year she launched her professional acting career, and she remained a member of the ensemble until 1948. But in 2013, Eartha's biography writer claim that she was the daughter of a white local doctor named Daniel Sturkie. Eartha's maternal grandmother was named Fanny Riley. Please fill in your e-mail so we can share with you our top stories! My mother shed a few tears and then the 15 minutes was up., According to Williams, Kitts father was a local white doctor name Daniel Sturkie, but Shapiro said: I do remember the name because we were told they were one of the local white families, but I cannot recall whether it was suggested he was the father. Kitt's daughter, Kitt McDonald Shapiro, has questioned the accuracy of the claim. My father is very light-skinned & off very diverse background so I took more so after him. My father genetically is 80% Caucasian, blue-eyed and blond. . Cinderella embarked on a nationwide tour of the United States in late 2000, and Kitt appeared as the Fairy Godmother in the production. I just heard about Eartha Kitt Day today.