Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate, or jump to a slide with the slide dots. Eartha had such a distinctive look, her biological child would look like her in SOME way. I dont know who the RUDE/IGNORANT person who had the audacity to write a post that, besides putting their 2 cents when nobody asked Has constructed an entire mythology of lies and deception to explain how you came to be raised by your own mother!!! She did indeed find and read her birth certificate, but her father's name was blacked out. When Eartha Mae Keith was eight years old, her life started to take a different direction. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. To use this feature, use a newer browser. Earthas biological father was said to be white. After my 15 years after my mother died, one of my sisters started to investigate by submittedher own DNA to ancestry.com and she eventually pieced together through family trees who my mothers father was. Orson Welles once called her the "most exciting woman in the world". Youre such a classy mutt. Same parents. based on information from your browser. Kitts physical features are more similar to her white father. Father: Daniel Sturkie (white sharecropper) Mother: Annie Mae Keitt Sister: Pearl (half sister) Another example: Thomas Jefferson had numerous children with his slave, Sally Hennings. I am me I have attributes of both my mother and my father and I am proud of both. She was able to speak four languages (it is believed that she learned German and Dutch from her stepfather, English from her mother, and French from the European cabaret circuit), and she sang in eleven different languages, as can be seen in many live recordings of her cabaret performances. No one but a cruel, heartless, evil , hot mess of a poor excuse for a human being would throw it in a persons face!!! Winning a spot on the troupe provided Kitt with the opportunity not only to showcase her talent, but to also see the world. She must have been a lot of fun!! Please reset your password. Your post was from last fall and people are still commenting about it some throwing out their own opinions (still, ugh) but most supporting you which is beautiful. She looks like a dark, heavily tanned woman youd see in North Africa. Place of Birth: North or St. Matthews, South Carolina, U.S. Place of Death: Weston, Connecticut, U.S. Edit a memorial you manage or suggest changes to the memorial manager. Besides, your mom had mixed DNA anyway. So much of her life was a complete mystery as she only found her true date of birth when she was 71. Your love, honor and respect for your mother and her legacy is an example to us all. At the age of nine, she had been given away by her mother and found her way to Harlem. Kitt received her first starring role as Helen of Troy in Orson Welles production of Dr. Faustus in 1950, which was staged by Welles. cemeteries found in will be saved to your photo volunteer list. Here's Where to Find the Best Corned Beef in Cleveland! I have a small circle of friends. That talent seems to have skipped a generation, and now resides in my children. And, I have the gift of the love she gave me and the example she set on how to live a life to its fullest with. Curious if youve taken an Ancestry.com test.. to get your DNA.. You can write a story about this journey.. about race and genetics.. Please dont get on me saying that theres nothing wrong with adoption. "Santa Baby" by Eartha KittListen to Eartha Kitt: https://EarthaKitt.lnk.to/listenYDWatch more Eartha Kitt: https://EarthaKitt.lnk.to/listenYD/youtubeSubscri. Looking at her childhood pictures, it looks like Kitt tans easily and her hair appeared to have a coarser texture. Im also as blunt and controversial a lightning rod as your mom continues to be in her writings and the heck with it. My reasoning for posting Truths comment was to use the opportunity for awareness and dialogue. Note: Above is incorrect. Beautifully written, eloquently explained! I can clearly see the black in you. memorial page for Dr Daniel Richard Sturkie (12 Jul 1875-19 Jul 1958), Find a Grave Memorial ID 30788035, citing Andrew Chapel United Methodist Church Cemetery, Swansea, Calhoun County . Her father was white - but who was he? I thought you might like to see a memorial for Eartha Kitt I found on Findagrave.com. Im certain you can get your Mothers biological Father, through DNA / genetics match sites. Apart for her business, Kitt also runs a blog where she talks about her mother and the love they had for each other. Sally was quadroon the product of Jeffersons wifes father (yep!) She gave performances in Monotonous, Uska Dara, Cest si bien, and Santa Baby in 1954 independently filmed version of the revue called New Faces, which was marketed by 20th Century Fox. I will write about it soon . Shapiro said the name did ring a bell because she and her mom were told he was part of the local white families. She was invited to speak at this college and I went down with her. Probably the male version of you. The song also exposed the artist to a new fan base gay males and she welcomed them with open arms, frequently performing concerts that benefited HIV/AIDS organizations. If you anticipate a speedy answer, include a self-addressed, sealed envelope. In her nearly hour-and-a-half hour Archive interview, Eartha Kitt (1927-2008) briefly talks about her early stage work in New York and abroad and shares her thoughts regarding a performer's relationship with the audience. Your Scrapbook is currently empty. I e always been asked if Im adopted? Enjoy your life may God bless you. And Ive seen several photos of you as a child in which there was a hint of your african-american heritage. Daniel Sturkies mother was Josephine Caroline Jo Hutto (the daughter of Daniel Ansel Hutto and Ann Caroline Williams). For instance, if the matriarch of my family was not really Black, but instead bi-racial, then what am I and was my family truly a Black family? Elijah Jeffcoats father was English, and her mothers background is unclear (some say Native American, others doesnt). This sounds like the words of a mean spirited person who would actually tell a child that did not know he or she was adopted that they were. Love. Your childhood pics are of a little WHITE girl..not a biracial girl. Eartha Kitt said this about Maria Cole: . Dear Kitt, Where do I beginThere is a story in my family, that my aunt Myrtis was the woman who assisted your mom in getting the audition with Katherine Dunham. She had pale blue eyes and blonde hair. She is olive skinned with thick long braids that are 3A in texture. Eartha's mother, Annie . Kitt, you look like a white, blue eyed, blonde haired version of your mom. However, Kitt's daughter Kitt Shapiro has questioned the accuracy of the claim . Join my email list and receive special offers as well as more stories about my life with my mother, Eartha Kitt. https://www.geni.com/people/Ann-Williams/6000000055772587229, https://www.geni.com/people/Eartha-Kitt/6000000012988210038. It was a drag not to have my own tribe. No one ever believed her father was Japanese. This. She was visibly nervous about what she was going to see. Kitt's daughter, Kitt Shapiro, contested the claim's veracity. Sorry! My mother was not accepted by the black community., She added: She never found out her fathers name, but always assumed he was white. . 82 views, 2 likes, 0 loves, 0 comments, 1 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from Austin Brothers Company: Born on a cotton plantation near the small town of North, South Carolina, or St. Matthews on. 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. Gospel. 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. rcds.appendChild(rcel); XXKitt. Orson Welles once called her the "most exciting woman in the world.". They want to be comvinced as if their negative opinion even matters! Please know this is not shared by many, just those of a narrow mind and heart. Text by Lauren Elyse Garcia. I can only imagine some of the wisdom she imparted on you. Some looked white. I have friends who are 1/2 white and 1/2 Guamese. This is something my mother struggled with throughout her life. And, I have the gift of the love she gave me and the example she set on how to live a life to its fullest with kindness, acceptance and giving. Eartha Mae Kitt (January 17, 1927 - December 25, 2008) was an American actress, singer, cabaret star, dancer, stand-up comedienne, activist and voice artist, kn . In the photo, a very young Kitt was seen wearing a blue and white dress and a white headband while playing next to John, who wore black pants and matching shirt. Eartha pretended to have a baby that she didnt actually have.. she adopted and pretended that she gave birth. @931wzak. We flew down to see the records but were allowed just 15 minutes She was very nervous and outside the judges chambers she went quiet. As the story progresses, the groups go in and out of the star on/star off machine until no one is sure who is who anymore and realize after theyve spent all their money trying to acquire a valid reason for being mean, that it was time, energy and money all wasted. The multi-talented performer famously answered, You send the best of this country off to be shot and maimed. I had a friend giggle and say Creator made it that way so men couldnt deny their children. Although her acting appearances on film and television waned later in her career, Kitt lent her famous voice for several animated projects. It was a female judge who stepped aside while we read the records on her desk. She could be another Sentor Strong Thurmond case which is why the black-outed the name on the birth certificate. Truth couldnt see past her own racial identifiers to actually see YOU. Flowers . 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. I addressed the insensitive Truth in a previous post; But in doing some further reading on your Moms situation and the shameful way she was treated in the South, I wish Id come on this information earlier. Eartha's mother, Annie Mae Keith (later Annie Mae Riley), soon went to live . 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. It is a known and accepted fact. Deviding people into races seem to bee important in the US, in Europe we dont really get why it matters. I dont usually respond to negative comments, but I am compelled to do so here because I feel there is an opportunity for dialogue on a subject that many struggle. 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. I cannot add any more narrative to that which has been already stated. Im of the same race as my parents and look nothing like either of them nor my sibling. Eartha Mae Kitt () . The point you brought up was the same as mine and of the meaning of Dr. Suess book. 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. One of them showed Kitts firstborn, Jason Shapiro. People are stupid. . In 1958, Kitt appeared with Sidney Poitier in "The Mark of the Hawk". DNA pulls from every which way, and it possible that it pulled Mrs. Earthas Caucasian DNA, which probably dominated the gene pull. Cremated, Other. rcel.async = true; For this performance, Kitt was nominated for a Tony Award. According to Williams, Kitt's 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 . It is Wonderful you are celebrating your mothers legacy. If you arent familiar with it, I highly recommend you get it, in fact, I think it should be a must-read for everyone. To a slide with the opportunity not only to showcase her talent, but her was... White father Sentor Strong Thurmond case which is why the black-outed the name did ring a bell she... ; most exciting woman in the world. `` Mae Riley ), went. 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