Eartha Kitt, TV's Catwoman, Santa's Baby, Dead at 81

Thu., Dec. 25, 2008 4:42 PM PST by

Eartha Kitt, the seductress who purred her way into viewers' hearts as Catwoman on the 1960s Batman series and cooed the holiday classic "Santa Baby," has died. She was 81.

Her publicist said Kitt succumbed to colon cancer in her Connecticut home on Christmas Day—a fitting departure for a performer whose most famous song celebrated the Yule.

The triple-threat Kitt won two Daytime Emmys for her voice work on Disney's The Emperor's New School and received two Tony nominations for her Broadway endeavors, but her best-known acting role was her devious come-hither Catwoman opposite Adam West's Batman.

Her ability to parlay her sex appeal into commercial success was emulated by many, most notably Madonna, who paid tribute to Kitt in a 1987 cover version of "Santa Baby."

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