a couple of days in her presence

"Just before Eartha Kitt steps on stage tonight at Hollywood's Roosevelt Hotel Cinegrill, Eartha Mae will be waiting in the wings with a nervous stomach."Don't laugh. I'm a terribly shy, terribly inward person. It's rejection. I'm always afraid of rejection. I'll be all glamorous and vomiting." That's our Eartha Mae. Eartha Mae is the force inside Eartha Kitt. It was Eartha Mae,..." Miki Turner, The Orange County Register, July 26, 1995

in the summer of '95 i had just wrapped up my first season of covering the los angeles lakers and clippers for the orange county register and needed a challenge. i found out eartha kitt was playing at the cinegrill club inside hollywood's historic roosevelt hotel, and decided it was time i crossed the aisle--again.

i went over to the features department and pitched a story on kitt to cary darling--a guy who really lives up to his name--and he agreed, but said to keep it short.

when i arrived at the roosevelt on that warm july day, i was told to go to suite 501.

i rang the bell.

kitt's manager, an older guy with an abundance of charm, opened the door. sitting on the floor about 10 feet behind him was a really old woman wearing a terry cloth robe with a scarf around her head. i was just about to ask where miss kitt was when the woman's eyes locked in on my own.

deep.

initially, i thought that the old woman on the floor speaking french to two white french poodles was eartha kitt. but as she got up to greet me, i soon realized i was speaking with eartha kitt's alter ego eartha mae, kitt's real name. i wouldn't meet eartha kitt until later that night at the club.

although kitt was best known for her sultry ballads, sex kitten persona and putting all four letters into the term "diva," eartha mae, who died today at 81 from colon cancer, was quite an animated character herself. during the hour or so i was with her we discussed a plethora of topics including the civil rights movement, that altercation she had with lady bird johnson, her daughter, her mens, race, playing catwoman, "santa baby," her dogs, growing up in the south, the ghosts of divas past and what had kept her motivated after all those years in the biz.

she was uniquely intriguing. and how ironic it is that the woman who cooed her way through the eternally sultry and seductive "santa baby" would pass on christmas day. that sister always knew how to make an entrance--and an exit.

i think the two of us connected because she realized i had done my homework and because i was really interested in her stories. there was no time limit on our interview, but whenever you're dealing with divas it's best not to waste their time with stupid or redundant questions. eartha mae seemed relieved to have an opportunity to reflect on the past--hers and eartha kitt's.

some of it was good, some of it was bad, some of it was ugly.

it was as though we were up in an attic going through old trunks. i was thrilled to help her sort through all of her baggage.

most of what was said that afternoon never made it into the paper. cary was gracious enough to give me some space in the register's weekly entertainment tab, but it was barely enough to say anything other than eartha kitt is playing the cinegrill. come. enjoy.

as i left her suite that day i told her i had just bought her latest cd and that i played her version of "moon river" every morning. she seemed stunned.

"You do?" she said softly. "thank you. thank you very much."

maybe the fact that i was actually listening to her music was some kind of validation for a performer in the twilight of her career. at thirtysomething i probably didn't fit the profile of the typical eartha kitt fan. later that night i realized i truly wasn't.

the cinegrill was filled with a lot of people who didn't look like me but i ended up bonding with a couple of guys from we-ho (west hollywood) who were seated at my table. these dudes could have been kitt's official biographers. they had books, album covers and all kinds of paraphernalia. they were positively giddy. also in the audience that night was ann miller--old hollywood royalty; and two-hit wonder freda payne, a delightful woman.

when the band started playing i was a little taken aback by eartha mae's transformation into eartha kitt. it was as if someone had clicked their heels three times and poof! the scarf had been replaced with a wig, the robe with a sequined gown and eartha mae now looked about 20 years younger in the proper lighting. it was a terrific show. kitt sang, purred, made a few jokes, acknowledged the celebs, interacted with a few fans and wrapped it up. afterwards i met up with her as she was taking photos with miller and payne. i have one of those shots.

i was so impressed with her show that i made arrangements with her manager to come back the next night with a girlfriend. when i tell you that i saw the same exact show i had seen the night before i am not exaggerating. it was like precision clockwork down to the questions she asked the audience. the only thing she did differently on that second night was smile when she spotted me at my table.

after that show we met again briefly. she grabbed my hand and said that she had loved the article i'd written. i hadn't been that happy with it--only because it was so short--but i was thrilled that she had validated my efforts.

i never saw either eartha again after that night. but when people ask me who are some of the coolest people i've interviewed, she's always at the top of the list. the time i spent with eartha kitt was memorable because she introduced me to eartha mae, a person not everyone got an opportunity to meet.