I was saddened to hear about the death of Ertha Kitt. It's hard to think of a sex kitten like Ertha, an elderly 81. She clearly had some hard times, like because of her dark skin, Ertha's relationship with Conrad Hilton was doomed. She did play Catwoman, along with other actresses in Batman with Adam West.
I do remember Ertha gave two very different appearences on the Wogan show in the 80s. On the first she was very flirty with her host, throwing her legs on his knees, so he could stroke her feet during the interview. Then sadly in tears in interview no2 she spoke of her experiences of child abuse. Maybe she shut that painful experience away all those yrs and it only came back to haunt her when she was in her early 60s, because she was completely different from the funny, flirty girl who appeared on the first show.
Remarkably, watching clips of her on You Tube, it seems she was able to bridge the gap between being am almost typical 50s girl black singer, who lived long enough to express herself, due to a more tolerent society, as a great modern entertainer as well.
Earth Kitt RIP
Changing the theme of the thread, 88 yr-old actor Peter Sallis, who's best known for Last Of The Summer Wine, has just had the most watched program on Christmas Day doing the voice over for the younger Wallace in the new animated movie Wallace And Gromit; A Matter Of Loaf And Death. In this movie he even got a leading lady, played by the attractive 36-yr-old former Coronation Street actress Sally Lindsay.