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Eartha Kitt
Eartha Kitt played Catwoman in 1967 to 1968 for the last season of Batman. She replaced Julie
Newmar who was Catwoman for the first two seasons, i've heard Eartha took the role so that Batman fell in love with Batgirl
(Yvonne Craig) instead of Catwoman.
"We felt it was a very provocative idea," recalled producer Charles FitzSimons about
executive producer Bill Dozier's selection of Eartha Kitt as Catwoman. "She was a cat woman before we ever cast her as Catwoman.
She had a cat-like style. Her eyes were cat-like and her singing was like a meow. This came as a wonderful off-beat idea to
do it with a black woman." Noted Yvonne Craig, "I thought Eartha was perfect because she was very catlike anyway. And I liked
that she was my size. I could beat her up. I come up to Julie [Newmar]'s bellybutton. Not good in a fight." But Kitt lacked
Julie Newmar's statuesque sexiness. The usual romance between Catwoman and Batman was missing in Kitt's episodes, in part,
probably due to Kitt's race.
Eartha Kitt played in episodes:
| Episode |
Date Aired |
| 108 Catwomans Dressed To Kill |
14/12/67 |
| 110 The Funny Feline Felonies |
28/12/67 |
| 111 The Joke's On Catwoman |
4/1/68 |
#108 Catwoman's Dressed To Kill (14/12/67)
Written by Stanley Ralph Ross
Directed by Sam Strangis
An envious Catwoman disrupts a luncheon honoring the 10 best-dressed women in Gotham City and
sets off a hair-raising irepparably ruining the of all the ladies there. Later, Catwoman invades a magazine fashion show and
attempts to swipe all of the one-of-a-kind dresses. While her henchmen, Angora and Manx, subdue Batman and Robin with some
bolts of cloth, Catwoman bolts into the models' dressing room, knowing full well that the naturally gentlemanly Dynamic Duo
wouldn't dare enter a ladies' dressing room with their eyes closed! Batgirl arrives to free The Duo from
the cloth, and, with her eyes wide open, enters the dressing room alone and is overpowered by Catwoman, and spirits her off
to her Catlair in an abandoned loft in The Garment District on 32 Pussyfoot Road before The Dynamic Duo realize what's happened!
The Catwoman later contacts The Batman and informs her of her Catlair's location, where she has tied Batgirl down to a conveyor
belt leading to a giant pattern-cutting machine, which in a matter of minutes will cut her into a purr-fect pinafore!
Believing
Catwoman plans the pilfering of The Golden Fleece, a solid-gold dress belonging to the visiting Quen Bess Of Belgravia, from
The Belgravian Embassy, The Caped Crusader finds himself in somewhat of a dilemma. As The Catlair and The Embassy are miles
apart, he is torn between rescuing Batgirl and preventing an international incident by stopping Catwoman's theft of The Fleece!
A quick-thinking Batman phones Alfred Pennyworth and sends him to rescue The Dynamic Daredoll; Alf disguises himself as the
world' oldest-living hippie in order to prevent Batgirl from recognizing him and tip her off as to the connection between
Batman and Bruce Wayne. Batgirl then rushes by Batgirlcycle to The Embassy to join her partners in crime-fighting. Meanwhile
Batman and Robin are already there to confront Catwoman, who is convinced that they have sacrificed Batgirl in her time of
need order to arrest her; she soon learns differently when Batgirl arrives to join The Caped Crusader and The Boy Wonder in
apprehending Catwoman, Angora and Manx!
The Dynamic Trio is given honorary medals by The Belgravian Embassy when they
learn that Egghead and Cossack Queen Olga are up to no good again...
#110 The Funny Feline Felonies (28/12/67)
Written by Stanley Ralph Ross
Directed by Oscar Rudolph
In this episode Eartha Kitt gets to work with Cesar Romero who acted out Joker.
Upon his release from Gotham City Prison, The Joker is immediately picked up by The Catwoman
in her KittyCar. They soon arrive at a sleazy hotel across the street from Police HQ, where The Catwoman shows The Joker an
old parchment that will direct them to a hidden cache of gunpowder they will use to blast a hole in The Federal Depository
and clean the place out! Before leaving, they alert The Batman by shooting at him from an open window. The Caped Crusader
traces the gunfire to the hotel room and finds The Joker's prison garb and a corner from the parchment. Moments later, Batgirl
arrives and makes off with the fragmented parchment; returning to the library as Barbara Gordon, she finds the parchment was
purr-loined from the very same library out of which she works. She locates a mircofilm copy and discovers that it contained
an ancient riddle, which when mixed with certain clues will lead to the hidden gunpowder!
Barbara solves the riddle
and goes to her father's office at Police HQ to call Batman (via The Batphone!!!) and arrange to rendezvous with The Dynamic
Duo at the home of Little Louie Groovy, who owns the parchment's first clue: a nightshirt. The Batman and Robin arrive just
as The Catwoman and The Joker arrive to steal the nightshirt. Joker tricks The Duo into shaking hands and buzzes them with
his deadly Joker buzzer, and he and Catwoman leaves with the shirt. Batgirl appears moments later to revive batman and robin,
and informs them that the shirt was only half the clue to the gunpowder's location, and The Dynamic Trio speed for the home
of mod clothier Karnaby Katz, who owns the clue' second half in the form of a crib. However, The Trio arrive too late - or
so it seems! Just outside the bushes Joker, Catwoman and their men wait in ambush for them!
#111 The Joke's On Catwoman (4/1/68)
Written by Stanley Ralph Ross
Directed by Oscar Rudolph
This episode continues (is part two) from episode 110 The Funny Feline Felonies!
As The Dynamic Duo depart in their Batmobile, Batgirl tries to rev up her Batgirlcycle, but it
refuses to start. Joker and Catwoman leap from the bushes, and reveal to her that they swiped the spark plug from her beloved
bike, preventing it from working. They then capture Batgirl and tie her up on the front lawn with deadly Cat Whiskers (Holy
Bondage!), which when exposed to body heat will contract and strangle her to death! After Joker and Catwoman leave, Batgirl
uses her nose to activate the lawn sprinkler, causing The Cat Whiskers to expand and spare her life. She then hurries to Gordon's
office and arranges to meet Batman and Robin at The Grimalkin Novelty Company. Arriving at the archcriminals' hideaway, The
Dynamic Trio overhear the villains' entire plan. The fiends depart for Phoney Island to find the secluded gunpowder, unaware
of The Trio are dogging their every move! Later, at Phoney island, the villains find the gunpowder is hidden somewhere inside
the lighthouse. While searching the house, The Trio ambush and try to apprehend the crooks, when The Joker, trying to make
a break for it, trips a switch, accidentally revealing the gunpowder!
Without thinking the Joker lights a match so
he can examine the gunpowder more closely, and as Batman wrestles the match away from him, it is unwittingly tossed into the
gunpowder and sets it off! Batman quickly protects everyone with Antiblast Batpowder, and as The Trio prepares to deliver
the criminals to the pokey, The Catwoman demands legal aid: Lucky Pierre, who has never lost a case (Holy Perry Mason!). Later,
in court, Pierre refuses to crossexamine any of Batman's witnesses, despite the latter acting as prosecutor. Unknown to The
Caped Crusader, the entire jury has secretly been replaced with Catwoman's former henchmen, who issue a dishonest not-guilty
verdict! (Holy Fixed Jury!) Unfortunately, the jury foreman loses his disguise at the end of the trial, and, after Batman
recognizes him, pulls a machine gun! Batman quickly disarms the gunsel, The Joker and his men rise to battle, and the crooks
are rounded up. Lucky Pierre finally loses his first case, and he angrily discards all of his lucky charms and storms out.
Later, Louie The Lilac surprises Barbara Gordon at The Gotham Library...
Below are the Episode's which Eartha Kitt were in:
| Episode # |
Title |
First Shown |
Rating |
| 108 |
Catwoman's Dressed To Kill |
12/14/67 |
5/5 |
| 110 |
The Funny Feline Felonies |
12/28/67 |
5/5 |
| 111 |
The Joke's On Catwoman |
01/04/68 |
5/5 |
Alan Napier on Catwoman, " Julie Newmar was the best Catwoman, but Eartha Kitt was
kind of marvelous. She did complain a lot on the set though."
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