The very sexy, very sultry Eartha Kitt has passed away at the age of 81. She was Catwoman on Batman in the ’60’s after Julie Newmar orginated the role and of course, being it’s the holidays you’ve probably heard her original “Santa Baby” on the radio.
She was an accomplished singer, actress and performer and, frankly, one of her best performances is her guest role in the 1965 I Spy episode “The Loser” for which she won an Emmy.
Here’s the synopsis from Hal Erickson of All Movie Guide:
“Eartha Kitt won an Emmy award for her guest appearance in this tense I Spy installment. Agent Alexander Scott is kidnapped by a Hong Kong heroin-smuggling gang in retaliation for Scott and Kelly’s recent $300 million drug bust. The kidnappers agree to release Scotty only when Kelly returns the confiscated heroin — which no longer exists. As the deadline approaches, Scott is forced to put his life in the hands of drug-addicted nightclub singer Angel (Kitt). In addition to delivering a powerhouse characterization (matched every inch of the way by Bill Cosby’s equally compelling performance), Eartha Kitt sings “Black Coffee” and “Easy to Love.” Originally telecast on October 20, 1965, “The Loser” was written by series star Robert Culp (Kelly).”
One of the most brilliant aspects of Culp’s script is the fact that he essentially writes his own character right out of the episode and let’s Cosby and Kitt and the other performers do their thing. Every so often we see what Kelly’s up to and Kelly comes in in the second half of the episode but Cosby and Kitt’s performances dominate, and as Erickson points out, they’re powerhouse. An all around excellent episode.
You can watch the entire episode on Hulu. Do yourself a favor. Go watch it…
http://www.hulu.com/watch/15465/i-spy-the-loser
