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Eartha Kit (Courtesy Photo)
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By AFRO Staff
(December 25, 2008) - Eartha Kitt, the self-proclaimed "sex kitten" famous for her catlike purr in her songs and performances, has died. She was 81.
A family friend, Andrew Freedman, said Kitt died Christmas Eve of colon cancer and was recently treated at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in New York, according to The Associated Press.
Kitt, who rose from South Carolina cotton fields to become an international singer, dancer and actress, was one of America's most versatile performers, winning two Emmys. She also was nominated for two Tony Awards and a Grammy.