The Love Story of John William McDonald and Eartha Kitt- The Truth

Who is John William McDonald, Eartha Kitt’s ex-husband?

John William McDonald was a veteran of the Korean war and an associate of a real estate investment company. He is also famous as the husband of Eartha Kitt. John William McDonald’s ex-wife, Kitt was an American singer, actress, comedian, dancer, and activist known for her highly distinctive singing style and her 1953 recordings of “C’est si bon” and the Christmas novelty song “Santa Baby”. Orson Welles once called her the “most exciting woman in the world”.

John William McDonald and Eartha Kitt’s marriage

In 1960, while her fame was still on the rise, Eartha Kitt married John William McDonald, a veteran of the Korean war, and an associate of a real estate investment company. Before John Williams, Kitt was in a romantic relationship with the cosmetics magnate Charles Revson and banking heir John Barry Ryan III.

John William McDonald and Kitt got married on June 6, 1960. They got married in a beautiful ceremony in the presence of their friend, family, and loved ones. Their only daughter, Kitt, was born one year into their union. Their daughter was born on November 26, 1961, and was baptized Catholic at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church. Kitt and McDonald divorced in 1965.

John William McDonald had developed an addiction to opioids to deal with the pain from injuries he obtained after a grenade explosion while he fought in the war. John’s addiction and Kitt’s constant work trips started to create a breach in the marriage.

John William McDonald and Kitt separated in July 1963, and Kitt filed for divorce, citing “mental cruelty” in the documents and asking for child support. John William McDonald did not appear in court. Kitt eventually won the case in 1964, and McDonald was ordered to pay $100 a month in child support.

John William McDonald’s daughter, grew up on the sets of movies and plays, learning from a young age everything about the entertainment industry and being her mom’s number one fan. Kitt and her daughter were inseparable as the duo shared a bond quite like none other.

Kit recounts–

From the moment the doctor said I could get on a plane, my mother and I took flight. She took me wherever she went to perform and, as she was internationally famous, that meant we traveled to places near and far—New York, Great Britain, Sweden, Denmark, Australia, Japan…

Kitt instilled in her daughter deep respect for nature and the belief that people don’t need to be divided into categories according to religion, race, or sexuality. As Shapiro told People:

“Her point was we’re all human beings. We’re all part of the human race. The worlds a global place in which we’re all connected.”

A long-time Connecticut resident, Eartha Kitt lived in a converted barn on a sprawling farm in the Merryall section of New Milford for many years and was active in local charities and causes throughout Litchfield County. She later moved to Pound Ridge, New York, but returned in 2002 to the southern Fairfield County, Connecticut town of Weston, in order to be near her daughter Kitt and family. John William McDonald’s daughter, Kitt, married Charles Lawrence Shapiro in 1987.

John William McDonald’s ex-wife, Kitt died of colon cancer on Christmas Day 2008, three weeks short of her 82nd birthday at her home in Weston, Connecticut. Her daughter, Kitt McDonald, described her last days with her mother:

I was with her when she died. She left this world literally screaming at the top of her lungs. I was with her constantly, she lived not even 3 miles from my house, we were together practically every day. She was home for the last few weeks when the doctor told us there was nothing they could do any more. Up until the last two days, she was still moving around. The doctor told us she will leave very quickly and her body will just start to shut down. But when she left, she left the world with a bang, she left it how she lived it. She screamed her way out of here, literally. I truly believe her survival instincts were so part of her DNA that she was not going to go quietly or willingly. It was just the two of us hanging out [during the last days] she was very funny. We didn’t have to [talk] because I always knew how she felt about me. I was the love of her life, so the last part of her life we didn’t have to have these heart to heart talks. She started to see people that weren’t there. She thought I could see them too, but, of course, I couldn’t. I would make fun of her like, “I’m going to go in the other room and you stay here and talk to your friends.”