NEW YORK, Dec. 2 (UPI) -- The immortal Eartha Kitt will take a break from her busy stage schedule next week to headline the Christmas tree lighting party at the White House.
The 80-year-old stage singer has been appearing in the off-Broadway production of "Mimi le Duck," but also has released an album and gone through treatment for colon cancer.
Kitt told The New York Times Saturday that her illness only caused her to cancel one engagement, and she has no plans to retire.
Kitt will sing Christmas standards at the White House next Thursday, nearly 40 years after her more infamous visit when she told President Johnson's wife, Lady Bird, that the Vietnam war was turning the nation's youth against her husband, the Times said.
Kitt said she had no plans to speak out about the current Iraq war, unless she is asked. She added she wasn't comfortable about blurting out her views, and that everyone should support the people doing the fighting whether they agree with the war or not.
