Farewell Tawny Kitaen

Tawny Kitaen, the most famous video vixen of them all, has died. She was 59 and the cause of death has not been released.

Who can think of Whitesnake without also dreaming up Tawny in the "Here I Go Again" video? Of course, she was on the cover of two RATT albums, in a few other Whitesnake clips and movies, too. She was married to Whitesnake frontman David Coverdale for about two years during the glam heyday. He remembered here on Twitter this morning.

Tawny Kitaen, ’80s Music Video Vixen and ‘Bachelor Party’ Star, Dies at 59 https://t.co/KNHsLYnDXw

— Variety (@Variety) May 8, 2021

Just woke up to some very sad, unexpected news…Waiting on confirmation…but, if it is true, my sincere condolences to her children, her family, friends & fans…🙏🙏🙏 pic.twitter.com/ioerp3ZRPa

— David Coverdale (@davidcoverdale) May 8, 2021

Comments

[stu]

really sad but chuck finley can breathe a bit easier now.

[Him]

I had to laugh at Stu's comment. Then I sorta' wrinkled my face (which is getting easier as the days go by . . .).

She was a hot mess of a person who clearly had demons that existed long before her rise to B-level fame and were likely exacerbated by it as well. But she was also subject to the glare of the media, a situation I can't fathom and am glad I will never have to experience. And history is filled with people who, like her, never quite got used to it . . . or used to the darkness when that glare goes away.

I often call out Mr. Teeth (the original, not Mitch Malloy) for his old man pervy antics and scratching-post vocals. But this was a gracious and careful note. He could sling, and has slung, mud regarding his relationship with Ms. Kitaen. He chose not to do so this time. And that does speak to his British sense of decorum.

Like Mr. Coverdale, I hope her family and friends find some measure of peace after her passing. And I thank her for playing a small part in the life of a young fella', raised on metal, who saw here and went: "Wow!" RIP, Tawny.

[Rita]

This made me sad.

My BFF and I loved her back in 87 when we were hugely into Whitesnake and David Coverdale. We thought they were an amazing couple at the time, and we loved her almost as much as we adored him. We wanted to be just like her actually. We thought she was gorgeous, which she obviously was.

A couple of years later we just evolved out of the fan girl phase and kind of lost track of her after she was no longer Mrs. Coverdale. But she was always Tawny.

Condolences to her family and her children. 59 is way too young to die.