Carol Channing

***Carol Elaine Channing*** (January 31, 1921, Seattle, Washington, USA - January 15, 2019, Rancho Mirage, California, USA) was an American actress, singer, dancer and comedian. Notable for starring in Broadway and film musicals, her characters typically radiate a fervent expressiveness and an easily identifiable voice, whether singing or for comedic effect. Carol Channing also studied acting at The Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre in New York City.

She began as a Broadway musical actress, starring in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes in 1949, and Hello, Dolly! in 1964, when she won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. She revived both roles several times throughout her career, most recently playing Dolly in 1995. Channing was nominated for her first Tony Award in 1956 for The Vamp followed by a nomination in 1961 for Show Girl. She received her fourth Tony Award nomination for the musical Lorelei in 1974.

As a film actress, she won the Golden Globe Award and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance as Muzzy in Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967). Other film appearances include The First Traveling Saleslady (1956) and Skidoo (1968). On television, she appeared as an entertainer on variety shows, from The Ed Sullivan Show in the 1950s to Hollywood Squares. She had a standout performance as The White Queen in the TV production of Alice in Wonderland (1985), and had the first of many TV specials in 1966, An Evening with Carol Channing.

Channing was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame in 1981 and received a Lifetime Achievement Tony Award in 1995. She continues to perform and make appearances, singing songs from her repertoire and sharing stories with fans, cabaret style. She released an autobiography, titled Just Lucky I Guess, in 2002, and Larger Than Life, a documentary film about her career, was released in 2012.

In 1966, she won the Sarah Siddons Award for her work in Chicago theatre. During her film career, Channing also made some guest appearances on television sitcoms and talk shows, including What's My Line? where she appeared in 11 episodes from 1962 to 1966. Channing did voice-over work in cartoons, most notably as Grandmama in an animated version of The Addams Family from 1992-93.

During most of her career, she was asked to perform in various skits or appear as a guest on regular shows. In the 1960s, she was on the Andy Williams Show. In 1985, she played the role of the White Queen in the television special, Alice in Wonderland. In 1986, Channing appeared on Sesame Street and sang a parody of the song "Hello, Dolly!" called "Hello, Sammy!". Songwriter Jule Styne, who wrote the score for Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, invited her on his television special in 1987 where she performed another one of her signature songs, "Little Girl from Little Rock".

Channing died from natural causes on January 15, 2019, at her home in Rancho Mirage, California, at the age of 97. On January 16, the lights on Broadway were dimmed in honor of Channing. A crowd congregated outside the St. James Theatre, as it had also been the anniversary of the opening of the original Broadway production of Hello, Dolly!. Her ashes were sprinkled between the Curran Theatre and the Geary Theater in San Francisco.