Broadway legend Carol Channing from Hello Dolly dead at 97
Carol Channing, the iconic Broadway actress who portrayed Dolly Levi in Hello Dolly! has died, her publicist has said.
Carol Channing, the legendary Broadway actress who portrayed Dolly Levi in Hello Dolly! has died, her publicist said in a statement.
Channing was 97 and died at her home in Rancho Mirage, California.
Her gravelly voice and big, bright smile became the trademarks of a performer who originated some of Broadway’s most iconic roles throughout the ’40s, ’50s and ’60s.
In a statement, Harlan Boll said “it is with extreme heartache” she announced “the passing of an original Industry Pioneer, Legend and Icon.”
“I admired her before I met her, and have loved her since the day she stepped ... or fell rather ... into my life,” wrote the publicist. “It is so very hard to see the final curtain lower on a woman who has been a daily part of my life for more than a third of it.”
Her big break came in 1949 when she was cast as the diamond-obsessed showgirl Lorelei Lee in the Broadway musical Gentleman Prefer Blondes, in which she performed the now classic song Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend (Marilyn Monroe played the same role in the movie.
In 1964 she scored her most iconic role as Dolly Gallagher Levi, a turn of the century matchmaker, in the musical Hello, Dolly!
Channing famously beat out Barbra Streisand, who starred in Funny Girl, for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her starring turn.
Channing reprised the role three times on Broadway and in the West End for more than 5000 performances up until 1995.
The lead role in Hello Dolly would also earn Bette Midler a Tony Award in 2017.
Last week I met a Unicorn...the one and only Carol Channing... pic.twitter.com/5EnS6iuSFw
â Bette Midler (@BetteMidler) May 31, 2016
Channing was cast as Muzzy Van Hossmere in the 1967 movie musical Thoroughly Modern Millie, starring Julie Andrews.
She won a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress, as well as an Academy Award nomination.
Muzzy is best remembered for the now iconic line, “Raspberries,” which has become synonymous with Channing ever since.
Channing was born in Seattle to George Channing, a newspaper editor, and his wife, Adelaide.
She grew up in San Francisco, where her parents were devout members of the Christian Science religion.
After a brief stint in college, Channing moved to New York, where she made her stage debut in Never Take No for an Answer and was an understudy in Let’s Face It.
She was first married to writer Theodore Naidish and then Canadian football player Alex Carson with whom she had one son, Channing Carson.
Channing then married her manager and publicist Charles Lowe in 1956 and even though it lasted 42 years she claimed in divorce proceedings in 1998 that they had only slept together twice and that he had mismanaged her finances. He died a year later before the divorce was finalised.
In 2003 she married her childhood sweetheart Harry Kullijian and they were together until Kullijian’s death eight years later.
I am so sad just lost my incredible original inspiration #carolchanning I saw her in Hello Dolly when I was 8 and she changed my DNA love you lady forever one of the greatest entertainers of all times
â Sandra Bernhard (@SandraBernhard) January 15, 2019
RIP the legendary Broadway empress Carol Channing. Raspy-voiced chanteuse, our beloved Dolly Levi, the first solo Super Bowl performer, AIDS and Actorsâ champion, target of Nixonâs enemies list...all around bad ass. ðððð» pic.twitter.com/mH4wNcOXZj
â S.E. Cupp (@secupp) January 15, 2019
One of Broadway's greatest lights, Carol Channing, has passed on. She rejoins the heavens as a new diamond in the night sky, and as she famously sang, they are a girl's best friend. Goodbye and farewell, forever our Dolly. https://t.co/0u2zLcAnff
â George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) January 15, 2019
âWhen the whistles blow
â Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel) January 15, 2019
And the cymbals crash
And the sparklers light the sky
I'm gonna raise the roof
I'm gonna carry on
Give me an old trombone
Give me an old baton
Before the parade passes by!â
Goodbye, Carol.
â¤ï¸â¤ï¸â¤ï¸â¤ï¸â¤ï¸â¤ï¸â¤ï¸â¤ï¸â¤ï¸â¤ï¸â¤ï¸ https://t.co/Z6KFQzrcWV
She was show business and love personified â¤ï¸â¤ï¸â¤ï¸â¤ï¸ https://t.co/isNzReB733
â Bernadette Peters (@OfficialBPeters) January 15, 2019
RIP dear wondrous legendary lady. You were one of a kind.â¤ï¸â¤ï¸â¤ï¸ pic.twitter.com/Me7yB96ciO
â Audra McDonald (@AudraEqualityMc) January 15, 2019
A star...a legend...an inspiration. You will forever be missed. R.I.P Carol.
â Margaret Cho (@margaretcho) January 15, 2019
"Laughter is much more important than applause. Applause is almost a duty. Laughter is a reward." - Carol Channing pic.twitter.com/GdSmomRSiJ
RIP Carol Channing. The original Dolly and a "helluva" performer! You had a great run! Rest well. https://t.co/6kMpQgonHt
â Viola Davis (@violadavis) January 15, 2019