March 29, 2024
America’s ‘Dolly’ Carol Channing dies at 97
RANCHO MIRAGE - Carol Channing, the raspy-voiced, saucer-eyed, wide-smiling actress who played lead roles in the original Broadway musical productions of “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” and “Hello, Dolly!” and delivered an Oscar-nominated performance in the 1967 movie musical “Thoroughly Modern Millie,” died this week at her home in Rancho Mirage. She was 97.

Her publicist, B. Harlan Boll, announced the

Miss Channing was a gangly, dynamic, irrepressible presence on Broadway for more than seven decades. Platinum blond and standing 6 feet tall, she made her breakthrough impression on audiences and critics as the beguiling gold digger from Little Rock, Lorelei Lee, in “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” (1949).

Her rendition of two of the show’s most memorable songs, “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” and “A Little Girl From Little Rock,” launched her career. Brooks Atkinson of the New York Times called her portrait of Lee a “most fabulous comic creation.”

In 1964, Miss Channing largely managed to wipe away the memory of Lorelei Lee with her starring role in “Hello, Dolly!” as an aggressive, shrewd, ever-optimistic matchmaker. Based on a Thornton Wilder play, “Hello, Dolly!” featured music and lyrics by Jerry Herman and a title song that became a pop standard. But it was Miss Channing who defined the show’s spirit.

She was honored in 1995 for her work on Broadway with a Tony for lifetime achievement. About that time, she embarked on a worldwide tour of “Hello, Dolly!” — still in the leading role.

When Channing received a star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars in 2010, Palm Springs resident Barry Manilow sent the congratulatory message, “As far as I'm concerned, you should have a star on every street in town."

Her Rancho Mirage neighbor, TV and stage star Kaye Ballard, said Channing transcended even stardom, the Desert Sun reported.

Carol Elaine Channing was born in Seattle on Jan. 31, 1921, and grew up in San Francisco. Her father, a journalist and Christian Science lecturer, was a strong influence on her life. Miss Channing, who remained committed to Christian Science beliefs throughout her life, never drank or smoked. According to her 2002 autobiography, “Just Lucky I Guess,” her mother revealed to her at 16 that her father was half black and warned her to keep the family racial heritage a secret.
Story Date: January 22, 2019
Real-Time Traffic
NBC
AQMD AQI
Habitat for Humanity
United Way of the Inland Valleys
Pink Ribbon Thrift