Carol Channing

Carol Elaine Channing, born in Seattle, Washington on January 31, 1921, was an American actress, comedian, singer, and dancer whose Broadway career spanned from 1941 to 1995. The daughter of Adelaide Channing, who was of German-Jewish ancestry, and George Channing, born George Christian Stucker, who changed his surname for religious reasons before Carol's birth. George Channing's mother was Black and his father was German-American, a fact Adelaide disclosed to Carol only when she left for college at age seventeen. The family relocated to San Francisco when Carol was two years old, after her father took a position at The San Francisco Chronicle following work as a city editor at The Seattle Star. Channing was raised as a Christian Scientist and attended Aptos Junior High School and Lowell High School in San Francisco, graduating in 1938. She won the Crusaders' Oratorical Contest in June 1937, earning a trip to Hawaii with her mother. She subsequently enrolled at Bennington College in Vermont, where she majored in drama and dance, and during her junior year began auditioning for Broadway roles.

Channing's first New York stage appearance came in January 1941 in Marc Blitzstein's No for an Answer at the Mecca Temple, later known as New York City Center. She then moved to Broadway for Let's Face It!, serving as an understudy for Eve Arden. A featured role in Lend an Ear in 1948 earned her the Theatre World Award in 1949 and established her as a star performer. She credited illustrator Al Hirschfeld with advancing her career, stating that his widely published drawing of her as a flapper helped her secure the lead in the Jule Styne and Anita Loos musical Gentlemen Prefer Blondes in 1949, in which she originated the role of Lorelei Lee. The production's signature song, "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend," became among the most widely recognized numbers associated with her name. In January 1950, Time magazine ran a cover story on her emergence as a Broadway star, followed by cover stories in Life magazine in 1955 and 1964.

Channing received her first Tony Award nomination in 1956 for The Vamp, and in 1961 earned a nomination for Best Actress in a Musical for the short-lived revue Show Girl, making her one of the few performers nominated in that category for work in a revue rather than a traditional book musical. She came to national prominence with Jerry Herman's Hello, Dolly! in 1964, originating the role of Dolly Levi and winning the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical that year. Playwright Thornton Wilder, whose play The Matchmaker served as the basis for the musical, attended performances once a week and had planned to rewrite his 1942 play The Skin of Our Teeth with Channing playing both Mrs. Antrobus and Sabina, a project left unfinished at his death. Channing revived the role of Dolly multiple times throughout her career, returning to the role on Broadway for the final time in 1995, the same year she received a Lifetime Achievement Tony Award. Her fourth Tony nomination came in 1974 for the musical Lorelei. Additional Broadway credits include Happy Birthday, Mr. Abbott!, The Swingers, Sugar Babies, and Legend.

In 1964, Channing was invited to the Democratic National Convention in Atlantic City, New Jersey, where she sang "Hello, Lyndon" in support of Lyndon B. Johnson's campaign. She was a favorite of Lady Bird Johnson. In 1967, she became the first celebrity to perform at the Super Bowl halftime show. That same year, her film performance as Muzzy in Thoroughly Modern Millie earned her a Golden Globe Award and a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Her other film appearances include The First Traveling Saleslady in 1956 and Skidoo in 1968. On television, she appeared regularly on variety programs and had her first TV special, An Evening with Carol Channing, in 1966, in which George Burns also appeared. She portrayed the White Queen in the 1985 television production of Alice in Wonderland. Channing also won the Sarah Siddons Award for her work in Chicago's theatres in 1966.

In 1956, Channing married her manager and publicist Charles Lowe. During the 1950s, when Gracie Allen was forced to stop performing due to heart ailments, Allen recognized that Channing, like herself, possessed one of the most distinctive voices in show business and suggested that Channing perform with George Burns. Channing worked with Burns on and off through the late 1950s. She was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 1981. Channing released her autobiography, Just Lucky I Guess, in 2002, and a documentary film about her life and career, Larger Than Life, was released in 2012. She was among the performers interviewed in the documentary Broadway: The Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were There. She continued performing and making appearances into her nineties, sharing songs and stories with audiences in a cabaret format. Channing died on January 15, 2019, at the age of ninety-seven.