Carol Channing is 89 today. And seeing this groovy gal as Dolly Gallagher Levi in Hello, Dolly! was such an amazing theatrical experience that I had to repeat it - and the second time was just as incredible. The lady is a comedic genius, and I hope you will join me in wishing her a happy birthday today. Here are 10 Groovy Facts about Carol Channing:
1) She was born Carol Elaine Channing on January 31, 1921, in Seattle, Washington. Her father was a journalist whose newspaper career took the family to San Francisco when she was only two weeks old.
2) According to her 2002 autobiography, Just Lucky I Guess, when Channing left home to attend college in Vermont, her mother informed her that her father's mother had been African-American. Channing kept this a secret until she wrote her memoirs.
3) In 1941, she became an understudy for Eve Arden in the Broadway musical, Let's Face It! Decades later, Arden would play "Dolly" in a road company after Channing finally relinquished the role.
4) Channing replaced Rosalind Russell as Ruth Sherwood in the original Broadway production of the musical, Wonderful Town (1953-54).
5) Her performance as the matchmaking widow, Dolly, won her the 1964 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. She was also nominated for a Tony for her roles in The Vamp (1956), Show Girl (1961) and Lorelei (1974), and she received a Special Tony Award in 1968 and a Lifetime Achievement Tony Award in 1995.
6) For her performance as the eccentric Muzzy Van Hossmere in Thoroughly Modern Millie, Channing was nominated for a 1967 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, but she lost to Estelle Parsons (Bonnie and Clyde).
7) She starred as Jackie Gleason's wife, Flo Banks, in the 1968 cult film, Skidoo.
8) In 1986-87, Channing toured in James Kirkwood's play, Legends!, with Mary Martin, and the playwright later wrote a wonderful book about the infamous 32-city tour called Diary of a Mad Playwright: Perilous Adventures on the Road with Mary Martin and Carol Channing.
9) She played Grandmama in an animated Saturday morning TV version of The Addams Family (1992-95).
10) On May 10, 2003, Channing married Harry Kullijian, her fourth husband and junior high school sweetheart, who reunited with her after she mentioned him fondly in her autobiography.
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