{"id":2335,"date":"2017-01-31T20:40:59","date_gmt":"2017-01-31T20:40:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/?p=2335"},"modified":"2018-08-23T18:39:12","modified_gmt":"2018-08-23T18:39:12","slug":"diva-alert-7-carol-channing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/diva-alert-7-carol-channing\/","title":{"rendered":"Diva Alert #7: Carol Channing"},"content":{"rendered":"

Diva Alert #7: Carol Channing<\/h3>\n \"\"<\/a><\/span>

Written by Jackson Upperco<\/p>\n

January\u00a030, 2017<\/p>\n<\/font>

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Welcome back to Diva Alert, Performer Stuff\u2019s series on Great Dames from the Golden Age of Broadway. In these posts, we\u2019re taking a look at some of the American Musical Theatre\u2019s most legendary ladies, along with their seminal stage triumphs.\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

Known for her childlike enthusiasm, big toothy grin, and oft-imitated gravelly voice, this month\u2019s Diva could be recognized by singing just a single note \u2013 she\u2019s that <\/i>iconic. A warm presence who made audiences feel like a best friend, she created two classic musical theatre roles that are still played and revered to this day. She is truly an original. She is\u2026 Carol Channing.<\/p>\n

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Born in Seattle, Carol Channing moved to Vermont to study drama at the age of 16. She made her New York stage debut before her 19th<\/sup> birthday and later that year found herself understudying musical comedy star Eve Arden in the Cole Porter smash hit Let\u2019s Face It! <\/i>Channing eventually became a star herself in the 1948 musical revue Lend An Ear<\/i>, and followed up this success with the first (of two) roles that would make her a legend — Lorelei Lee in the musical adaptation of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes<\/i>.<\/p>\n

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Channing had arrived. As her professional life soared, the star endured several bad marriages before finding Mr. Right (for a while, anyway) in her third husband, Charles Lowe, who got his wife a job replacing Gracie Allen in a television series with George Burns.\u00a0 By 1961, Channing was back on the Broadway stage, and in 1964, she got the second role that would give her immortality \u2013 Dolly Levi in the triumphant Hello, Dolly!, <\/i>which won the actress her first Tony.<\/p>\n

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Channing spent the next several decades revisiting her two biggest hits, giving audiences all over the country a chance to see the big-hearted performer in action. She turned 96 years young in January 2017 and currently resides in Palm Springs, CA. \u201cLaughter is much more important than applause. Applause is almost a duty. Laughter is a reward,\u201d Channing once said. Well, there\u2019s no doubt that she\u2019s spent a lifetime earning them both.<\/p>\n

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DID YOU KNOW?<\/b> In 1970, Carol Channing became the first performer ever booked for the Super Bowl halftime show!<\/p>\n

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Channing Roles You Should Know<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Lorelei Lee in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes <\/i>(1949)<\/h4>\n