Channing, Carol

Channing, Carol [ Elaine] (b. 1921), comedienne. The tall, blonde performer, whose voice runs the gamut from babyish squeals to baritone, was born in Seattle and made her debut in the chorus of No for an Answer (1941). Later the same year she understudied Eve Arden in Let's Face It!, and then after a brief appearance in Proof Through the Night (1942), she traveled the nightclub circuit. Channing's fame was assured when she appeared in Lend an Ear (1948) where her superb comic talents flourished, most notably as a wildly energetic chorus girl in a spoof of 1920s' musicals. She consolidated her reputation when she essayed the role of Lorelei Lee in the musical Gentleman Prefer Blondes (1949). Brooks Atkinson noted, “She goes through the play like a dazed automaton—husky enough to kick in the teeth of any gentleman on the stage, but mincing coyly in high‐heel shoes and looking out on a confused world through big, wide, starry eyes. There has never been anything like this before in human society.” In 1954 she succeeded Rosalind Russell in Wonderful Town, then appeared in the title role of The Vamp (1955) and in an intimate revue designed around her talents, Show Girl (1961). Her greatest success was as the pushy Dolly Levi in Hello, Dolly! (1964), a role she would return to throughout her life with extensive tours and Broadway returns in 1978 and 1995. She also returned to the character of Lorelei Lee for Lorelei (1974), a revised version of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. In 1986 she toured with Mary Martin in Legends, a play that never reached New York. Autobiography: Just Lucky I Guess, 2002.