Broadway icon Carol Channing has passed away of natural causes at her home in Rancho Mirage, CA at 12:31am on Tuesday, January 15th.
Carol Channing was a beloved Broadway singer and actress known prominently for her role as Dolly Levi in Hello Dolly!, winning the Tony Award for Best Actress in 1964. As a film actress, she won a Golden Globe for her performance as Muzzy in Throughly Modern Millie. In 1981, Channing was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame and received the Lifetime Achievement Tony Award in 1995.
Channing's publicist B Harlan Boll released this statement following her death:
"It is with extreme heartache, that I have to announce the passing of an original Industry Pioneer, Legend and Icon - Miss Carol Channing. I admired her before I met her, and have loved her since the day she stepped ... or fell rather ... into my life. It is so very hard to see the final curtain lower on a woman who has been a daily part of my life for more than a third of it. We supported each other, cried with each other, argued with each other, but always ended up laughing with each other. Saying good-bye is one of the hardest things I have ever had to do, but I know that when I feel those uncontrollable urges to laugh at everything and/or nothing at all, it will be because she is with me, tickling my funny bone."
Our thoughts and hearts are with Carol Channing's family and friends. Her legacy will endure far beyond her years.
Michael Riedel and Christine Nagy spoke with actor/director Lee Roy Reams about the passing of Carol Channing on their Inside Broadway podcast. He talks about what she was like off-stage and tells stories about the decades of working together. Listen below: