Yep, Carol “Put On Your Sunday Clothes” Channing has finally gone down for the count. Channing began her Broadway career in 1941, as an understudy to Eve Arden. She went on to originate the role of Lorelei Lee in “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes”, which would set the tone for the rest of her career: as a kind of wide-eyed, perma-cheerful blonde flapper (although, ironically, she was 1/4 African-American).
She went on to replace Gracie Allen as George Burns’ comedy partner for a while, before settling on her two most iconic roles in the mid-1960s: “Hello Dolly!” and “Thoroughly Modern Millie”. Due to her Democratic sympathies she found herself on Richard Nixon’s notorious enemy list, which she described as “the greatest honor in my life”. And with her departure, we lose another celebrity that old drag queens liked to impersonate.
Carol Channing
January 31, 1921 – January 15, 2019
Died aged 97 (30 picks, 1 joker)