[Dixielandjazz] Carol Channing interviewed - Palm Springs Desert Sun, December 18, 2011

[Robert Ringwald]

Carol was featured at the Modesto CA Jazz Festival last Spring.  I heard that she  wow'd the audience at the age of 90.  
 

Christmas Carol
Broadway icon Carol Channing discusses Christmas show, documentary
by Judith Salkin
Palm Springs Desert Sun, December 18, 2011
Carol Channing's Rancho Mirage home is filled with honors and memorabilia from her
70-plus years in show business, but the eye is inevitably drawn to the Tony Awards
gleaming alongside each other.
A wall in the living room is adorned with a collage of photos of the Broadway legend
with every U.S. president from Eisenhower on -- with the notable exception of Kennedy.
"John Fitzgerald Kennedy once told me I was his favorite performer," Channing says
in her distinctive drawl. "He was mine. But I don't have a photo with him; whenever
I was with him, he shooed the photographers away."
The dining room table is a work in progress, with endless stacks of photos of Channing
performing from her earliest days. "Yes," she says, "we've been working on organizing
them, but it's so much work! It's my life in pictures."
Channing is proudest of the Al Hirschfeld drawings of her as her two most famous
characters -- Lorelei Lee and Dolly Levi. Unfortunately, there isn't one of her as
Muzzy from "Thoroughly Modern Millie."
"I used to know where all the Ninas were (Hirschfeld hid his daughter's name in every
caricature he did), but I can't find them anymore," she says with a small shake of
her head.
Always tall and remarkably thin, Channing seems smaller, less substantial because
of her years. But even as her 91st birthday approaches, she'd still rather be at
the front of the parade than watching it pass her by.
On a recent desert morning, the still-sassy nonagenarian was accompanied by her husband
of eight years and love of more than 70, Harry Kullijian, and David Green, executive
director of the couple's foundation dedicated to exposing young minds to the arts.
Channing welcomed a reporter and photographer into her home to discuss her new stage
show, "A Carol Channing Christmas," which debuts Wednesday at The Show at Agua Caliente
Casino Resort Spa.
The holiday extravaganza will feature Channing performing some of her iconic Broadway
show tunes, including "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" and "Hello, Dolly!"
"We're still putting it all together," Green said. But he did offer a few hints about
the show.
"Rich Little will join (Channing) on stage and the American Glee Club, made up of
students from across the country, will perform with her."
It's a mini Radio City musical in the desert, minus the kick line.
"We're going to have Carol enter the stage, dressed all in white and riding in a
white convertible," Green said. "We just haven't secured the car just yet."
"Wouldn't it wonderful if it was a Duesenberg?" Channing asks with a twinkle in her
eye. "I think I'd like that!"
In January, Dori Bernstein's documentary, "Carol Channing: Larger Than Life," screens
at the Palm Springs International Film Festival.
"She saw me on Broadway and from then on, she wanted to meet me," Channing said of
the Broadway producer/filmmaker.
The film has screened at several festivals around the country to positive reviews.
In addition to Palm Springs, Lily Tomlin will host the Los Angeles premiere on Jan.
18 at the Paley Center for Media in Beverly Hills. It opens nationally on Jan. 20.
Bernstein first saw Channing perform at age 7, "And it changed my life," she said
from her home in New York. "She was the one who got me hooked on theater. I was crazy
about her."
In addition to archival footage for the film, which covers Channing's career on Broadway
and film, Bernstein interviewed Tomlin, Barbara Walters, Tyne Daly, Debbie Reynolds,
Phyllis Diller, Loni Anderson, JoAnne Worley, Bruce Vilanch and others to put Channing's
legacy in perspective.
"She's such an extraordinary woman and she has such a generous heart," Bernstein
said. "She cares so much about the next generation."
The current footage was shot while Channing was touring the country, talking to educators,
legislatures and school officials about the importance of keeping arts education
in schools. It's a subject that is dear to her heart.
"It took about two years, but its message is very important," Bernstein said. "You
have to follow your dreams is the message I hope everyone gets from her."



--Bob Ringwald
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