Goodbye Dolly !
Carol Channing died on January 15, 2019, of natural causes at her home in Rancho Mirage, California at the age of 97, just 16 days short of her 98th birthday.
The marquee lights of every Broadway theater will dim at 7:45 p.m. Wednesday to honor Channing, who died Tuesday at her home in Rancho Mirage, California, at age 97. The Broadway League says the date marks the anniversary of the 1964 opening of “Hello Dolly!” Channing delighted American audiences in over 5,000 performances as the scheming matchmaker Dolly Levi. Her performance earned her a Tony Award for best actress.
She began as a Broadway musical actress, starring in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes in 1949 and Hello, Dolly! in 1964, winning the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for the latter. She revived both roles several times throughout her career, most recently playing Dolly in 1995. Channing was nominated for her first Tony Award in 1956 for The Vamp followed by a nomination in 1961 for Show Girl. She received her fourth Tony Award nomination for the musical Lorelei in 1974.
