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Broadway legend Carol Channing dies aged 97

Updated / Tuesday, 15 Jan 2019 15:28
Carol Channing celebrating her 90th birthday onstage in New York in December 2010
Carol Channing celebrating her 90th birthday onstage in New York in December 2010

Tributes have been paid to Carol Channing, the Broadway legend who has died in the US at the age of 97.

Channing passed away at her home in Rancho Mirage, California. 

"It is with extreme heartache that I have to announce the passing of an original Industry Pioneer, Legend and Icon - Miss Carol Channing," her publicist B Harlan Boll said in a statement to Broadway World. 

"I admired her before I met her, and have loved her since the day she stepped … or fell, rather … into my life."

Channing is best known for her title role in the Broadway musical Hello, Dolly!, with 4,500 performances over the years and a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical.

Her other stage credits included Lorelei, The Vamp and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, singing the classic Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend.

On screen she was a Golden Globe winner and Oscar nominee for her performance in Thoroughly Modern Millie.

She was the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Tony Award for her stage work in 1995, and was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame in 1981.

The current production of Hello, Dolly! paid tribute to Channing's life and work with a statement that read: "We are deeply saddened by the passing of the one and only Carol Channing.

"She was a 'Dolly' for the ages, and a true icon of the American Theatre. Betty Buckley and the cast will dedicate tonight's performance in San Diego to her memory." 
 

There have been many tributes on social media:

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