{"value"=>"<p>Carol Elaine Channing was born in Seattle, Washington on January 31, 1921, and grew up in San Francisco, California. She studied drama and dance at Bennington College in Vermont, and briefly worked at the Tamiment Playhouse in Pennsylvania. In late 1940, during a Bennington retreat to New York City, Channing was cast in the opera <span class=\"title\">No for an Answer</span>, which folded after three performances. The following year, she became Even Arden's understudy for role of Maggie Watson in the musical, <span class=\"title\">Let's Face It!</span>, and starred in <span class=\"title\">Proof Thro' the Night</span> during its one-week run in 1942.</p> <p>After working in nightclubs and resorts for a few years, Channing returned to California in 1946. Determined to give her acting career another chance, she auditioned for and won a role in the revue show, <span class=\"title\">Lend an Ear</span>, whose Los Angeles production ran for five months before moving to Broadway in 1948. This proved to be Channing's breakthrough performance. She was subsequently cast in <span class=\"title\">Gentlemen Prefer Blondes</span> in 1949, playing the lead role of Lorelei Lee and singing what would become one of her signature songs, \"Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend.\" <span class=\"title\">Time</span> magazine ran a cover story in January 1950 about Channing's emergence as a Broadway star, and the show ran for two years with an additional national tour. She reprised the role of Lorelei Lee in the 1974 musical, <span class=\"title\">Lorelei</span>.</p> <p>Throughout the 1950s, Channing starred in various theater productions, films, and television programs. She acted alongside Basil Rathbone and Clint Eastwood in the western, <span class=\"title\">The First Traveling Saleslady</span> (1956), and appeared on such television programs as <span class=\"title\">The Dinah Shore Chevy Show</span> and <span class=\"title\">Playhouse 90</span>. Channing also began performing with George Burns in the late 1950s, replacing his partner Gracie Allen; the two would perform in concert together through the 1970s. On Broadway, she appeared in two musicals, <span class=\"title\">Wonderful Town</span> (1953) and <span class=\"title\">The Vamp</span> (1955), before establishing a nightclub act that toured the country. From 1959 to 1960, Channing toured the revue, <span class=\"title\">Show Business</span>, later starring in its Broadway iteration, <span class=\"title\">Show Girl</span>.</p> <p>In 1964, Channing debuted the title character of <span class=\"title\">Hello, Dolly!</span>, Dolly Gallagher Levi, which remains her best-known role. Based on Thornton Wilder's play <span class=\"title\">The Matchmaker</span>, <span class=\"title\">Hello, Dolly!</span> was written by Jerry Herman and Michael Stewart, directed and choreographed by Gower Champion, and produced by David Merrick, who first approached Channing about the role after seeing her nightclub act. The musical opened at the St. James Theatre on January 16, 1964 to rave reviews; it won ten Tony Awards, including Best Actress for Channing. She appeared in two <span class=\"title\">Hello, Dolly!</span> Broadway revivals in 1978 and 1995, a 1979 West End revival, and extensively toured the production over the decades. By the time of her final Broadway performance in January 1996, Channing had played the character around 5,000 times.</p> <p>Following the success of <span class=\"title\">Hello, Dolly!</span>, Channing starred in several television specials and films. Her first special, <span class=\"title\">An Evening with Carol Channing</span>, aired in 1966 and co-starred George Burns and David McCallum. This was followed in 1968 by <span class=\"title\">Carol Channing and 101 Men</span>, a variety show featuring Channing backed by the United States Air Force Cadet Chorale, Eddy Arnold, Walter Matthau, and The Association; <span class=\"title\">Carol Channing Proudly Presents the Seven Deadly Sins</span> in 1969; and <span class=\"title\">Carol Channing and Pearl Bailey: On Broadway</span> the same year. In film, Channing's best-known role came in the musical comedy <span class=\"title\">Thoroughly Modern Millie</span> (1967). For her performance as Muzzy van Hossmere, she won a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress, and was nominated for an Academy Award. Channing's additional film credits include <span class=\"title\">Skidoo</span> (1968) and <span class=\"title\">Shinbone Alley</span> (1971).</p> <p>Channing was a frequent guest on television shows throughout her career. In the 1960s and 1970s, she guested on programs such as <span class=\"title\">The Carol Burnett Show</span>, <span class=\"title\">The Flip Wilson Show</span>, and <span class=\"title\">Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In</span>, and was the first celebrity to perform at the Super Bowl halftime show in 1970. Channing also played the White Queen in the 1985 <span class=\"title\">Alice in Wonderland</span> television film, appeared on <span class=\"title\">The Muppet Show</span> and <span class=\"title\">Sesame Street</span> during the 1980s, and did voice work for several shows from the 1970s through the 1990s.</p> <p>In addition to theater, film, and television, Channing regularly performed in concert. Her shows, typically nightclub, theater, or festival engagements, resembled musical revues and consisted of singing songs (mostly from her musicals), comedy routines, and monologues. Channing's shows were usually solo, although she performed alongside fellow entertainers such as Alan King and George Burns in the 1960s and 1970s, and Rita Moreno in 1992.</p> <p>In 2002, Channing published her autobiography, <span class=\"title\">Just Lucky I Guess: A Memoir of Sorts</span>, in which she publicly revealed her African-American ancestry (on her father's side) for the first time. A documentary about her life, <span class=\"title\">Carol Channing: Larger Than Life</span>, was released in 2012 and directed by Broadway producer Dori Berinstein.</p> <p>Channing received numerous awards for her work as an actress and entertainer. She won a Special Tony Award in 1968, was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Tony Award in 1995, and was given the Oscar Hammerstein Award for Lifetime Achievement in Musical Theatre in 2004. Channing received citations from numerous cities, and an honorary doctorate in Fine Arts from California State University, Stanislaus.</p> <p>Channing was married four times and has a son, Channing Lowe, with her second husband, Alexander Carson. She was married to her third husband, Charles Lowe, for forty-two years until his death in 1999; Charles Lowe was also Channing's manager and publicist.</p> <p>Carol Channing died of natural causes on January 15, 2019 at age 97.</p>"}
{"value"=>"<p>The Carol Channing papers date from the 1910s to 2010 (bulk dates 1940s-2010), and chronicle her professional career as an actress, singer, comedian, and entertainer. The collection holds project files, correspondence, datebooks, photographs, press clippings, programs, posters, scripts, notated music and lyrics, drafts for her memoir, and audio and moving image recordings. It emphasizes Channing's theater roles, particularly <span class=\"title\">Hello, Dolly!</span>, as well as television appearances and concert performances from the 1950s to the 1990s. The collection also reveals Channing's collaborations with colleagues in the arts, and her public persona as portrayed in the media throughout her decades-long career. Few materials in the collection address Channing's personal life.</p> <p>In Series II: Photographs, Series III: Press and Publicity, Series IV: Scripts, and Series VII: Audio and Moving Image Recordings, some materials are grouped as \"concerts.\" Although Channing's concert performances - including her nightclub act and solo shows - resembled musical revues and could therefore be considered theater, the original order of the collection, as well as documentation about the performances, treats them as \"concerts.\" Theater productions and shows explicitly described as musical revues are grouped as \"theater.\" This arrangement is consistently maintained throughout the collection.</p> <p>Original folder titles are also maintained whenever possible.</p>"}
{"value"=>"<p class='list-head'>The Carol Channing papers are arranged in seven series:</p>\n<ul class='arrangement series-descriptions'>\n<li><div class='series-title'><a href='/the/185559#c1711394'>Series I: Professional Files</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1952-2009</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>Series I contains subject files, correspondence, and datebooks related to Channing's professional career as an entertainer and public figure. Dating from 1952 to 2009, this series largely concerns administrative aspects of Channing's career, including financials, logistics, schedules, planning, and professional relationships.</p> <p>The subject files are alphabetically arranged by event, title, name, or content. These files contain logistical information, financial planning documents, drafts, notes, and occasional correspondence. There are several files here on Channing's 1971 concert tour, The Carol Channing Show, as well as <span class=\"title\">Hello, Dolly!</span> The latter consists of a final review draft for the opening Broadway performance, a guest list for the 1978 revival, and a 1991 interview with Channing about the original production.</p> <p>Elsewhere, there are subject files on people Channing collaborated with, namely Eddy Arnold and Walter Matthau; costume designs for Channing; her nightclub act; speeches and lectures she delivered; and touring schedules. Notable items include a hat worn by Pearl Bailey for the television special, <span class=\"title\">Carol Channing and Pearl Bailey: On Broadway</span>, and an instruction manual for preparing Channing's meals titled \"Care and Feeding of a Star.\"</p> <p>Correspondence is arranged chronologically, with a separate file of letters from United States presidents ordered at the end. Much of the correspondence is between Charles Lowe and others, and concerns logistics and planning for theater performances, television shows, and events. There are also dozens of telegrams addressed to Channing on the opening night of <span class=\"title\">Hello, Dolly!</span> located in box 4, folder 20. Presidential correspondence consists of letters to Channing from Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and first ladies Mamie Eisenhower and Hillary Clinton.</p> <p>The ten datebooks detail Channing and Lowe's schedules and professional obligations from 1956 to 1995. Five datebooks are continuous from 1969 to 1973. The datebooks generally include comprehensive schedules for a given day, along with corresponding notes. Of interest is the 1971 datebook, which documents The Carol Channing Show tour, and the 1995 datebook containing schedules for Channing's final <span class=\"title\">Hello, Dolly!</span> revival.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/the/185559#c1711470'>Series II: Photographs</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1910s-2010</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>The photographs detail Channing's multi-faceted career as an entertainer, relationships with colleagues in the arts, and personal life. It is arranged into Concerts and Tours, Film and Television, Other People, Personal and Family, Portraits, and Theater. The majority of photographs are 8\" x 10\" prints. Some negatives and slides accompany the prints.</p> <p>Photographs of concerts and tours, ordered chronologically, mostly depict Channing's performances during the 1960s and 1970s. There are photographs of Channing's nightclub act in New York City in 1963, and a performance with Alan King in the 1970s. A 1971 performance in Kansas City, Missouri is documented here; additional materials related to this performance are located with the Carol Channing Show materials in Series I: Professional Files.</p> <p>Film and television photographs are arranged alphabetically by title, and chronicle Channing's starring roles and guest appearances from 1956 to the 1980s. <span class=\"title\">Carol Channing and 101 Men</span> is well-represented, with many stills from the special. Two of Channing's films, <span class=\"title\">The First Traveling Saleslady</span> and <span class=\"title\">Thoroughly Modern Millie</span>, feature here. Other photographs depict television programs on which Channing guested, such as <span class=\"title\">The Dick Cavett Show</span> and <span class=\"title\">The Flip Wilson Show</span>.</p> <p>Photographs of other people are organized into photographs of others with Channing, and others without Channing, the former being the most prominent. Photographs of others with Channing are arranged alphabetically by name, with a large group of chronologically arranged prints ordered at the beginning. The vast majority of these photographs show Channing with colleagues in the arts at formal events. Those depicted with Channing include Pearl Bailey, George Burns, John Gielgud, Al Pacino, and Barbra Streisand. There are significant photographs of Channing with Jerry Herman, as well as photographs of Channing with politicians, mostly United States presidents and members of the British royal family. Photographs of others without Channing are fewer, and also largely depict colleagues in the arts.</p> <p>The small number of personal photographs mainly depict Channing with Charles Lowe at their wedding, at home, and traveling. Accompanying these photographs are 1944 prints of the United States Signal Corps, in which Lowe served. There is also a photograph of Channing's aunt, Alice Estelle Stucker, along with Stucker's school forms.</p> <p>Portraits of Channing, all of which portray her alone, are numerous. The vast majority date from the 1960s and were taken by Wallace Seawell. There is one portrait of Channing as a child from the 1920s. Caricatures of Channing by Al Hirschfield are contained here as well.</p> <p>Theater photographs, arranged alphabetically by title, document most of Channing's major roles. Many photographs of <span class=\"title\">Hello, Dolly!</span> performances are present, spanning its 1964 debut to its 1995 revival; there are prints of pre-Broadway <span class=\"title\">Dolly</span> performances at the National Theatre in Washington, D.C. from early January 1964, located in box 89. Other productions represented include <span class=\"title\">The Bed Before Yesterday</span>, <span class=\"title\">Gentlemen Prefer Blondes</span>, <span class=\"title\">Jerry's Girls</span>, <span class=\"title\">The Millionairess</span>, and <span class=\"title\">Show Girl</span>. There are also significant rehearsal photographs of <span class=\"title\">Lorelei</span> from 1973.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/the/185559#c1711546'>Series III: Press and Publicity</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1948-2000s</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>The Press and Publicity series, dating from 1949 to the 2000s, pertains to Channing's public persona and how she was covered in the media, and holds awards and honors she received throughout her career. It is arranged into Scrapbooks, Loose Clippings, Programs, Posters, and Awards.</p> <p>The fifty-two scrapbooks of clippings, ordered chronologically, provide a nearly complete collection of Channing's media coverage from 1957 to 1981, including reviews, profiles, announcements, and advertisements from a wide array of publications. Occasional programs, posters, letters, telegrams, and photographs accompany the clippings. Milestones covered in the scrapbooks include Channing's nightclub act of the late 1950s; her <span class=\"title\">Show Business</span> tour and subsequent opening of <span class=\"title\">Show Girl</span> on Broadway (extensively documented by multiple scrapbooks from 1959 to 1961); 1960s television specials; <span class=\"title\">Hello, Dolly</span> tours of the 1960s and 1970s; her Super Bowl halftime show; and <span class=\"title\">Lorelei</span>'s debut. A scrapbook of Channing Lowe's artwork is ordered after the chronological listing.</p> <p>Loose clippings complement the scrapbooks by covering years outside their scope, namely 1949 to 1956, 1964, and the 1980s to the 2000s. Substantial coverage of the first year of <span class=\"title\">Hello, Dolly!</span> on Broadway is contained here, as well clippings covering <span class=\"title\">Gentlemen Prefer Blondes</span> and Channing's heightened celebrity following its initial performances. Clippings from the 1980s to the 2000s cover Channing's later <span class=\"title\">Hello, Dolly!</span> tours, concerts, and various awards she received.</p> <p>The programs are ordered into Concerts and Events, and Theater, with the latter being prominent. There are programs for Channing's early Broadway productions: <span class=\"title\">Lend an Ear</span>, <span class=\"title\">Gentlemen Prefer Blondes</span>, <span class=\"title\">Wonderful Town</span>, and <span class=\"title\">The Vamp</span>. Many <span class=\"title\">Hello, Dolly!</span> programs from 1964 to 1996 are included, as are programs for <span class=\"title\">Show Girl</span>, <span class=\"title\">Four on a Garden</span>, and <span class=\"title\">Lorelei</span>.</p> <p>As with the programs, most of the posters are for theater performances, particularly <span class=\"title\">Hello, Dolly!</span> and <span class=\"title\">Show Business</span>. There are a few posters for Channing's concerts, and for promotional campaigns in which she participated, namely Peoples Jewellers.</p> <p>The awards are arranged chronologically and include printed certificates and plaques of citations, resolutions, proclamations, and honors received by Channing. The citations, resolutions, and proclamations are from a variety of cities and signed by government officials. Also included are Channing's honorary degrees from California State University, Stanislaus and Chapman University.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/the/185559#c1711617'>Series IV: Scripts</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1940-1990s</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>This series, the largest in the collection, contains hundreds of scripts for Channing's concert performances, film and television appearances, and theater productions, dating from 1940 to the 1990s. It is arranged into three subseries: Concerts, Television and Film, and Theater.</p> <p>Writers are indicated in the container list when known, as well as number of copies when more than one is present. Schedules, letters, and notes accompany some scripts, particularly those for film and television. Scripts are frequently annotated.</p> <p>Roughly half the scripts in the entire series are for the television program, <span class=\"title\">The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show</span> (1950-1958). Channing never appeared on the show, though her husband, Charles Lowe, was its producer. Channing did star in its follow-up, <span class=\"title\">The George Burns Show</span>, in 1959; scripts for that show are in this series.</p> <p>Additionally, most theater scripts are for plays and musicals that did not involve Channing. They were mostly given to her as a courtesy from acquaintances or to secure her interest.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/the/185559#c1711739'>Series V: Notated Music and Lyrics</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1950s-1970s</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>Series V holds notated music and lyrics for songs performed by Channing on film and television, in concert, and for theater performances from the 1950s to the 1970s. Songs are largely represented by sheet music, full scores, and parts, most of which are unpublished. Some of the lyrics and notated music feature handwritten notes by Channing and others; occasional composition notes written on separate pages are also included. This series is arranged alphabetically in two sections: songs by title, and by subject. Overlap exists between songs in both sections, as some are grouped with a project, whereas others from the same project are not; this maintains the collection's original order. Additional lyrics for songs in this series are located with the scripts in Subseries IV.A. Concerts.</p> <p>Channing's signature songs are heavily documented here, namely \"Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend,\" \"Hello, Dolly!,\" and \"A Little Girl from Little Rock.\" There are full scores for each of these three songs, as well as sheet music and lyrics for multiple versions that originate from different performances and tours. Other well-known songs feature in this series, such as \"Bye Bye Baby,\" \"Doin' the Old Yahoo Step,\" \"Jazz Baby,\" and \"Some of These Days.\"</p> <p>The subject files mainly highlight music used for theater and concert performances. The most prominent file is <span class=\"title\">Show Girl</span> (and its precursor, <span class=\"title\">Show Business</span>), with scores for every song used in the production. Also of note are scores for the 1970 musical revue, <span class=\"title\">Carol Channing with 10 Stout-Hearted Men</span>. Elsewhere, there are lyrics and sheet music for Channing's night club act from 1957, 1958, and 1968, and scores for The Carol Channing Show, her 1971-1972 tour; additional materials related to this tour are present in Series I: Professional Files, Series II: Photographs, and Series IV: Scripts. A few television programs are represented, such as <span class=\"title\">The Alan King Show</span> and <span class=\"title\">The Ed Sullivan Show</span>. <span class=\"title\">Memories of the Roaring Twenties</span>, a five-disc album presented by Longines Symphonette Society that features Channing singing standards, contains many scores as well.</p> <p>Notable arrangers represented in this series include Elman Anderson, Jimmy Carroll, Sid Feller, Robert D. Hunter, Johnny Mandel, and Tommy Newsom.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/the/185559#c1711848'>Series VI: Memoir</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1996-2002</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>Extensive drafts and notes related to Channing's memoir, <span class=\"title\">Just Lucky I Guess: A Memoir of Sorts</span>, are contained in this series. Channing began the book in the mid-1990s, handwriting individual stories on various subjects. The final published version, which features these stories as distinct chapters, was published by Simon & Schuster in October 2002. The series dates from 1996 to 2002, and holds printed complete, partial, and individual chapter drafts; and Channing's original handwritten drafts and notes. Some supplemental material, such as reference information and lists, is also included. Many drafts contain substantial annotation by Channing, and occasionally Charles F. Adams and Michael Korda of Simon & Schuster.</p> <p>There are eight complete draft versions of the book, dating from 2000 to 2002, including one that Channing titled \"My Sacred Copy.\" The partial drafts are fewer; each includes a portion of the book, often without chapter titles or delineations.</p> <p>The chapter drafts are all individually titled and ordered alphabetically by name or title. Chapters are not presented alphabetically in the published book; indeed, some chapters that are titled in draft form are untitled in the final version. However, their original alphabetical arrangement is maintained here. Some handwritten drafts accompany the chapter drafts, but most are ordered separately in Handwritten Drafts and Notes. The chapters are mainly about fellow actors and entertainers, including Tallulah Bankhead, Joan Crawford, Clint Eastwood, Ethel Merman, Laurence Olivier, and Barbra Streisand. Other chapters touch on Channing's encounters with political figures, while a few detail her pre-Broadway years (Bennington, How I Got in Theatre). In the \"First Section\" draft, Channing discusses learning about her African-American ancestry as a teenager.</p> <p>Handwritten drafts and notes are substantial, dating from 1996 to 1999. Channing's handwritten drafts are on loose sheets of paper and in notebooks. These drafts frequently feature annotations and corrections.</p> <p>Supplemental material includes chapter lists, reference material about Channing and the subjects documented in the book, and writing schedules. There is also a letter to Channing from Charles F. Adams of Simon & Schuster with book edits.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/the/185559#c1711942'>Series VII: Audio and Moving Image Recordings</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1943-1993</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>Series VII contains more than 500 audio and moving image recordings that span Channing's career from the 1950s to 1993, with several recordings of other artists dating from the 1940s. The majority of the recordings originate from concerts, theater performances, and television appearances by Channing. Also present are studio recordings and radio interviews. Series VII is arranged into six subseries: Concerts and Events; Music; Radio; Television; Theater; and Unidentified and Other Artists.</p> <p>Paper inserts separated from recordings, which include tracklists, notes, and letters, are held in box 82.</p></div></li></ul>\n", "type"=>"arrangement"}