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THEATRICAL THROWBACK THURSDAY: Touchdown! Carol Channing's 3 Super Bowls & 94th Birthday

By: Feb. 05, 2015
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Today we celebrate this weekend's SUPER BOWL as well as the 94th birthday of one of the most iconic Broadway and Hollywood stars alive, the one and only Carol Channing!

Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend

A diamond anniversary is traditionally 75 years, at least for marriages, so how to ascribe a befitting jewel or stone to Carol Channing in honor of her 94th birthday this year? Perhaps it would be best to reference one of her most memorable and indelible roles and the earworm ditty she sang as Lorelei Lee once upon a time, "A Little Girl From Little Rock". Unquestionably, few performers, if any, are as inextricably linked with a major role as Carol Channing - and she has two, not one. Although Jerry Herman's HELLO, DOLLY! may be her most celebrated and well-known character of all, Channing's first huge hit musical boasted perhaps her most beloved song to date - the instantly-addictive "Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend", as originally heard in the Jule Styne/Leo Robin 1949 musical hit GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES. Boasting a hilarious book by Joseph Fields and Anita Loos, and some bawdy and amusing lyrics by Leo Robin to match Styne's characteristically tuneful and boisterous score, GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES features some sensational song sequences besides the breakout hit, yet it is that song that will seemingly live on in perpetuity - its appearances in movie musical MOULIN ROUGE! as sung by Nicole Kidman (mashed-up with Madonna's "Material Girl" no less) as well as a recent Glee homage provide further fodder for having faith in that sentiment; as does the recent smash hit Encores! production of the musical starring Megan Hilty.

Although "Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend" and "Hello, Dolly" are cherished standards with few peers in the music realm, Channing also made a major mark twice in her career by appearing as the half-time entertainment on the Super Bowl. Yes, indeed - Carol Channing at the Super Bowl. Live. First, she appeared on the 1970 telecast to perform a rousing rendition of "When The Saints Go Marching In" and followed that up with yet another SUPER BOWL half-time turn in 1972, alongside no less than Ella Fitzgerald and Al Hurt in a salute to Louis Armstrong. Last year, Channing revisited her SUPER BOWL heyday with a hip new Pepsi ad shown during the major TV and sporting event, bring it all full-circle.

Additionally, Channing herself generously contributed a touching and vivid video opener to BroadwayWorld's spectacular Jule Styne concert last year, EVERYTHING'S COMING UP BROADWAYWORLD.COM: A JULE STYNE TRIBUTE, candidly recalling the first time she heard the Jule Styne song that first made her world famous and proving then that even at 93 "some rocks don't lose their shape."

View Carol Channing's 2014 Pepsi SUPER BOWL commercial paying tribute to her two previous half-time shows below.


What would we do without Carol Channing? No mistaking, she is Broadway royalty of the highest order and possessor of some of Broadway's most adored breakthrough hits in addition to being a great entertainer capable of holding the attention of the masses, as well - whether in 1970 or now. Here's to many, many more years - and a smashing centennial, too! Who knows, maybe she'll mark #95 with another pigskin performance!





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