Carol Channing "Why I never played Mame" Two On The Aisle

In a 1997 interview Carol Channing talks to Two On The Aisle Critic Charles Gross about Jerry Herman & "Hello Dolly" and explains why she turned down Herman's offer to be Broadway's first "Mame"

[@SSLand-rg5ow]

If you weren't there, you can't understand fully. Channing was a star...is a star. I miss her.

[@markmh835]

One of my life's great memories is getting to see Carol Channing perform "Hello Dolly" on stage in Seattle in 1995. It was spectacular! Sadly, I couldn't get any of my friends to come with me so I went alone. And the theater wasn't sold out either. People had no idea what they missed. RIP Carol. 😢

[@billfisher9238]

i did marketing for that tour in '95. after Seattle it played Portland and we sold out the entire week. GREAT show.

[@Broadwaybuff-pi1qg]

I'm jealous! I would definitely have gone with you to see the one and only Carol!! Glad you saw it anyway.

[@srichdway]

Excellent job of interviewing. He had done his homework, which really made this professional and fascinating. Well done.

[@paulcanaday-elliott9834]

“She did it all by herself. Just like I wanted her to.” LOL! Priceless.

[@Apollo_Blaze]

She was so Real and down to earth...I wish all stars were like she was.

[@Samarastube]

Oh this is exactly what interviews should be! What a treat.

[@bowtieguy85]

He's lovely to look at 🥰

[@johnpinegar8027]

Carol was such a class act

[@GodsFavoriteBassPlyr]

A true treasure... and one of the funniest people to ever grace a stage!

[@yvangnutov8114]

Love her , always positive, credible and naturally funny

[@jimtrue1465]

I saw Carol on stage as Dolly. She had broken her arm the week before, but there she was, on stage with her arm in a cast still being Dolly.

[@cdgross]

She was famous for never missing a performance.

[@orion8835]

Weird. She was beyond dedicated.

[@omarchandler4983]

*She was so gracious and of course a TALENT AND A LEGEND!* ❤️💕

[@simonshackleton1647]

That boy knows his stuff!

[@zyxw2024]

That was sweet!! I thoroughly enjoyed watching this interview. The two were wonderful with each other. Charlie & Carol. That could be a title for a new stage/screen musical. 😊

[@CookieDeelite]

What a gracious lady!

[@AManAndAMouse]

It would've been interesting to hear if she had ever seen The Matchmaker before Jerry turned it into Hello, Dolly. It was on Broadway and on screen in the 1940s-50s with Ruth Gordon and Shirley Booth, respectively.

[@drsunshine1959]

She was a wonderful, wonderful woman - I miss her.

[@showtunestarpower]

Channing is terrific!

[@michaelreilly3513]

Charlie's cute lol.

[@officialmichaelcarrasco]

This is so great!

[@johnflynn9619]

Carol was a PRO. RIP

[@c.d.macaulay66]

The “old timers” had class. Today’s celebs frequently act like spoiled children by comparison. Carol did not know Charles from Adam, yet she was so polite and generous with her answers. You can see she’s intelligent and gracious. Quite different from her public perception.

[@joshuahahn301]

Oh she had a mind like a steel trap!

[@MissPerriwinkle]

was on the front row of her one woman show in frisco. AMAZING

[@CurlylocksLA]

Adore Carol. And could anyone else make "triple by-pass surgery for six hours" sound like such a joyful event?

[@kennethwayne6857]

"Healthy as a bedbug". First time I've heard that phrase. I must use it sometime.

[@jamesmoyner7499]

She was a wonderful actress and her laugh reminds me of Phillis Diller’s.

[@MartinHomeVideo]

Delightful!

[@GreatMindsThinkForLikes]

"Disappointment Act" is funny because Carol is always a thrill!

[@DrewWasMe]

And there was Charles Lowe, in the background, who ultimately made sure Carol could never recover from the cash-box caricature of Hello Dolly that was originally a brilliant performance. Charles Lowe ultimately made sure Carol could never be successful without her caricature. He could control the persona and generate the media attention based on that. She had talents so much more well trained and deeper than he ever let her show. Charles Lowe, with the many since "allegations" is a type of "Mama Rose" that hasn't been discussed or explored because of the time period in which it happened.

[@glennntx]

Tell me more about this...

[@kennethwayne6857]

In short, another 'Colonel' Tom Parker?

[@this_Joe_Smith]

I saw him back there looking kind of . . . . irked?, as if thinking ". . what's she saying over there without my approval"

[@maxipazz8214]

If that’s the bloke in black he looks quite a scary character

[@vickifriend9285]

I saw her twice as Dolly in London. She was wonderful, she’s no Streisand but she’s CAROL. Also watch her at the Hollywood Bowl. Marvellous

[@thelivinglegend1928]

She’s adorable

[@diytom3448]

Very nice interview.

[@sashek8451]

In my mind I always remember her doing Mame and I’m like wait, did she though? lolol

[@davidmarks8318]

Love her

[@stephenr3910]

I saw her in "Jerry's Girls" with Leslie Uggams and Andrea McArdle.

[@XX-gy7ue]

WONDERFUL

[@george-nm9ol]

It's too bad she never did it again 😞

[@ukuleleeddie1953]

15 years would have been 2010. I think she could have still done it.

[@deanloren]

Charlie is a star like carol

[@vitoalbertolippolis2082]

What a class act.

[@maestroclassico5801]

Carol was a star. I love her story of David Merrick. He was not an easygoing producer.

[@larrykampf7192]

Was this the GMCC event at Lincoln Center @1997?

[@cdgross]

This was at the Mr. Abbot Awards at the Copacabana

[@brianeduardo1234]

Mr Gross is gorgeous

[@Spiderman7Bob7]

I saw Carol Channing in the original "GENTLEMEN pREFER bLONDES" WHEN i WAS IN hIGH sCHOOL And I was sorry they picked Marilyn Monroe for the movie version . They changes the script so much that you wouldn't think it was the same story . But that's Hollywood for you .

[@callmeonkeshiasphone]

Give a summary of the play please tell us more bob

[@thehockeyfinn]

oh hey it's ryan stiles

[@Consrignrant]

You're in intensive care after a bi-pass and in serious danger. No one is eating a steak 2 hours later.

[@sibionic]

this is excruciating - on both sides

[@zyxw2024]

Why?

[@littleladybugmom]

Was Carol a man ???

[@MiiZzJ0kEr]

i was thinking the same but a lot of the older stars of the old days had bad facelifts and start looking manly but i do not think she is a man because it would of been leaked long long ago

[@littleladybugmom]

@@MiiZzJ0kEr she's so tall also.

[@MiiZzJ0kEr]

@@littleladybugmom yes that is true also if u see a interview of jeanne carmen as a older women she looks like a sexy drag queen lol

[@Broadwaybuff-pi1qg]

She used to joke that she once entered a Carol Channing contest at a gay bar and came in third!

[@davidwesley2525]

​@@Broadwaybuff-pi1qgEven Dolly Parton Didn't Win a Dolly Parton Look a Like Contest.

[@callmeonkeshiasphone]

SHE WAS GONNA GET HIS NAME RIGHT, SO PRESENT

[@MaxRyan777]

What a dear! Love her!!