Carol Channing

Carol Elaine Channing (born January 31, 1921) is an American singer, actress, and comedienne. She is the recipient of three Tony Awards (including one for lifetime achievement), a Golden Globe and an Oscar nomination. Channing is best remembered for originating, on Broadway, the musical-comedy roles of bombshell Lorelei Lee in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, and matchmaking widow Dolly Gallagher Levi in Hello, Dolly!
Channing was born in Seattle, Washington, the only child of George and Adelaide (née Glaser, 1886–1984) Channing. A city editor at the Seattle Star, her father took a job in San Francisco and the family moved when Channing was two weeks old. Her father later became a successful Christian Science practitioner, editor, and teacher. She attended Aptos Middle School and Lowell High School in San Francisco, graduating in 1938. At Lowell, Channing was a member of its famed Lowell Forensic Society, the nation's oldest high-school debate team.

According to Channing's 2002 memoir, when she left home to attend Bennington College in Vermont, her mother Adelaide informed Channing that her father George, who Channing had believed was born in Rhode Island, had actually been born in Augusta, Georgia. Adelaide said that George's father was German American and his mother was African American. Channing's grandmother had moved with George to Providence, Rhode Island for his opportunities. According to Channing's account, her mother reportedly did not want to be surprised "if she had a black baby". In the 2012 documentary, "Carol Channing:Larger The Life" she claims her mother , at some point also told her that she had been born to Jewish parents, thus Carol was also half Jewish.

As she was of majority European-American ancestry, Channing continued to identify as white as a performer on Broadway and in Hollywood. She revealed her African-American ancestry in her autobiography, Just Lucky I Guess (2002). Her autobiography contains a photograph of her mother but has no photos of her father or son. The book says her father's birth certificate was destroyed in a fire.

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