Glamorous Carol Channing Is Honored

Carol Channing gave away that dress at last—the one was stolen from her a few months ago—and the Smithsonian honored her and other great ladies of show business in a gala North Hollywood event. Though her shimmering gown is now in the museum’s collection, Carol was nevertheless glammed to the hilt, even wearing a $40 million diamond on her neck. Those are U.S. dollars, but still!:

These great gals helped create the entertainment business. They were pioneer women in TV, stage and films. Others just follow in their footsteps.

They are the legendary ladies who have become showbiz icons– Carol Channing, Florence Henderson, Julie Newmar, Esther Williams, Tippi Hedren, June Lockhart and Rose Marie. These seven stars were recently honored by the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, which will showcase mementos from their enduring careers in permanent exhibits….

“Tonight is a tremendous night for all of us, because now we are all historic monuments,” Carol Channing gushed with youthful enthusiasm, noting that she was just turning 87. When the VIP audience at the El Portal Theater in North Hollywood broke into applause, she coyly added, “Oh, is that an achievement?” Yes, indeed. Especially when you remain the consummate entertainer, and quick with the ad-libs, like the rest of her gal-pals….

Julie Newmar, 74, gave up her Catwoman costume, from the campy Batman series. She could still fit into the outfit and make guys go wild– if she wanted to. But Newmar said it was time to let it go, and just enjoy having men and young boys “stop me on the street and say ‘Do you know that you were my first turn-on?’” [Gross!]…

Channing, the Broadway legend who starred in Hello, Dolly, and got an Oscar nominee [sic!] for Thoroughly Modern Millie, donated the “diamond dress” designed by Bob Mackie for her stage role as Lorelei in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. In keeping with her “Diamonds are a girl’s best friend” persona, Carol wore a $40 million Arch Duke Joseph diamond necklace to the dazzling Smithsonian event.

An inspiration to everyone for generations, Carol still performs in theaters around the country, doing her one-woman show. “And I visit schools to talk about keeping the creative arts programs alive. I raise money for them so that kids can enjoy the theater and grow up full of wonder about the world.” She and her husband have formed the Carol Channing/Harry Kulijian Endowment for the Arts Foundation which creates scholarships for students.

It was a wonderful to see all those talented and generous women on stage talking about their lives and their treasured mementos that will be preserved in the permanent entertainment collections of the National Museum of American History.

Hooray for Carol—her sparkle now belongs to history!