Carol Channing sings on 1953 TV (Two songs from "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes")

[cinderelmo]

What the heck was what those guys shaking their butts in the beginning huh. :46 shake that booty.

[hourlynewscaster]

Carol Channing was the most fascinating person I ever interviewed. She was full of life, totally honest and ... as someone said earlier ... you couldn't take your eyes off her. Meeting here was an incredible experience.

[Handiman544]

She couldn't sing, couldn't dance, she was gawky and lanky but you could not take your eyes off of her no matter what she did. She threw all that at you and you were hooked. That world she lived in was mezmerizing.

[Kittykayify]

Dude, her arms look so long and creepy...

Why was she considered talented?

[mkworkman]

4:52 YouTube video: In this delightfully campy clip from NBC-TV's "The Buick Berle Show," Carol Channing sings two songs from the Broadway musical "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes." The two songs are "A Little Girl From Little Rock" and "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend."

January 31, 1921: birth of Carol Channing, American actress and singer.

[waynebrasler]

Carol herself has doubts about what her mother said. The chance of bearing a black looking baby was zero and Carol did not devote her life to popping out children. She had one son. Has anyone noticed from his clip that Carol has a different nose than she had later? She is a genius. As she's said, she was tall, she was gawky and she had a tweetie-bird voice. Look what she did with all of that. And she is still thriving.

[waynebrasler]

It is not true her father was half-black. She's been told he was half-black but he never said a word about it nor was she aware of it growing up if it's even so. What I think is more interesting is her nose seems broader and longer here than later in her life. You can see why she was such a sensation. And just think of any T.V. show presenting a production this big and this long. Heck, just imagine Britney Spears making it through to the end.

[honeybeey2kjm]

@waynebrasler lol...she said herself in her memeoirs - why would her mom lie about something like that? Her mom only told her the truth about her parentage because she (the mother) did not want Carol to be surprised if she bore a black looking baby with a white man.

[SpanglishCarlos]

@rmmann1 I don't mean to steal your thunder but i think you read that article incorrectly, her father was the African-American. It was HIS parents that were German American and African American.

[mrspatrickcampbell]

Who is the blond homosexual in the front middle at the start?She looks like Miss Tab Hunter!

[flipsyboy]

"My mother said to me, "You're revolting. And on top of that, you're not very feminine". Well, that led me to the stage, which is an accepting and comfortable place. So in a way I have my mother to thank."--Carol Channng

[missvirginiageorgia]

wow she must have been tall! all the guys are barely her height or shorter than her!

[BTURNER1961]

Some folks just don't get either the era, or what it took to compete against the thirty odd shows begging for ticket sales In NY or any other big city. Semi-operatic sopranos with a little classical training were a dime a dozen. there had to be something much more, unique and electrifying to gain an edge. Carol's comic timing and one-of-a-kind style made everything she did remarkable, and memorable. A casting director with sense, cared not one whit how well she held a note. Pure magic

[BabyDillGerkin]

wonderful clip - she's just amazing -- the last 40 seconds are GENIUS

[rmmann1]

Her father's parents were a German-American father and an African-American mother, check Wikipedia.

[hollywoodboysa]

i can see how her father was half balck. she looks ethnic with her lips.

[rmmann1]

@hollywoodboysa Her father's parents were a German-American father and an African-American mother, check Wikipedia. I never knew it until this moment myself and I've been a fan my whole life!

[conmaleta]

I read somwhere she had african american ancestors... is that truth?

[txquis]

we've heard carol do "diamonds" so many times, it is a treat to hear her do "little rock" as well.