Carol Channing Dead - Legendary Broadway Star Dead at 97

Carol Channing, the Broadway star and Oscar nominee, has sadly passed away at the age of 97 from natural causes.

“It is with extreme heartache, that I have to announce the passing of an original Industry Pioneer, Legend and Icon – Miss Carol Channing,” her publicist announced on Facebook. “I admired her before I met her, and have loved her since the day she stepped … or fell rather … into my life. It is so very hard to see the final curtain lower on a woman who has been a daily part of my life for more than a third of it. We supported each other, cried with each other, argued with each other, but always ended up laughing with each other. Saying good-bye is one of the hardest things I have ever had to do, but I know that when I feel those uncontrollable urges to laugh at everything and/or nothing at all, it will be because she is with me, tickling my funny bone.”

Carol is well known for her work in Broadway’s Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, as well as the title character in Broadway’s Hello, Dolly!, which earned her a Tony Award. She was nominated for an Oscar for her work in 1967′s Thoroughly Modern Millie.