Carol Doing “Dolly” Door-To-Door
In an effort to drum up support for her 12th Broadway comeback, theatre legend Carol Channing (pictured) set across the country in a rented car on Monday to kick off her “Door-To-Door ‘Dolly’ Tour.” “Sir,” the 88-year-old diva told the first house she stopped at, in Miller, South Dakota, “I’d like to come in to your home and perform the role for which I beat Barbra Streisand for a Tony in 1964. My character’s called Dolly Levi and the show is ‘Hello, Dolly.'” As the man, Helson Jones, started for his shotgun, Channing continued: “I’ve done this show all over the country, but, until now, only in legitimate theatres. But in our time of economic crisis, I figured that folks could no longer afford the price of a ticket, let alone the cost of a baby sitter or gas. And so I’m bringing myself directly to you, free of charge!” When Jones refused to let Channing inside, she set up her tape player on a lawn chair and performed “Before The Parade Passes By” on Jones’s front porch. Before she hit the second verse, the local police had arrived (Jones had called 911). As Channing was led away, she cried, “Will this be on the local news? Make sure they spell my name right!”
