Hello, Dollys!: PBS Airs Vintage Carol Channing-Pearl Bailey Concert March 10

By Andrew Gans
March 10, 2004

PBS will air a 1969 concert featuring the talents of two Hello, Dolly! stars — Carol Channing and Pearl Bailey — on March 10.

WNET/Thirteen, which services the metropolitan area, will broadcast the hour-long concert March 10 at 10 PM ET; check local listings. Taped at New York's Winter Garden Theatre, "Carol Channing and Pearl Bailey on Broadway" was originally aired on ABC. The TV special features the two Dolly! stars singing such tunes as "Bill Bailey," "The Oldest Established," "Hello, Dolly!," "Nothing Like a Dame" and "Elegance." Tony Award winner Channing, who created the role of Dolly Levi, solos on "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" and "If I Were a Rich Man" and also impersonates such performers as Marlene Dietrich and Carmen Miranda. Bailey eventually played the spirited Levi on Broadway as well.

One of the true superstars of the American musical theatre, Carol Channing published her autobiography — "Just Lucky I Guess: A Memoir of Sorts" — on the Simon & Schuster label. In addition to her many triumphs — including her Tony for Hello, Dolly! and her Academy Award nomination for "Thoroughly Modern Millie" — Channing's tome also details some of the obstacles she endured, including her long-term food addictions, her battle with cancer and her first marriage to a struggling novelist, Ted Naidish. Channing's other Broadway outings include Lend an Ear, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and Lorelei.

The late Pearl Bailey made her Broadway debut in 1946 in St. Louis Woman. She also appeared on Broadway in Arms and the Girl, Bless You All, House of Flowers and Hello, Dolly!.

For more information visit www.thirteen.org.