The post Video: Bruce Vilanch Drops In On “Hey Qween” To Dishes About Bette Midler, Cher, Carol Channing, And Red Foxx – 4 Videos Included first appeared on We Got Bruce!.

“Carol Channing Larger than Life” is the title of a documentary by Dori Berinstein and the perfect description of its subject because Carol Channing was born larger than life. Growing up in San Francisco, as a child she helped her mother distribute “The Christian Science Monitor” backstage at the Curran Theater. Overwhelmed by the “church-like” atmosphere in the theater, Carol knew instantly that she wanted to hold court on center stage. The girl with the wispy blonde hair, big eyes and too large mouth knew that she was destined to be a star and a star she became. Carol was Lorelei Lee and Lorelei was Carol Channing, just as much as Dolly was Carol Channing and Carol was Dolly Levi. As Bob Mackie points out in the film, “It doesnâ€t matter who the character is, itâ€s always Carol.”

At the age of 90+, Channing is still performing, which should come as no shock. There has always been sweetness to her persona and it is underscored by her personal love story. Married, unhappily for far too many years to her manager Charles Lowe, she finally divorced. A few years later, she was reunited with her first boyfriend whom she met at Aptos Middle School at the age of 12. She spoke of him fondly in her memoirs and he sought her out despite the fact that they had not seen one another for 70 years. She and Harry Kullijian were married in 2003 and the two octogenarians toured together as Carol played the auditorium circuit. Sadly, Kullijian died in December 2011.

If you are a fan of musical theater, you cannot help but be entranced by her story. Single minded of purpose, she lived a self-focused life that was true to the title of her memoir – Just Lucky I Guess. She acknowledges her inadequacies as a parent to her one son because a life in the theater is all consuming. Tireless, she did not miss a single performance in her signature show “Hello Dolly,” once telling her understudy JoAnne Worley to relax because sheâ€d never be going on, and she never did.

In an on-camera interview, Jerry Herman, creator of “Hello Dolly,” recalled how David Merrick, the producer, had wanted the show created for Ethel Merman. Working tirelessly, Herman wrote all of the songs for Mermanâ€s range and style only to be told after completion that Merman no longer wanted to work on stage. (Ironically, she would be one of the Dollys who followed Channing, a group that even included Phyllis Diller.) Distraught and frantic, Herman didnâ€t know what to do until Channing was brought to him. After talking to her endlessly, something both liked to do, he shut himself in his room and rewrote the entire score overnight. As he squired Channing around town prior to rehearsals, he ecstatically introduced her everywhere to anyone who would listen as his Dolly. For Channing it was the role of a lifetime and she never relinquished it. As Herman pointed out, “When you create a role, it follows you for life.” And indeed it has.

Carol Channingâ€s life in the theater has produced many friends and it is delightful to hear the stories, especially those of Marge Champion, theatrical partner and wife of Gower Champion, director of “Hello Dolly.” It was Marge who had spotted Carol in a revue out of town and brought her to Gowerâ€s attention when he was casting his first Tony Award-winning show, “Lend an Ear,” introducing Carol to New York audiences. So many other entertainment luminaries comment on her influence, from Bruce Vilanch, who wanted to be her, to Betty Garrett, her roommate when they were both performing in the Borscht Belt in the Catskills in the 30â€s. It was there that Carol was fired for the first time, but her resilience got her through the experience, telling a distraught Garrett that “Someday heâ€ll be remembered as the man who fired Carol Channing.” How generous, because whoever he is, heâ€s no longer remembered at all.

Truly a valentine to Ms. Channing, this is not an in depth study of the woman, so donâ€t expect any dark secrets to be revealed. Berinstein glosses over all but the cheery and laudatory, filling out her rapidly paced 87 minute film with commentary by a number of questionable commentators. Figuring most prominently among the head scratchers is Loni Anderson, a bottle blonde (Channing was a natural) with a large mouth and marginal, at best, talent and an even more marginal relationship with Channing who doesnâ€t seem to have met anyone she didnâ€t like (ex-husbands excepted).

If you love theater, especially musical theater (and I know youâ€re out there), then there arenâ€t too many more pleasant ways to spend an hour and a half. Itâ€s pure fluff, but sheâ€s a legend. Itâ€s no surprise that she never really succeeded on television or film because Carol Channing truly is larger than life.

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Broadway World
Carol Channing, et al. to Participate in GAY DAYS at Disneyland, 9/30-10/2
by BWW News Desk
September 1, 2011

The 2011 Gay Days at Disneyland are set to take place Friday, September 30 to Sunday, October 2. For its 14th year, the event is expected to attract more than 30,000 LGBT park-hoppers from California and all over the country.

Newly added to the schedule is An Intimate Conversation With Carol Channing, in which the 90 year-old legend will talk about her life, career and new CD with Eddie Shapiro, co-author of Queens in the Kingdom: The Ultimate Gay and Lesbian Guide to the Disney Theme Parks. The chat will take place at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel on Sunday, October 2 at 6:30 p.m. and will benefit the Dr. Carol Channing and Harry Kullijian Foundation for the Arts, whose mission it is to put the arts back into the public schools. Tickets are $20.

Glee star and 2011 Emmy-nominee, Dot Marie Jones, will also be on hand, hosting the VIP cocktail party with Gay Days regular, Bruce Vilanch. The party, for VIP Gold ticket holders, is on Saturday, Oct. 1 at 5:30 p.m. VIP tickets are available by calling (714) 778-BLUE.

The weekend opens Friday, September 30 with WONDERLAND, a dance party with DJ Ray Rhodes (Tiger Heat, KBIG 104.), hosted by Los Angeles drag diva Momma. Oscar winning screenwrite, Dustin Lance Black (Milk and the forthcoming J.Edgar) will preside over the VIP room. he event, which benefits The Trevor Project, runs from 9:30pm-1am at Ralph Brennan‘s Jazz Kitchen located in Downtown Disney at the Disneyland Resort. Tickets are $20 at the door.

Saturday, October 1 will be Gay Day at Disneyland, which culminates with KINGDOM, the weekend’s signature dance party with music from renowned DJ Kimberly S. and a special performance by The Voice finalist, Frenchie Davis, KINGDOM will be held at the House of Blues Anaheim in Downtown Disney from 9pm-1:30am. Tickets are $35 in advance, $45 at the door.

New this year is a Saturday ladies night, featuring a performance by renowned comedienne, Suzanne Westenhoefer, performing her show, Semi-Sweet. Tickets are $25 in advance, $30 at the door. That will be followed by another Gay Days Anaheim first, a lesbian lounge at The Anabella Hotel, across the street from Disneyland.

Sunday, October 2 will be Gay Day at Disney’s California Adventure and the return of the Gay Days Anaheim pool party, PLUNGE! from noon until 4:00 p.m. at The Anabella Hotel. DJ Zach Moos will be spinning while Momma and her bathing beauties splash around in the pool. Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door.

VIP ticket packages for all three parties are available now.

Both days in the parks will feature gatherings only available over Gay Days weekend, including scavenger hunts, a group photo, a PFLAG luncheon, group meet ups at varying attractions, and many more events targeted to families, youth, bears, couples and Mouseketeers of every ilk. A complete schedule is available at the Gay Days website www.GayDaysAnaheim.com

Other highlights of the weekend include free gift bags at the Gay Days Welcome Center (located inside the Trillium Room of Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel), and a Gay Days Pin Trading event on Sunday.

Gay Days Anaheim is a “mix-in” with the park’s other weekend guests, but gays and lesbians are encouraged to wear red shirts in order to identify each other and to show strong numbers. Official T-shirts are available at the official Gay Days at Disneyland website. Note: Gay Days Anaheim is NOT a Disney-sponsored event so Disney will not have any information regarding the “unofficial” happening.

Sponsors for the event include Undergear, Absolut Vodka, Howard Johnson Anaheim, Hotel Menage, The Anabella Hotel, Knott’s Berry Farm, Miller/ Coors, and the Anaheim/Orange Country Visitor and Convention Bureau. Media sponsors are Gay.com, Frontiers, PIX, Odyssey Hawaii, Rage, Grindr, Hollywood and Highland, EDGE and QVegas.

For complete details, including discounted hotel rooms and park tickets, visit www.GayDaysAnaheim.com

The post Bruce Vilanch, Carol Channing, Others To Participate In Gay Days At Disneyland first appeared on We Got Bruce!.

Modern Tonic
WELL, HELLO CAROL!
July 7, 2011

The best documentaries are the ones that tell stories so extraordinary that you wouldnâ€t believe them if they were fiction. And Carol Channing: Larger than Life captures the outrageously fascinating life of one of Broadwayâ€s greatest legends. Channing took to the stage in grammar school, where she performed dead-on impersonations of all her teachers, and never really left again. From her stage triumphs in “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” and “Hello, Dolly!” to her late-in-life reunion with her high-school sweetheart, Channingâ€s life in the theater makes for one of the yearâ€s most bubbly cinematic delights. Featuring rarely-seen clips plus testimonials from Chita Rivera, Barbara Walters, Bruce Vilanch, and her chorus of “Dolly boy” dancers, Larger than Life lives up to its titles.

Carol Channing: Larger Than Life screens at OutFest and Newfest this month.

The post Carol Channing: Larger Than Life first appeared on We Got Bruce!.

Theatermania
Carol Channing: Larger Than Life
Reviewed By: Leslie (Hoban) Blake · Apr 25, 2011 · New York

Dori Berinstein’s loving cinematic tribute, Carol Channing: Larger Than Life, now premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival, is a cornucopia of favorite moments from the nonagenarian’s 60-plus years in the spotlight, as well as a glimpse into her current personal life. In both cases, Berinstein shows just how smart, funny, and gracious the star is both on and offstage.

The film’s title has several meanings, from Channing’s height (at 5’9) to her gigantic smile, and outsized personality. She was literally too big for the screen, appearing in only a few films — including her Oscar-nominated role in Thoroughly Modern Millie — but she happily played to generations of theatergoers in such shows as Lend an Ear, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, and her own signature magnum opus, Hello Dolly.

Many of Channing’s co-stars and admirers show up in the film, most with illustrative footage. After Jerry Herman, Angela Lansbury, and Chita Rivera speak, there are scenes of the trio honoring Herman at the Kennedy Center in 2010. Lily Tomlin, Bruce Vilanch, Tommy Tune, Barbara Walters, and the late Betty Garrett also share their memories, while Debbie Reynolds commiserates as one wronged wife to another. (Channing’s third husband robbed and left her.)

But most of all, the film is a love story that wouldn’t be believed if it weren’t true. Channing and her fourth husband (and junior high school sweetheart) Harry Kullijian, married since 2003, are like a real-life Romeo and Juliet gone right, holding hands and smiling like the teenagers they were back in the 1930s.

And make sure you stay until the very end: the sublime outtakes during the final credits are not-to-be-missed.

The post Bruce Honors Carol Channing In Cinematic Tribute, “Larger Than Life” first appeared on We Got Bruce!.