Happy 91st Birthday, Carol Channing! Five Classic Clips of Broadway's Favorite Blonde Bombshell

Everybody loves Carol Channing, and aren’t we lucky that this great star is still active and energetic on her 91st birthday? Born in Seattle on January 31, 1921, Channing is revered by Broadway audiences for her Tony-winning performance as Dolly Gallagher Levi in Hello, Dolly! and Tony-nominated turn as Lorelei Lee in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. To honor our favorite platinum blonde birthday girl (and the February 3 release of Dori Berinstein's documentary Carol Channing: Larger Than Life), we’ve gathered five irresistible video clips that demonstrate her star quality.

Stumping the Panel on What's My Line?
Older Baby Boomers have fond memories of the game show What's My Line?, which featured blindfolded, glamorously dressed celebrity panelists trying to figure out the identity of a New York-based star, often a Broadway headliner. In this undated clip, Channing (clad in a fur headwrap and parka) assumes a Russian accent in order to flummox a panel that includes Tony Randall.


A Wistful "Before the Parade Passes By"
After creating the role of Dolly Levi in 1964, Channing returned to Hello, Dolly! again and again over the course of three decades, and it's easy to understand why: Jerry Herman's plucky heroine was a perfect match for the star's larger-than-life persona, and the role took on different colors depending on her age. Click below to see her moving rendition of "Before the Parade Passes By" at a Tony Awards retrospective.


Shimmying as Thoroughly Modern Millie's "Jazz Baby"
Before being passed over for the movie version of Dolly (in favor of a lackluster Barbra Streisand), Channing received an Oscar nomination for playing Muzzy Van Hossmere in the delightful 1967 tuner Thoroughly Modern Millie. This is unfiltered Channing, showing how sexy a 46-year-old can be as shimmies her way through "Jazz Baby" in a blindingly blinged-out flapper dress.


Miss Carol Meets Miss Piggy on The Muppet Show
This pairing had to happen: Channing chats with her porcine doppelganger, Miss Piggy. Although this brief Muppet Show clip from 1980 isn't a classic, we can't resist the sight gag of two blonde divas discussing how to make high heels fit more comfortably.


Wowing the Crowd With "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend"
In 1989, 40 years after creating the role of Lorelei Lee in Broadway's Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, a 68-year-old Channing delivered the signature song "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" on the TV special Broadway's Best at Pops. Note her attention to enunciation, and keep watching to see what's in that purse!