Broadway legend Carol Channing dies at 97

KEY POINTS

• Actress Carol Channing, whose career spanned decades on Broadway and on television, has died at age 97 in Rancho Mirage, California.
• The musical comedy star delighted American audiences over almost 5,000 performances as the scheming Dolly Levi in "Hello, Dolly" on Broadway and beyond.
• Channing had twice suffered strokes in the last year.

Singer Carol Channing performs at 'TV Cares: Ribbon of Hope Celebration 2004' on March 13, 2004 at the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, in Hollywood, California.

Kevin Winter | Getty Images

Actress Carol Channing, whose career spanned decades on Broadway and on television, has died at age 97.

Publicist B. Harlan Boll said Channing died of natural causes at 12:31 a.m. on Tuesday in Rancho Mirage, California. Boll said she had twice suffered strokes in the last year.

The lanky, ebullient musical comedy star delighted American audiences over almost 5,000 performances as the scheming Dolly Levi in "Hello, Dolly" on Broadway and beyond.

Besides "Hello, Dolly," Channing starred in other Broadway shows, but none with equal magnetism. She often appeared on television and in night clubs, for a time partnering with George Burns in Las Vegas and a national tour.

Channing would have turned 98 on Jan. 31.