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Broadway Legend Carol Channing Dies At 97

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) – Broadway has lost a legend. Carol Channing died early Tuesday morning at the age of 97.

Publicist B. Harlan Boll said Channing had suffered two strokes in the last year before passing away of natural causes at 12:31 a.m. in Rancho Mirage, California.

CA: Razzle Dazzle Opens In LA
HOLLYWOOD, CA - JULY 23: Actress Carol Channing performs at the opening night of her show 'Razzle Dazzle' held at the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Centre Theatre on July 23, 2004 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

The musical comedy star delighted audiences with almost 5,000 performances as the scheming Dolly Levi in "Hello, Dolly" on Broadway. Channing starred in other Broadway shows, none with equal magnetism, and often appeared on television and in nightclubs, for a time partnering with George Burns in Las Vegas.

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Her outsized personality seemed too much for the screen, and she made only a few movies, notably "The First Traveling Saleslady" with Ginger Rogers and "Thoroughly Modern Millie" with Julie Andrews.

Messages of love and appreciation lit up Twitter early Tuesday, with the League of Professional Theatre Women saying Channing "was a gift of inspiration to so many." Fans who saw her work also took to social media, calling her a "firecracker" and saying she was "matchmaking for the angels now."

"We are deeply saddened by the passing of the one and only Carol Channing. She was a 'Dolly' for the ages, and a true icon of the American Theater. Betty Buckley and the cast will dedicate tonight's performance in San Diego to her memory," the company of "Hello, Dolly" said in a statement.

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