Sunday Oct 4, 2009

ON TODAY'S SHOW WWW.CRNTALK.COM

Carol Channing & Roslyn Kind on this week's show!

Carol Channing - Legedary Tony Award Winner
Carol was born Jan 31, 1921 in Seattle, Washington, the daughter of a prominent newspaper editor, who was very active in the Christian Science movement. At just two weeks of age, her father’s work took the family to San Francisco, where Carol was raised, schooled and eventually found work as a model. She majored in drama and dance and was able to supplement her income by taking parts in the nearby Pocono Resort area. A recipient of the 1995 Lifetime Achievement Tony Award, Ms. Channing has been a star of international acclaim since a Time magazine cover story hailed her performance as Lorelei Lee in Gentleman Prefer Blondes writing; "Perhaps once in a decade a nova explodes above the Great White Way with enough brilliance to re-illumine the whole gaudy legend of show business." Since her 1948 Broadway debut in Blitzstein's No For An Answer, her Broadway appearances include So Proudly We Hail, Let’s Face It , Lend An Ear (Theatre World Award), Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Show Girl, Pygmalion, The Millionairess, The Vamp, Four On A Garden, and Wonderful Town. Making theatrical history, she won the Tony Award in 1964 for her legendary portrayal of Dolly Levi in Jerry Herman’s Hello, Dolly! Jacqueline Kennedy and her two children made their first public appearance after JFK's death by seeing her perform in Hello, Dolly! and later visited her backstage. She has since played the role in over 5000 performances, including a smash London engagement at the great Drury Lane Theatre without missing a single performance. She then toured with her own revue, Carol Channing and Her Ten Stout Hearted Men and critically acclaimed tours of Jerry's Girls and Legends, in which she co-starred with Mary Martin. Ms. Channing's happiest film project was in the role of Muzzy in Thoroughly Modern Millie, which set box office records and earned her an Oscar nomination and a Golden Globe Award. Other films include Paid In Full, The First Traveling Saleslady starring opposite Ginger Rogers and giving new comer Clint Eastwood his first on screen kiss, Otto Preminger's Skidoo (which she refuses to see), Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, Archie and Mehitabel and Thumbelina. Ms. Channing has starred in six TV specials, including Broadway at the Hollywood Bowl, Carol Channing’s Los Angeles, Carol Channing and Pearl Bailey on Broadway, George Burns – His Wit and Wisdom and to millions of children worldwide is best known as the White Queen in Alice Through the Looking Glass. Other television credits include (* indicates numerous appearances) popular game shows as *What’s My Line, *I’ve Got a Secret and *Password. Carol’s variety shows encompass *The Dean Martin Show, The Red Skelton Show, The Milton Berle Show, *Rowen & Martin’s Laugh-In, *The Carol Burnett Show, The Muppet Show, *The Rosie O’Donnell Show, *Hollywood Squares, as well as many *Tony and Grammy broadcasts. A partial list of Carol’s Episodic work consist of Playhouse 90’s Three Men on a Horse, *The Love Boat, Magnum, P.I., The Nanny, Touched by an Angel and The Drew Carey Show. As one of the most easily recognized and highly imitated voices in the world, Carol’s unique sound has been established as characters and narrative in both TV series and documentaries like JFK: The Day the Nation Cried, The Addam’s Family (voice of Granny), Thumbelina, Free To Be You and Me, *Space Ghost, *Chip ‘n Dale Rescue Rangers and The Brave Little Toaster Goes To Mars. Ms. Channing also cut twenty children's albums of classic stories on Caedmon records, including Winnie The Pooh and Madeline. Ms. Channing has recorded ten gold Albums and her original cast album of Hello, Dolly! was an all-time best seller in its field, which knocked the Beatles off the charts when it was released in 1964. When not performing in theatre, Ms. Channing has numerously made appearances in most every grand ballroom and concert hall in the country. Among her other acknowledgements is a Best Nightclub Act of the Year Award and Harvard University's Hasty Pudding Woman of the Year Award In 2003, the octogenarian released her best selling memoirs, "Just Lucky I Guess" and received the Julie Harris Lifetime Achievement Award from the Actors’ Fund of America. Carol has been touring the nation (from Broadway to the Hollywood Bowl) and abroad with her new one woman show entitled "The First Eighty Years are the Hardest," after the very successful preview given to New York audiences in Nov 2003 that prompted the New York Times to say "Back Where She Belongs: Carol Channing Reminisces . . . The audience jumped to its feet more than once. "We were watching a master performer" and Associated Press declared "The audience clearly was there to worship, and Channing did not disappoint." In 2004, Broadway’s "first lady of musical comedy," also received an honorary doctoral degree becoming Doctor Carol Channing at the 44th annual California State University, Stanislaus Commencement ceremony in May 2004. (This is only the third Honorary Doctoral Degree given in CSU Stanislaus 45-year history). In addition, Carol was presented with the Oscar Hammerstein Award for lifetime achievement in musical theatre from the York Theatre Company, in New York. Carol was recently married to her junior high school sweetheart, businessman Harry Kullijian, after a 70 year separation. She is also a proud mother, her son is a nationally syndicated editorial cartoonist, who has the distinction of being a Pulitzer Prize finalist. The career of Carol Channing is varied and continuing. She performs with the gusto of a young aspiring actress. However, her heart will remain on stage even though she has recently committed her life to bring a refocus of the Arts in the public educational system of California. Scholarships, teaching and lecturing and performing, hoping to engage the public support for education in the Arts.

Roslyn Kind - Multi Talented Entertainer
Roslyn Kind is a dynamic, multi-talented entertainer who has forged a successful career in all facets of entertainment from critically acclaimed recordings to sold-out performances on Broadway and in top concert venues and nightclubs the world over. A vibrant musical artist, Ms. Kind is familiar to both national and international audiences for her headlining appearances at some of the most prestigious venues including Lincoln Center, The Greek Theater and London’s Café Royal. The London Times noted “To say she is superb would be an understatement.” In 2006 she made her long awaited and rapturously received Carnegie Hall debut with her frequent musical collaborator and friend, Michael Feinstein.She began her performing career while still in her teens with the release of her first album, Give Me You. A whirlwind of performing activity followed including engagements at the nation’s top nightclubs, acclaim from Time Magazine and three appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show leading up to her show-stopping New York debut at the Plaza Hotel’s legendary Persian Room.Her follow up singles and a second album, This is Roslyn Kind, showcased her growth as a recording artist comfortable in a wide range of musical genres. Ms. Kind’s latest CD release, Come What May, which the New York Times described as “splendid and sizzling”, further establishes her reputation as a virtuoso vocalist possessing impeccable phrasing, a richness and clarity of tone and an undeniable emotional connection to her always first-rate material.Concurrent with her recording career, Ms. Kind is an accomplished theatrical performer. On Broadway, she starred in the crowd-pleasing musical revue 3 from Brooklyn. Additional theatrical credits include the Off-Broadway production of Show Me Where the Good Times Are, Leader of the Pack and Ferguson the Tailor. She also stopped the show in a critically lauded Los Angeles production of William Finn’s Elegies; The Hollywood Reporter noted, “Roslyn Kind sings like a dream…”Ms. Kind’s extensive list of television credits include the film Switched at Birth, multiple episodes of NBC’s Gimme a Break, Throb starring Jane Leeves and a humorously memorable turn as herself on CBS’s The Nanny. This appearance also showcased her talent as a songwriter in a performance of her composition, Light of Love. She also performed the title song for the made-for-TV movie Not Just Another Affair. Ms. Kind has appeared on virtually every major talk/variety show including the Tonight Show, Saturday Night Live, Entertainment Tonight, Access Hollywood and Good Morning America. Among her international television credits are England’s Pebble Mill Show, Canada’s Musique Plus, and For Me – Formidable, a Charles Aznavour special for European TV co-starring Dusty Springfield. In motion pictures, Ms. Kind has had starring roles in The Underachievers and I’m Going to Be Famous.Ms. Kind also takes pride in her work for various animal welfare, Alzheimer’s and AIDS related charitable organizations including HSUS, APLA and Broadway Cares Equity Fights AIDS for which she contributed a song selection to Cabaret Noel, a recent volume in their annual series of holiday CD releases. One of the premiere interpreters of popular song, Roslyn Kind continues to succeed in every new facet of her performing career delighting audiences with her spellbinding talent. Roslyn’s unique artistry is equally at home on stage, screen and disc.The New York Post summed it up best “She’s so good on so many levels; it’s difficult to categorize her. This elegant, beautiful, petite, dynamo delight rules the stage with a royal command that demands adoration from every seat in the house.” A native of Brooklyn, New York she currently resides in Los Angeles.