Brogan: A 'Carol' for All Seasons!

It was 5 years ago today that the legendary Carol Channing took her last curtain call. She was only a couple of weeks away from marking her 98th birthday. She remained active and vibrant right to the end.

The Tony-winning and Oscar-nominated actress was a bigger than life personality who achieved amazing success in every genre "except Grand Opera", she joked. Generations knew her from a host of hugely popular Broadway productions, films, nightclub appearances and television programs ranging from "The Ed Sullivan Show" to "The Muppet Show". Her two greatest stage successes were "Hello Dolly", a role she played more than 5,000 times and "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes". Her voice was unforgettable, and her comic timing was matchless.

When our family traveled to New York, sixty years ago, to attend the New York World's Fair, a highlight of that week was our attendance at the original Broadway production of "Dolly". You could not take your eyes off Channing from her first arrival on-stage until the final curtain call when the audience refused to let her leave the stage.

In 2007, I had been working for AIDS Service Organizations for almost a decade. The work had great value in helping those infected and affected in New Hampshire navigate a difficult road. Raising money and creating awareness was a 24/7 job and I was always looking for ways to increase awareness and raise the needed funding for services not covered by grants.

I'd found success in bringing a number of celebrity names to the Granite State including Patti Page, Jack Jones, Eileen Fulton and Greg Louganis. Carol was renowned for her support of charitable causes, especially AIDS which had devastated the entertainment community.

I picked-up the phone in January of 2007 and called Carol at her home. Within fifteen minutes, I had convinced Carol and her husband, Harry Kullijian that Concord, New Hampshire was the place they needed to be in June of 2007.

They flew coach to Manchester's airport, bringing a ray of sunshine to an overcast and rainy day in the Queen City. For the next five days, they interacted with thousands and made sure that everyone knew why they were visiting our state.

The Centennial Inn graciously provided accommodations. Alan and I gave them a tour of the area with frequent stops to enjoy the scenery and say hello to the people of our region. They fell in love with The Corner View Restaurant and told the owner, Art, how much they loved his eatery.

Then Governor Lynch and his wife, Dr. Susan Lynch, invited them to his office in the State House and they became instant friends, remaining so until Carol's passing. In fact, the first visit was such a delight, the Governor invited them back the next day to say hello to the Executive Council and the House and Senate. Carol stayed up late the night before tweaking the lyrics to her signature song, "Hello Dolly" so she could sing it to the Governor as "Hello Johnny".

When Carol walked into the Capitol Center, she was in awe of our local gem. The staff who greeted her including Lorne Gregory and Katie Collins, made her instantly feel at-home. She remarked on how fortunate we are to have such a resource in our downtown.

Carol worked with Director Betty Thomson and a talented group of local talents to create an evening in the theater that people still talk about, almost 17 years later. For over 90 minutes, she sang, danced, shared memorable stories and received multiple standing ovations. The money raised and the awareness created as the result of national news coverage of the event, saved a lot of lives and provided a great deal of comfort to hundreds.

When they hugged us goodbye, Carol and Harry told us if we ever needed them again, "just call!".

In fact, we did, the following year when I was working for an AIDS Organization in Portsmouth and without any written contract, they returned to New Hampshire in April of 2008 for a sold-out show at the Music Hall. Governor Lynch and his wife even made the trip to Portsmouth and appeared on-stage with Carol.

We remained in-touch for the rest of her life. On my birthday, she would call and sing "Happy Birthday" to me in that distinctive voice and we visited Carol and Harry in California several times, as her guest including an unforgettable evening when she performed at the Hollywood Bowl with Pink Martini.

Carol's tireless efforts to make this world just a little bit better extended to both her on-stage and off-stage personae. There was never anyone else quite like her and there never will be. She was an original and all of us who saw her or knew her, are better for the experience.