美国国家公共电台 NPR Bidding Farewell To 'Hello, Dolly!': Actress Carol Channing Dies At 97

 

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

Broadway actress Carol Channing died today. She was 97 years old. Kim Kokich has this appreciation¹.

KIM KOKICH, BYLINE²: Carol Channing's trademark³ platinum-blonde hair framed a face that always seemed to be smiling. Her wide-eyed, innocent style belied⁴ a very savvy⁵ mind. And her voice was unmistakable.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "A LITTLE GIRL FROM LITTLE ROCK")

CAROL CHANNING: (Singing as Lorelei) I'm just a little girl from Little Rock. We live on the wrong side of the tracks.

CHANNING: Carol Channing's career on the stage, in film, on television and in recording⁶ spanned more than six decades. In an interview with NPR in 1995, Channing said that once she began working in theater in the early 1940s, she was rarely unemployed⁷.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED BROADCAST)

CHANNING: First off, I think it's very fortunate I never stopped working. That's terribly important because I guess it's like an athlete's bicep. If you keep using it, it gets stronger and stronger.

KOKICH: Actress Marge Champion is credited with discovering Channing in a casting office while scouting⁸ for a show being directed by her late husband, Gower Champion.

MARGE CHAMPION: She came in with those big eyes. And then she said, do you mind if I take off my shoes? And, of course, they fell down laughing. And she took off her shoes and launched into a series of imitations because that's what she did. She was the best Carmen Miranda and Sophie Tucker. And they were laughing all the time. But I think they'd seen enough. But I kept urging her to keep on doing more.

KOKICH: Channing was born in Seattle, Wash. Her parents were Christian⁹ Scientists. In her self-admitted rambling¹⁰ and selective memoir¹¹ "Just Lucky, I Guess," Channing writes that she was a young child delivering copies of The Christian Science Monitor to theaters when she got her first glimpse of backstage. She explains, it came over me that I was looking at the stage and backstage of a cathedral, a temple, a mosque¹², a mother church. I know I'm using adult words to describe a child's feelings. But I don't know how else to tell you this simple reaction of a child to a holy place. Channing's near-religious connection to her audience gave her, she said, an astounding¹³ amount of energy. And she grew irritated with those who tried to diminish the importance of theater in people's lives.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

CHANNING: Live theater is something that can't possibly die because we're working on their metabolism¹⁴. Some nights, they're hyper. Some nights, they're sleepy. Some nights - but we have to find the way in to communicate with them. And slowly, the anodes and cathodes build. And it's an electric thing for the performers, as if you plugged me into the outlet¹⁵ in the wall.

KOKICH: Channing's first great role was also her first big break - the part of Lorelei Lee in the 1949 original Broadway production of "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes." But the role with which Channing will always be identified is Dolly.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "HELLO, DOLLY!")

CHANNING: (Singing as Dolly) Hello, Harry¹⁶. Well, hello, Louie. It's so nice to be back home where I belong.

KOKICH: It was this role that Channing loved most because it was life affirming in every sense. She had great respect for Thornton Wilder, who created the character of Dolly Levi as a widow. And the character's gradual reawakening in this most optimistic of Broadway shows touched Channing deeply.

CHANNING: It's easy to slide downhill. But who are the ones that just won't do it? Who are the diamonds in the rough that go upstream against everything? And that's what it's all about. That's what Thornton Wilder kept writing about. And he said in "The Skin Of Our Teeth," mankind can survive the Ice Age, the Stone Age, the dinosaur¹⁷ age if we just forget our jealousies¹⁸, forget our competitions, stay together, burn the furniture in the fireplace. But we'll make it. We'll somehow make it. And he says, Dolly Gallagher Levi, stop talking to your dead husband and rejoin the human race.

KOKICH: For NPR News, I'm Kim Kokich in Washington.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "HELLO, DOLLY!")

UNIDENTIFIED SINGERS: (Singing) Hello, Dolly. Well, hello...

1 appreciation   

n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨

参考例句：

• I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to you all.我想对你们所有人表达我的感激和谢意。
• I'll be sending them a donation in appreciation of their help.我将送给他们一笔捐款以感谢他们的帮助。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 trademark   

n.商标；特征；vt.注册的…商标

参考例句：

• The trademark is registered on the book of the Patent Office.该商标已在专利局登记注册。
• The trademark of the pen was changed.这钢笔的商标改了。

4 belied   

v.掩饰( belie的过去式和过去分词 )；证明（或显示）…为虚假；辜负；就…扯谎

参考例句：

• His bluff exterior belied a connoisseur of antiques. 他作风粗放，令人看不出他是古董鉴赏家。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Her smile belied her true feelings. 她的微笑掩饰了她的真实感情。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 savvy   

v.知道，了解；n.理解能力，机智，悟性；adj.有见识的，懂实际知识的，通情达理的

参考例句：

• She was a pretty savvy woman.她是个见过世面的漂亮女人。
• Where's your savvy?你的常识到哪里去了？

6 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

7 unemployed   

adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的

参考例句：

• There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
• The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。

8 scouting   

守候活动，童子军的活动

参考例句：

• I have people scouting the hills already. 我已经让人搜过那些山了。
• Perhaps also from the Gospel it passed into the tradition of scouting. 也许又从《福音书》传入守望的传统。 来自演讲部分

9 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

10 rambling   

adj.[建]凌乱的，杂乱的

参考例句：

• We spent the summer rambling in Ireland. 我们花了一个夏天漫游爱尔兰。
• It was easy to get lost in the rambling house. 在布局凌乱的大房子里容易迷路。

11 memoir   

n.[pl.]回忆录，自传；记事录

参考例句：

• He has just published a memoir in honour of his captain.他刚刚出了一本传记来纪念他的队长。
• In her memoir,the actress wrote about the bittersweet memories of her first love.在那个女演员的自传中，她写到了自己苦乐掺半的初恋。

12 mosque   

n.清真寺

参考例句：

• The mosque is a activity site and culture center of Muslim religion.清真寺为穆斯林宗教活动场所和文化中心。
• Some years ago the clock in the tower of the mosque got out of order.几年前，清真寺钟楼里的大钟失灵了。

13 astounding   

adj.使人震惊的vt.使震惊，使大吃一惊astound的现在分词)

参考例句：

• There was an astounding 20% increase in sales. 销售量惊人地增加了20%。
• The Chairman's remarks were so astounding that the audience listened to him with bated breath. 主席说的话令人吃惊，所以听众都屏息听他说。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 metabolism   

n.新陈代谢

参考例句：

• After years of dieting,Carol's metabolism was completely out of whack.经过数年的节食，卡罗尔的新陈代谢完全紊乱了。
• All living matter undergoes a process of metabolism.生物都有新陈代谢。

15 outlet   

n.出口/路；销路；批发商店；通风口；发泄

参考例句：

• The outlet of a water pipe was blocked.水管的出水口堵住了。
• Running is a good outlet for his energy.跑步是他发泄过剩精力的好方法。

16 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

17 dinosaur   

n.恐龙

参考例句：

• Are you trying to tell me that David was attacked by a dinosaur?你是想要告诉我大卫被一支恐龙所攻击？
• He stared at the faithful miniature of the dinosaur.他凝视著精确的恐龙缩小模型。

18 jealousies   

n.妒忌( jealousy的名词复数 )；妒羡

参考例句：

• They were divided by mutual suspicion and jealousies. 他们因为相互猜疑嫉妒而不和。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• I am tired of all these jealousies and quarrels. 我厌恶这些妒忌和吵架的语言。 来自辞典例句