MODESTO, Calif. — The entertainment world isn't only community mourning the loss of Broadway legend Carol Channing.
Channing moved to Modesto when she married her childhood sweetheart, a Modesto city councilman, in her 80's.
"She could move like a 20-year-old in her 80s," Dr. Joseph Wiggett, a vocal instructor at Stanislaus State said. "The gifts that she left for us are absolutely astounding, so you can only smile when you think about Carol alive, or in her passing, because she was such a magnificent person."
The actress best known for performing more than 5,000 shows of "Hello, Dolly" on Broadway died of natural causes in Rancho Mirage at the age of 97. People across Modesto are going to remember Channing for the shining performer she was.
"She was always just kind of sparkling all the time and that big grin. It was amazing," George Gardner, conductor of the Modesto Band of Stanislaus County said.
Channing was said to be involved with the community over the years, even performing multiple times with MoBand, the Modesto Band of Stanislaus County.
"The guy who arranged this piece for us said he would arrange it and the only thing he wanted in return was to meet her," Gardner said.
In 2004, Channing was given an honorary Doctorate in Fine Arts degree from Stanislaus State.
"She always said that having a home here in Modesto was her first ever home because, up until then, she had been traveling and being on the stage and on Broadway and different locations," Gardner said. "For the first time in her life, she had a real home and a real hometown."
Her signed photos still hang at the Barkin' Dog Grill in Downtown Modesto. The owner, Hanibal Yadegar, says she used to perform there every Thursday night.
"She would come in and have dinner and do a couple of songs and it was a joy to see her here, very wonderful lady, friendly energetic and a wonderful performer," Yadegar said.
In 2005, Stanislaus State developed a gala concert around her.
"She brought down the house. She was unbelievable in how she worked with the students, always worked with the students, answered every question, worked with them and was incredibly inspiring," Wiggett said.
But it didn't end there. After her performance, she set up the Dr. Carol Channing scholarship for music, theater and art students, leaving behind a legacy for youth to follow in her footsteps.
"She and her husband, at least their goal, was to establish scholarship funds in every CSU campus in California," Wiggett said. "She was a personality, a talent, a character unlike anybody else."
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