RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. — Broadway icon Carol Channing has died at age 97, multiple news outlets are reporting.
According to Broadway World, the actress and singer, known for her roles in "Hello, Dolly!" and "Lorelei," died early Tuesday in her Rancho Mirage, California, home. Publicist B. Harlan Boll said she died of "natural causes."
"It is with extreme heartache, that I have to announce the passing of an original Industry Pioneer, Legend and Icon – Miss Carol Channing," Boll said in a statement posted on Facebook. "I admired her before I met her, and have loved her since the day she stepped ... or fell rather ... into my life."
The statement continued: "It is so very hard to see the final curtain lower on a woman who has been a daily part of my life for more than a third of it. We supported each other, cried with each other, argued with each other, but always ended up laughing with each other. Saying good-bye is one of the hardest things I have ever had to do, but I know that when I feel those uncontrollable urges to laugh at everything and/or nothing at all, it will be because she is with me, tickling my funny bone."
Channing, who was born in Seattle, won a Golden Globe and scored an Academy Award nomination in 1968 for her role in "Thoroughly Modern Millie," Broadway World reported. She also received multiple Tony Awards, including one for best actress in 1964 and a Lifetime Achievement Award in 1995.
Channing leaves behind a son, Channing Lowe, and Sylvia Long, a "close family member," Broadway World reported.