Tony Award-winning actress Carol
Channing says she's had a love affair with the gay community.
The 89-year-old
actress-singer-comedienne became a gay icon starring in Broadway hits
Hello, Dolly! and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.
In 2002, the City of San Francisco
proclaimed February 25 to be Carol Channing Day in honor of her
outspoken support for LGBT rights.
In an interview with gay
networking website dot429.com, Channing says she's had a love
affair with the gay community.
“I honestly don't know,” Channing
says in response to a question on the state of gay marriage. “I
never cared if someone was gay or not. If a friend was gay? Well,
that's all there was to it.”
“The gay community is responsible for
so much of my success, and I love them. It's a mutual love affair,
really. They make the better audiences too, because they laugh often
and loudly. Applause is obligatory, but laughter is a reward, and
gay audiences reward me often. Years ago, I was made their Queen in
San Francisco, which is so much better than legend or icon. I was
told that on that day, there wasn't a blonde wig to be found in
stores. Isn't that wonderful”
Channing added that she doesn't think
of herself as a gay icon: “The moment you do, then you're not.
There are so many talented people that have been called a 'gay icon'
that have no similarities at all.”