On Location with Carol Channing in Rancho Mirage

RANCHO MIRAGE, CA - It was a sunny Sunday morning on the day of the Carol Channing shoot a few months ago. We were honored to be the first camera crew & publication permitted in the home of Miss Channing and her husband, Harry Kullijian, since their recent move to the desert. Without compromising the privacy of its location, here is a photo of the home's back patio where photographer Gor Megaera shot many of the best images including the cover shot at the pool and the centerfold in the flower gardens. The stone wall in the foreground is actually a waterfall that trickles into the cool turquoise waters of that deep pool. The waterfall was the "crown jewel" of the truly handsome yet conservative grounds. We were inspired to photograph Miss Channing in the wonder of nature since Palm Springs
desertscape and morning light work together so harmoniously that it is better than shooting indoors with artificial light and the confines of a home (or studio's) interior. As a matter of fact, we could not locate a prior photo of Miss Channing taken in nature. Can you? We thought we'd do a "first" and bring that force of nature called Carol Channning into...well...into nature! It was a perfect match. Miss Channing's entire being - arms, legs, wrists, fingers, smile - unfolded like the petals of a rose for the camera, and for us who watched her flirt, play and dazzle the lens with indefatiguable energy!

Once the outdoor shots were completed, we went inside where Miss Channing asked for a cup of black coffee and proceeded to "chug" the entire liquid in one steady gulp! We've never seen anything like it! Incidentally, a few of our staffers have been attempting to master the art of coffee-chugging as effortlessly tauted by Miss Channing. The key (we have at least figured out) is not to attempt chugging with HOT coffee. Warm coffee...maybe. Cold coffee; definitely. Keep this in mind if you try coffee chugging ala Channing.

The walls of Miss Channing and Mr. Kullijian's foyer and living room are adorned with original Hirschfeld caricatures and images of Miss Channing's famous colleagues and friends. Two of the most interesting images are portraits which Miss Channing painted. Carol Channing a fine artist?! Absolutely. Here are some of her works. The image on the right we were told is a portrait of Judy Garland.

On another wall are black and white photographs of Miss Channing in the company of presidents, international royalty, Broadway legends and Hollywood stars. These are often accompanied by letters written with admiration, love and respect. Miss Channing gave us a quick tour of the people, places and events in many of the photos. She took delight in pointing out a photo taken of her being received by President and Mrs. Lyndon Johnson in the 1960s....and there is Barbra Streisand to the side....cleaning her fingernails!! It's such an interesting (and telling) photo; there's Carol Channing beaming with a jubilant smile making direct contact with the President, there's Ladybird Johnson in the foreground flashing a smile and greeting to someone off camera, and just off to the side looking like (as Miss Channing surmised) "like she couldn't be bothered" is Barbra Streisand performing the very ordinary act of cleaning her fingernails. Well...it really is a funny picture. Whoever first said "A picture is worth a thousand words" could very well have been looking at this image below (that's Miss Channing's hand pointing to Babs cleaning her nails. We circled it in green for emphasis!Look for Part 2 of this "On Location with Carol Channing" post and more pictures soon.