Dress worn by Carol Channing in Lorelei: Museum Object and Cultural History
Dress worn by Carol Channing in Lorelei: date made: ca 1973. performer: Channing, Carol. maker: Mackie, Bob.
The object in the museum catalogue
Rhinestone-studded silver dress worn by Carol Channing in the role of Lorelei Lee in the Broadway musical Lorelei. Channing wore the Bob Mackie-designed dress to perform "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend" in one of the show's best-known scenes.
Lorelei was a revision of the musical comedy Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, the 1949 production of which starred Channing in her Broadway debut. Both shows were based on a 1925 novel by Anita Loos, and the original musical was also adapted as a 1953 film. Lorelei opened on Broadway in 1974 with a book by Kenny Solms and Gail Parent, lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, and music by Jule Styne. The musical ran for 321 performances and Channing was nominated for Best Actress in a Musical at the 1974 Tony Awards.
Materials, dates and provenance
- date made: ca 1973
- performer: Channing, Carol
- maker: Mackie, Bob
- Object Name: dress
- Physical Description: bone (overall material)
- Physical Description: cotton (overall material)
- Physical Description: silk (overall material)
- Physical Description: rhinestones (overall material)
- Physical Description: lace (overall material)
- Associated Place: United States: New York, Brooklyn
- associated subject: Theater
- associated subject: Comedy
- ID Number: 2008.0029.01
- accession number: 2008.0029
- catalog number: 2008.0029.01
- Credit Line: Carol Channing
- Data Source: National Museum of American History
Sources and reuse
Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of American History through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed.
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