A diva comes to Fresno

No, not a "chat" diva or any other such pretender...a real diva!

Fresno(my home town)is being blessed with a show business legend this weekend...85-year old Carol Channing is here to sing with our local philharmonic orchestra!

Miss Channing appeared on our station's weekday talk show...which, appropriately, was broadcast today from a local jeweler...to properly salute her, we played an excerpt of her well-known Broadway classic, "Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend"...and hundreds of people crowded the store to get a personal glimpse of a true entertainment legend!

Miss Channing may be up there in years, but she seems to have retained the energy and charisma she's had for decades, since she first popularized "Hello, Dolly" on the stage. It was a delight to listen to her interact with not only our host but also the orchestra director, along with all the fans all the while during her interview. Her voice has not changed one bit in all the years...it's still unmistakable.

She would've stayed for the entire show, but she was on a tight schedule of personal appearances that day, and she and Guy Kuchar(the orchestra director)had to move on to the next stop. But Miss Channing would not leave the store until she personally greeted every single person who had stopped by the store to see her.

Funny thing is, in the era that Miss Channing began her career in, it was commonplace and expected to deal with fans in just that way. Times have changed, though, and often our celebrities of today can't rush out fast enough to avoid the people who mass to see them. But despite her schedule and her notoriety, and the times we live in, where there is often concern that such fraternization puts one in harm's way, Miss Channing insisted on staying until the last hand was shaken, and the last fan acknowledged.

Maybe I sound like I was born thirty years too late, but I'm old enough to remember when that sort of behavior was not uncommon...and I miss it.

But the era that Carol Channing grew up in expected that...because no matter who you were, famous or otherwise, you were never above your audience, especially those who came especially to see you. Carol Channing is undoubtedly a legend, but she still remembers growing up as a fan, and what it felt like when your favorite performer would take the time to say "hello" to you.

That characteristic is still common among most gospel music singers, even though there are occasional exceptions. Possibly it's the upbringing most of them have that makes it that way, where they're not brought up to think of themselves as necessarily better than anyone else, which seems to be the case far too often with our current faux-divas.

Which time was better...that of Carol Channing, or that of, say, Britney Spears or Paris Hilton?

I think you'll know how I would answer....at least as far as human values are concerned.

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