Did Carol Channing deny her Black Ancestry?
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- čas přidán 19. 03. 2023
- Dr. Trish responds to a reviewer's request to explore Carol Channing's African American Ancestry. Was it true? Did she deny it? #lifewithdrtrish #carolchanning #passing #secretancestryrevealed #trueancestrystories
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As a child growing up in GA during the 1950's there was this old "white" woman who would visit my family each summer driving a beautiful car. She would always spend time with my father sitting on the front porch laughing and talking. She really loved my father. One summer after she drove off, I turned to my father and said, "daddy who is that old white woman who visits us every summer?" My father got visibly upset but he was also sad. He then told me that she was his aunt and that she lived as a white woman in NY. I never got to know my great aunt because I was so young. It wasn't until my father passed in 1994 that I was able to understand the depth of her love for my family. My father had kept a box of full of letters that she had written to him over the years. Her letters always spoke of good times and working as a librarian. From what I was able to piece together from other family members she never denied her roots back home. She did what she had to do to survive, make a good living and help those who were left behind. The money she sent back to GA helped my father get his college education. Now, I know why my father was always sad when she left. He had become the child she never had.
Its sad that some have passed for White and never looked back... never claimed or made contact with their Black Family ever again..The truth would come out after the Person Died...
Oh my, your story is so touching.
That is sad but it does sound like she did what she thought was best for herself and others since she was able to send money home. People hiding this secret cannot have children because who knows how far back the DNA will go.
I think someone in Carol's circle told her to quit admitting she had Black ancestry in her family, is why she never said it openly again. That being, she lied !!
@@jamesdenny4734 Well, I have to give her credit for just admitting it period. She did something that others in her shoes often don't.
My father was born in 1919 and he was half Mexican. He told people he was half Italian when he went into the Navy during WWII. That saved his life. We really can't judge multiple racial people of the past. They did what they had to do to survive and help their children survive.
Carol's life wasn't in danger! Her pocket book was.
It's called escapism. If someone has mixed ancestry, that's what they are...MIXED. I don't agree with or believe in the "one drop" rule. Those admixtures deserve their own designations.
@@bjw3243 You clearly have no understanding of history.
@@Torch.Flames777 Your belief in it is meaningless...It was the law, literally.
I'm wondering how this saved his life ?
I had the honor of meeting Queen Channing in the elevator in NYC. She was cordial, kind and extremely talkative with me, a black woman. I loved that chance encounter.
I think her telling everyone she was black before she died was probably a way to get some peace in her soul. To tell that secret was a release
Great information. I am 70 yrs old, so lived through some of the era you speak. As much as an old white woman can, I understand why Carol’s family and others made these choices because frankly they felt they had no choice really. It was to foster advancement in a system set up to repress, control and fail them. So well presented by you. Thank you.
Before she died, she admitted she was Black in”JET" MAGAZINE! I used to ask my friends couldn't they tell she was Black because of the distinct .tone in her voice❗
It seems to me that Carol wasn't Black, but that she was mixed race. I would not have called her father black either. I would have called him mixed race, unless he referred to himself as black... I would respect his choice and refer to him the same way.
I could see it in the black and white head shot photo.
She looks like family members of mine.
@@stepanova8 of course you would...
@@stepanova8 oh shut up
@@athenashawnee729 such a thoughtful response 🙄
It’s so sad that Carol struggled with her family’s heritage. I know it was a generational thing but it’s sad just the same.
Kudos for finding photos of her Carol's father! She did not publish any parental pics in her autobiography. She actually has a son, named Chan Lowe, who is a political cartoonist. Point on about Carol's deep ambivalence about her actual heritage, which is not surprising, considering when she grew up (kinda like today's time). You have to wonder what happened to Clara, or her father's sister....I have read of white-passing folks keeping their visibly Black mother around, posing as a servant, which also allowed them to share the same house in days of segregation.
So to was Native Indians were whitened up over time and Tribes would 'keep slaves' in protection that were actually family members.
This definitely isn't the first time someone sacraficed something like this so their children and then grand children could prosper.
Practically every immigrant family tried to help their children to assimilate in order to survive and thrive. It's been the Story if America since the beginning. They didn't call it a Melting Pot for no reason.
"sacrificed" is hilarious
My late mother was from Panama. My siblings and I grew up in the 1960s. My mother and every black person she knew knew that Carol Channing was black. My mother told us kids. We would joke that if she took that wig off you'd see "nappy" hair. Because of the times passing was often one of the only ways black people had a chance. The only ones who didn't have to pass were the children of enslavers who were placed into an elite group. To this day, they only marry their own and are members of the black upper class. My late Italian-American friend was very proud of her enslaved African ancestor. The mother of wrestler Ronda Rousey made sure the press knew who their black ancestor was and what he had accomplished. These days it's more acceptable to acknowledge a mixed background. Back then it could get you black listed. (Unintentional, but fitting pun.)
Hey, guess who's Panamanian as well
Sorry, she had me fooled.
She is not black she has a mixed parent big difference
Ronda Rousy , wowow I never knew
Ever heard of the one drop rule? If not look it up.
What do you think a black person's reaction would be if anyone asked them to admit they are white because they have 20% European ancestry?
Very interesting question.
Don Cheadle was found to be 33 per cent White on "FINDING YOUR ROOTS". HIS DNA was completely and thoroughly tested.
Carol adopted a male white child. She did not give birth to a biological child
B... B... BUH... BWAH HAHAHA HAHAHA PERRRRRFECT 🤣
The absurdity we've be driven (and cling) to is absurd, tragic, and truly disgusting.
Have to laugh, otherwise I'd be angry.
I think both sides could be called multi-generationally mixed. Most people judge "race" by phenotype though. However, some people with 80% African ancestry and 20% European ancestry look multi-racial. Carol came from a mixed race family.
There's a documentary where she talks about being black and she seemed so proud.
My late parents were born in this time period. Because of my dad’s last name and light eyes he was considered West Indian (French Creole from La) and mom was white (Acadian from La). Both parents spoke French and dad also spoke Spanish. Both parents claimed black as a race but never said they were African, negro or colored. We lived in a predominantly Creole community and most of our parents were employed in social service industries (educators, nurses, law, dock workers, bakers, postal workers, butchers, etc). I have made many friendships over the course of my lifetime but my most enduring relations are with mixed people like myself regardless their “race” 🎭
Mixed people are so gorgeous! They have unique beauty and I just don't get why now in 2023 anyone of mixed ethnicity needs to feel embarassed or less than anyone. Embrace your multi cultures and love all your family❤ edit ( As young as 5 years old I remember always finding the teachers snd students and neighbors of other ethnicities intriguing and exotic looking. My closest relationships were with Egyptians, East Indians, people from Polynesia and Tahiti ( I learned to do the Hula dances). It was such fun to learn their customs.
I grew up watching Carol Channing and she looked Black to me. I am used to this issue of Black's quietly passing for White. I do know for many of them it was hard in those days to grow up in a society where many were not accepted because they were not Black enough or White enough. I am not giving excuse for Carol Channing's actions because she should have accept the other half of herself. Today, it is more accepting to be mixed. It was not in the 60s, 70s, or 80s really. I know that for a fact since I grew up in that era. You were teased in school by other Black children even when you identified yourself as Black. Many of their close friends were their own siblings. Now, there some mixed children faired differently than others because you could see their Black heritage and for others you could not. I will tell you this. It does not matter how mixed you are. Somewhere down the line a mixed heritage will still produce children that will have Black features. You cannot erase your heritage. Some of children might could pass for Black and some will not. I encourage people to speak directly with those who live in those Era from the 20s to 80s who are still alive. Ask questions, they might surprise you. Peace and love to all.
" I am not giving excuse for Carol Channing's actions because she should have accept the other half of herself. " How can you say what she should have done? How can she embrace what she didn't experience? Her dad didn't have the black experience. She didn't have much exposure to black culture. She was mainly raised by her white mother. THAT was her experience. Maybe she did accept "her blackness" in her own way but just didn't use the words you would have preferred to hear. She sounded very conflicted about this til the very end.
Carol is white of course in this society who both white and black doesn’t wants to accept that a biracial that is more white is white in many countries. Go to Latin America then do a documentary.
my late mother swears that a very famous singer and tv star who called herself jewish was actually advertised as a mulatto when she first tried to break into showbiz--it was rumored that she only kept the child she birthed that had the white features of her husband--2 other children were put up for adoption--i am not mentioning any names because i think this is such a heartbreaking story--i pray it s not true
I'm a light skinned black American male from the Midwest.
Born in the 70's and went to school in the 80's.
I've never had any trouble from white or black kids growing up. We got along just fine.... Gen -Xer.
We knew that Carol Channing was mixed when I was growing up in the 70’s. Made no difference then or now. She was Mame
As a young girl, I remember watching a 1959 movie called "Imitation of Life" I know that the end of the movie broke my heart. I never forgot the movie. It was about a young girl passing for white back in the day. I am sure that there are a lot of things in the movie that in today's world we would cringe at, but the main idea is still solid, we should not be ashamed of who we are. I am white, but I grew up with a blind mother and my father died when I was an infant. My mother and I lived in the projects of Miami. I was always made fun of because I had clothes that people gave my mother ( A lot of times they did not fit me). I think I was ashamed back then, but I realize the life I lived actually built my character. I will not say that the harsh words children threw at me did not hurt, but I survived those words. I am proud of my mother and what she accomplished, and I would never trade my childhood for one moment. Through DNA, I found that I have African ancestry, a small amount so it must go back in time. I would love to know where my black heritage comes from. I find it sad that I do not know.
I’ve seen that movie so sad, I’ve watched it 3 times 😁
I saw the movie many times. That was the 1959 version with Lana Turner and Susan Kohner. Great movie. There is the Original movie with Louise Beavers in the 1930s. It wasn’t as good as the 1959 one, which was banned in the South. Of course.
There’s another excellent movie about a white girl who passed for black, she was a nurse to a wealthy bigoted White woman, who knew what the girl was. The lady left her entire fortune to her. And the rest would be a spoiler alert. I wish I remembered the name of this movie. It starred, Jean Craine as the girl and Ethel Barrymore as the old lady. Great movie!
One of my favorite movies till this day!
It's a brilliantly acted, tragic film. Opened my eyes, more, to Society around me.
@@tonisumblin2719 I believe the movie that you are referring to is titled, "Pinky." Yes, it is a classic🎥
Many of us knew and didn't care. We simply enjoyed her personality and her constant joyfully energy. She danced joyfully with the d.j. at The Factory. Huge smile and shiny blond helmet hair
. I saw her final performance in an intimate night club in the West village. One of a kind
That's just amazing and creepy at the same time. From the grave one can feel his emotions. Moody rendition. Thanks for sharing.
Carol Channing was and still is a Legend. Multi-talented on so many levels, I absolutely loved watching her on tv.
I really can’t blame people for passing during those times. It must’ve been difficult and wanting their children to have a better life they had a choice to make.
Some donf even know, or, if they did, they were extremely anti black
I do it’s cowardly and people wonder why we still face colorism and there is lightskin privilege
agreed
I don't blame them now...these times are not so great.
Same. Who wouldn't want an easier life if they could get it.
I was born in the 1960s. When I was a child my mother told me that Carol Channing was Black. It was relatively well known in the US Black community at the time.
Having been a child in the sixties I can totally understand Carol doing as she did. It wasn't til I was a teen that I became so Black and so proud to the point that if I had a choice I would not be any other ethnicity but Black.
And yet your last name is Latino which actually make you More interesting, not less. I hope you are proud of all your heritage whatever it is, at least privately, in your own mind where it really counts.
You did a great job on this video. I grew up in the 70s, and I am very aware of who Carol Channing was. Even though I saw her on various television shows, I never knew much about her life. I heard about the "passing" aspect some years ago. I remember thinking about the timing of the information being revealed. Ms. Channing was very elderly by now, and her career was closer to an end. She would not have had the same success during that era if this information had been revealed. I was just never interested in learning more about it at that time. Again a great job and great insight. I also enjoyed your video on J. Edgar Hoover as well.
Seeing photos of her in color makes it even more amazing to me that anyone thought she was white. I can see her African heritage in the black and white photos.
When I was growing up in the 70's, I always thought she looked " black"(even though she was very light skinned). It was her rich voice and tone. My grandmother said she was a BW who was passing. She was very talented. Did many Broadway shows.
It sounds like she was a quarter black.
Yet Rachael Dolezol "is not". Her mother has drops. Take the test Rachael. Then your Mother. I don't think her father is biological. Why would the Dolezols adopt 2 black brothers unless the Mother truly knows...
@@AmandaFromWisconsin of course you think that....
Thank you sharing this! Carol Channing visited my CS church whenever she came to St.Louis and I remember her. I think that time period made it almost impossible for her to speak as openly in public as she might have today. Your insight about her and explanation of code-switching is incredibly intuitive. I really appreciate your thoughts and research about generational behaviors.
I always had a feeling Carol Channing was black because watching her on tv as a child I could tell she wasn't all caucasian. It is very sad even to this day that we're all still dealing with this topic of mixed race.
Dear Dr. Varner, thank you for taking my suggestion on doing a profile on Carol Channing! It was an excellent profile on her racial background. I'm honored for the shout-out. If you can take another suggestion, can you look into the case of Rhinelander vs Rhinelander. It's the story of a couple (Kip Rhinelander, a wealthy socialite, and Alice Jones, a woman from a working class background) who ended up getting divorced because Alice was proven to be passing as white.
this is so sad
Kinda reminds me of the movie "Passing." It's not exactly like what you're describing but reminds me of it.
P.S. She did not birth a child conceivably because she knew her child could be Obviously Black. She decided to adopt.
.
Nothing Obviously Black could have been about her child. She deprived herself of an opportunity she obviously wanted but the conflicts within herself stood in her way.
She had one son. His name is Chan Lowe.
Thanks for this video. As usual, it is excellent. I'm glad to see you back on CZcams.
Thank you! Good to hear from you again!
Being the youngest of six, I missed out of knowing my grandparents well. The richness of knowing about their lives is lost. Racism has hurt all of us, whether we acknowledge it or not. It's only when we see each other as a part of one human family, true fellowship will be a fact of life.
I remember I saw Caro Channing on one of those Johnny Carson type talk shows as an older woman telling the host out of the blue of her African ancestry. You could see her discomfort, but she told it as if it was something she had to get out. There was a noticeable hush that came over the audience and in that moment you understood why she would have kept that part of her life secret.
Thank you for returning (in full force) to your channel ,Dr. TRISH. I just subscribed. I LOVE your (host) style.🙏🏽💚😇
Because they knew about her background, Carol was told not to have children. It was a "secret" that she and her family kept. I loved when her and Pearl Bailey sung "Hello Dolly" together. It is so sad when people deny their true heritage.
If you are biracial you heritage is both biracial
What about generations back in time and only one ancestor?
You are looking at it with today's viewpoint. If she was lound and proud about her mixed race, you wouldn't even know Carol Channing even existed.
She would have been shunned by Hollywood.
I wouldn’t consider her in it denial….whites preferred light skin when hiring..a lot of places would not hire Black woman who wore Afros vs straighten hair.
Some Native Americans many years ago who were half white also found that passing as white helped make their lives a lot easier, and never talked about being part Indian.
Her signature hairstyle in terms of colour and style served as a distraction but in pictures of her with short hair you can see her biracial traits. She was a great entertainer and person. I have never heard anyone ever say anything unkind about her.
I grew up hearing that she was really of African decent.
Hi Dr.Trish, just stumbled upon the Carol Channing Bio. Excellent job. I was blessed to see her conduct the SanDiego Symphony Orchestra back in the 1980's. As for denying her black ancestry, keep in mind that when she was starting out in theater, being black dictated where you could play, where you could eat, what hotels you could stay at AND how much you earned. So it's not at all difficult to see why she lived as white. As for still being uncomfortable, perhaps she felt a bit guilty for feeling that lied to her fans by pretending all those years. Either way, she was a MARVELOUS entertainer. Rest in Peace funny Lady..
So, this definitely struck me very sadly. Number one a black mother basically gives her children away for a better life. But also understanding back then there was not a lot of opportunities for biracial children either. Keeping secrets back in those days was crucial for survival. This story broke my heart, because her dad must have thought of his mom. What happened to Clara? My first husband, now deceased, was a black man and we have two beautiful biracial children. He told me a story about his great grandmother. He basically said she looked like Snowwhite from the Disney movie. She was of mixed race and she was married to a black man they were from the Caribbean and south America. Anyway, they were pretty wealthy. He dies and she goes and buys a victorian home in an all white neighborhood. Everyone believes she's white and she doesn't deny it. Fast forward black people start to visit her. These black people are children and grandchildren. She has to tell the neighbors they're her help, they work for her. I was so emotional I cried over this story. My husband said, he understood her? She never felt accepted by the black community because she was literally that white. She never didn't love her family, she had to survive. It did upset him that she called her children and grandchildren the help. But, also she had a disabled daughter who lived in the house with her and evidently this daughter passed as white too. Apparently when she had this daughter it caused a strain on the marriage because her husband was like that's not my kid. Because back then people didn't understand genetics. He said, he knew she was depressed and felt unaccepted her whole life. She told him that was the only way I knew to survive. But it never made me not love you, but his sisters and cousins would often fight about their skin color. Which went from white to black. I never understood that, until this story he told me. Because when I first met his family, I asked him who were the white ladies? He said my cousin's and they're not white. They definitely inherited those genes. The husband I'm married to now is mixed race. His grandma was a white lady and they called her grandma light. They're very open about their mixed race heritage. Even the grandfather was mixed race and nobody hid nothing. They can trace their heritage back to a freed slave grandmother from VA. Whom I'm guessing was also mixed race. I've been shown pictures of family members that look white, biracial and black. He said no secrets in this family. But my question is? Could it be because of the areas they lived in? My 2nd husband's family lived in Quaker and abolonist terrority. Whereas my other husband's family, even though they call it a so-called "free State" people still had adverse feelings towards the color of ones skin. I just think Miss Channing didn't know exactly how to deal with this whatsoever. She still didn't feel comfortable with it during a time when people from many different races were openly married and having children. Of course it was sad she thought singing and dancing was only a trait she inherited from her African American side. I don't want to Judge her. I've met people with some serious family secrets they took to the grave, to include my family, which have upset me. But then I have to remember the times these things were going on. But, I still get upset. Even my own ethnicity. Nobody talked about until I had my DNA done.
As was already said, it was a different time. That social conditioning influenced Carol Channing to miss out on having a bond with that part of her family on her father's side. That is what I find most sad. I suspect she must have had regrets about that given that she was willing to talk about it in her later years. Thanks for posting, Dr. Trish.
Her grandmother wanted her kids to have a better life and made ultimate sacrifices. Who are we to judge? Carol Channing did it also to avoid discrimination
@@dontbelongherefromanotherp9807 Yep.
I don't have a problem with anybody passing. I grew up in a southern city where most of the creole were taught to treat darker skin black as if we were less than them.
Babe Ruth was black also
What bond? Her father was the one that was passing.
I am a new subscriber to your channel...the J. Edgar Hoover video showed up in my feed a month or so ago. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE your research/work! Thank you!!!!
Amazing amount of work goes into these Trish. So well done! Masterful really.
Very good story on Carol Channing. I heard she was black growing up and passing for white.
I never knew she was biracial until I met her in person at a California Hollywood Show signing. I always loved the classy way she carried herself through out her entire career. Being a big fan of Broadway, I loved her in Hello Dolly. When I met her, she used my name when talking to me and smiled. She gave me a free signed CD of Gospel songs. She told me that her dad taught her "Negro Spirituals" in Georgia where she grew up while giving me this knowing look. I didn't make the connection until later when I looked up her background, and looking at her collage of pictures I made the connection. She was so gracious to me. I'll never forget her. I actually think Carol was transgendered, but who isn't in Hollywood.
I always heard about this story but it was kepted hushed when I was a little girl watching Carol and it broke my heart that she was raised to be ashamed of her own blood denied and I do feel it was the world that made her feel that way and ur right she was scared how people would look at her!
Loved this. Good job. You put a perspective on this that not many or anyone to my knowledge has. Thanks
Wow, I haven’t seen you for a long time. I love your videos and the research that goes into your work. I like the psychological spin on your information . Thank you and God bless
Clark Gable also passed as a white man as well.
Very well reported. Thanks for sharing this.
Thank you. You put a unique perspective on the topic because of your profession.
I'm very proud of you and your format and style of derlivery...
Thank you this was informative. Your truly amazing
Happy New Year Dr.Varner, glad to know you're doing well. Thank you for another great video. I think Carol Channing grew up thinking she was white until she was a teen as you stated so maybe she was also confused as they waited so long to disclose this info about them passing, her mother was half- Jewish so I think when she started her career she didn't want people to know that either.
I also enjoyed your video on the late great Clark Gable-- once again thank you for letting us know his grandson passed he seemed like such a nice young man❤❤❤
I appreciate your video Dr. I truly do! Thanks for sharing! 💛
That 1 drop rule is still a joke to this day! Wtf thought of that?🤣🤦🏾♀️
Those same slave owners who made the mixed babies when they sexual abused the BW. WP always did think of themselves as the "pure race",and still do today So if you weren't 100% them then you were labeled "Black'. They did it to Obama and Halle Berry who both have a Caucasian parent for example. We've never had a "Black President" yet, we had a Biracial president.
A very enlightening and cogent conversation about mixed heritages. I myself I’m a product of multi racial mixing, and I am dark brown. Whereas my sister is very light passes for white. Our life experiences, have been very different even though we come from the same set of parents based upon our physical differences. Thank you for your analysis on this situation.
Your name is Hispanic. I assume you're P.Rican or Cuban. Definitely Hispanic. Talk of race and this 1 drop rule in America is off-the-charts. The one drop rule in and of itself is the height of racism. Just ridiculous. However, the 1 drop rule was based on the slave owners maximizing their profit off of their slave. There is racism in Latin America.💯
However, in P.R we acknowledge our mixtures. Not as potent as here.
Yes, there is racism among Hispanics, as there are among all races. Nevertheless, my experience has been that in the supposed racial hierarchy or classification. It seems to be that the race that is looked down upon or frowned upon or denied is the black race. They have no problem, saying that they have indigenous blood and most certainly they’re very proud of their Spanish European blood, which is ignorant, ridiculous and embarrassing to say the least.
I had family members from North Carolina who also look white and moved to places like Gallia, OH, Vermont, Rhode Island. I followed one line of this family to a current generation where there is a picture on a genealogy website. There is no physical evidence that this family has any black ancestry visible to the eye, but their origins are just that.
NC, GA, are full of people like that
@@kathleenking47 Exactly!
Have you gone through Ancestor DNA ? There have been amazing reunions of Families .
@@kathleenking47 .... Louisiana
Thank You for this very interesting & informative video on Carol Channing.
It was very well done.🌻💐🌻
This is a fascination topic. The one drop rule has plagued America since its beginning. Ancestry DNA has revolutionized Genealogy and you would be shocked about how many white Americans have African blood in them, but whose ancestors choose to hid it at some point. The subject is worthy of a book!
Thanks. I am Jewish. My family has always been Jewish.I am part Sephardic Jewish on both sides of my family. Sephardim are often racially mixed. My Dad's family certainly was . My Dad was very dark. Most people thought he was Sicilian. My Dad's heritage was part Italian Jewish. He spoke 3 dialects of Italian. He often was in situations were he passed as Italian in order to work during the Depression. He was very proud of being Jewish. However the darker relatives in my family were not discussed. I found out at the age of 15, when he showed me a photo of his Sephardic Grandfather, that his Grandfather, who was my Great Grandfather was of Color. It was very obvious. Since then I have seen photos of My Dad's father where it is clear that he was of Color as well. As for Ms Channing. She never discussed being part Jewish either. At the time that she started working in the Theatre, Black People and Jews didn't make it to the top, usually, unless they did some serious denial. It didn't happen. So that may be part of her reasoning. Two examples: Clark Gable was part Black, part Native American and Part Jewish. He never discussed his ancestry. Merle Oberon was of Black Ancestry. Her family was from India. She hid this fact her whole life. She presented her mother as being her maid, publicly.
Why?
because her mother was very Black.
As for Mr Gable, although he didn't talk about himself he championed Hattie McDaniels. He refused to attend the Premiere of Gone With the Wind if she wasn't invited, along with other Black Actors. He also demanded that the film set, including bathrooms, and changing rooms not be segregated. He told the Director and Producers that he would quit the film if this wasn't resolved immediately. It is my experience as an actor, that this kind of thing of people hiding who they are is all over the Film and Theatre Industries still. It's always about the money and the career.
11:50
Probably but give Gable his due if he wasn’t in the position he was in because he was seen as white he was able to take actions on Ms. McDaniels behalf.
The woman who Merle Oberon introduced to everyone as her “maid” was her grandmother who raised her as her mother and made her believe her real mother, Constance, was her sister. Constance gave birth to Merle when she was only 12 years old. So her British colonial dad was definitely a pedo - sickening but not unusual during those days under colonial rule.
I'll take it a step further, CA girl here. My grandparents who moved to CA from OK, knew of and once saw at a distance Hattie when she moved (to what was then an upscale neighborhood) in the Adams District of, LA. The neighborhood is very much changed now and can in no way be described as, 'upscale'.
She bought a 2-story, (I believe) 5 or 6 bedroom home that was considered upper crust back in the day. She bought the house sometime after winning her Oscar and just before 1953. It was no Hollywood mansion but she wasn't too far from it. The story goes that periodically, Clark Gable would come into the Adams neighborhood just to visit her. It was said he felt at home and that purportedly, the blacks and others in the neighborhood did not swarm him the way white women would when he was around them. Although, he was known as, and billed as a 'ladies man' the constant attention is something that at times rubbed him the wrong way.
Am really impressed with your storytelling skills! You put so much love & efforts in choosing the photos, the research & summing up the complexity of this artist’s inner conflict. I watched Channing in some movies as a child on German tv & felt she looked “interesting” but of course didn’t know why back then. I made also a very early decision of not taking the risk of having children with a yte man. There are many descendants in Europe of African & Asian 3rd generation heritage who live & act yte. There has never been a colour line here, so if you kept quiet no one would ask. It’s just about freshening up the dna: Ivory complexion which is not as vulnerable to the uv rays & an “exotic” touch to the yteness. These people always feel tense about Black /Brown people. Only recently, due to US “mixed race” hype & the zeitgeist’s challenging of yteness (Colonial past) everybody wants all of a sudden be acknowledged as of Color due to some Black or Brown ancestor from at least 2 generations ago.
Thank you for sharing this.
NEW SUBSCRIBER 😊
I've watched several of your videos now (CZcams's algorithm sent me your way I guess 💞) so thought I'd subscribe before continuing on with more of your content 😊
I remember learning about Carol Channing's heritage after watching Bob the Drag Queen impersonate her on season 8 of RuPaul's Drag Race. She's one of Bob's comedy idols and he certainly did her justice!
Anyway, I'm REALLY enjoying your videos. I love listening to your calm voice - I feel so relaxed and it makes learning new information easier.
I'm happy that I found your channel! Take care and thank you for creating interesting and educational content 😊
She was something ! Beautiful and such a unique voice
Thanks for the in depth story about Carol. So sad how her own distanced relationship mirrored her grandmother's
Well I love your commentary I love your video the J Edgar Hoover got me hooked. And then the guy from gone with the wind....
So please keep them coming appreciate you sister
This is very informative & appreciated. I always wondered if she was of mixed race. She was a beautiful woman. I loved watching her on tv.
BTW, You have a beautiful family😊
While doing some family research of my own, I have some relatives who passed for white. One for instance had to come out of hiding to receive a family member’s inheritance. The man had disowned his family and was living as White man. He was the last living relative. Unfortunately he didn’t get the inheritance. He died of a heart attack. He name was Theophilus John Minton Syphax. While passing as White his name was Theophilus John McKee. I wonder what her life and career would have been like if she said something sooner.
Being bi racial and my children being no racial as well , we embrace all of our culture what's sad to me is during the last few years my children felt like they had to choose how they identified themselves this made me very sad as I have raised them to embrace all of who they are and to not judge people by race, religion or economics but by the content of their character. I recall seeing my step dad's birth certificate and he was listed as white and he is obviously not .
You are right on it all the way. We should celebrate and learn all about our people. Many gifts are passed down along with knowing health history. Let's give honor to our ancestors. Thank you for expressing this so eloquently Dr.Trish Varner. This is Ellen and I'm glad to meet you
I believe that it is not for any of us to judge whether the cost or sacrifice was worth it because we all value and esteem different things. I could argue that the grandmother was selfless and sacrificial so that her offspring would have a chance at success in life. It’s evident that Carol’s family dynamic suffered greatly as a result of the family’s secret. Sadly, it also seems rooted in shame and there should be no condemnation for one’s race or skin tone.
I understand the secrecy of the 1930s. She was a girl of a time when black people were even more discriminated against.That experience does not change with age. May be she should have needed a psychologist to deal with it properly.
I am so happy that you are back making videos! I loved the one about J Edgar Hoover. So I was excited to see this one about Carol Channing. Seeing these younger photos of this talented lady, one can see her features are African American. I remember hearing her voice and wondering where she was from. Excellent work on her background and the questions of the effect on her family as a result.
President Eisenhower as well..
But, since he was responsible for OMAHA BEACH and winning WW2 no one asked
.
I was wondering where you were . I enjoy your channel. Please keep your family history coming.
We will!
I really find these videos interesting, I hope you keep making them.
Carol Channing should have went on TV show finding your roots
My Grandpa was 1/2 North African, and I would have never known it if it wasn't for DNA.
I'm proud of my heritage and brag about it, too!
Good to be proud of your heritage. I wonder why some 'north' Africans consider themselves 'white' and not Africans? Why does 'north' African have to be specified when other Africans simply say they are 'african'? You might want to explore that.
Some people say that because they want to be set apart . We are different from "them "
@@spirit5228 I think they mean that they're not black.
@spirit5228 Sicilian peasant women were taken as slaves in antiquity, by the Moors & Berbers (Moors & Berbers are Arabs and Egyptians that mixed with Blacks the originators of the lands).
About the mid-18th century, the French & Sicilian freely came to live and raise their families as the other side of my family did. It was a major international port, and jobs were plentiful. Likewise, others left their homelands for America.
It's said, "Everything happens for a reason." I'm thankful and grateful for God's ultimate plan for my life and the richness therein. ❤️
@spirit5228 white is a race and african is just means your come from that continent. A caucasian north african identifying as caucasian does not automatically mean they d not
Your Family is Beautiful ! Best wishes to you, keep up your Great Research. 🌺
Thank you!
Thank you for sharing ❤
My family has lived in the deep south for many generations. Two of my great grandfathers fought for the confederates during the Civil War. I never even spoke to a black person until I went to college. I couldn't invite any of my black friends to my house because of the prejudice of my family. A few years ago I had a DNA analysis done. I was very surprised to see that I have 0.8% African blood. My parents and grandparents were already deceased but I would have loved to see how they would react to this information. I found it quite funny and ironic.
I’m 72 so I know who Carol Channing was and I’d always heard she was Black but I’d also heard that Rock Hudson was gay but I didn’t believe it.
Thank you for this Doc
This is a great video. Thanks!!
It hit me hard when you analyzed the long-term consequences of Carol’s grandmother’s choice to encourage her son to pass as black. While it may have seemed like a good idea as it gave the child opportunities that she felt were unattainable for his race, it definitely looks like it had significant consequences on her family’s generational development.
Dinah Shore always struck me as having a melanated background.
There have been rumors...🤔
my mother who just died at age 100 said that, too
Yeah I temember they use to say that
I heard she was part black
Jewish
Just watched this video and I am subscribing. Well done.
Thank you and welcome!
Peace Dr Trish, I'm binge watching.
Love your videos! So glad you are back! :) I am what people now call "white passing" I grew up as "mixed" mom is Black, dad white... as a child ppl would tell stories about their relatives who were "white passing" . My step mother insisted that her cousin is Natalie Wood. The actress , now deceased. She is firm that it is true, not a "secret" umoung their family. I know your work is far more than celebrity "guess who is black" , lol but maybe you could look into that one that kinda surprises me!
To my knowledge, Natalie Wood was of Russian Jewish ancestry. Of course, that's the narrative, not necessarily the truth.
I grew up watching Carol on the T.V. & we still called ourselves colored & Negro..Something about Carol Channing to my mind screamed Blackness ..& physically those lips were a true giveaway ..She was a all round talent sing, dance, with comedy the main draw. she had a stage personae as a rich, sophisticated dim-wit...dumb blond ...So being of a certain generation ..I get the context about her life.. A year or so ago their was a film titled" Passing" that was just excellent ,& very nuanced.. czcams.com/video/Qd8a8mHekwU/video.html
Welcome back Dr. Trish Varner
I always appreciate and am intrigued by your videos.
That type of situation discussed in this video was also very prominent in the Caribbean around my parents, grandparents, and beyond. Those days were early to late 20th century.
It is still a factor in Caribbean life but not as "in your face" prominent.
Being almost 60 yrs old I remember my grandparents, both 8 and 10 yrs older than Carol, making a statement about Carol's mixed-race background. This was purely speculation on their part and seemed to be discussed among their age group. Apparently, that entire generation knew Carol and other entertainers, as well as government officials were of mixed-race ancestry. This included Pres. Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, Lincoln, Coolidge, Harding, singer Jerry Reed, singer Hawk Shall Hawkins and others.
Black people instinctively know when someone of us is passing. I'm 70 years old and as a young girl I knew she was Black from her features and by her personality. She was a lovely person and I like her as a person!
I agree & had you asked her that in person , more than likely she would have denied it.
YOU SHAKE A WHITE FAMILY TREE HARD ENOUGH …..A NINJA WILL FALL OUT!!!! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣✊🏿✊🏿✊🏿✊🏿✊🏿✊🏿✊🏿✊🏿✊🏿
@@lashurediscussion4970 Deny what??
Dr Trish your family is lovely !
Your Graduation Picture is Beautiful!Thank you.
Carol made millions she knew if she owned her blackness she wouldn’t have nothing. She did what passing ppl do!
When I was young I loved to watch old movies... and some really stuck with me. One of those movies was "Imitation Of Life"... which had me bawling for Annie. I can only imagine how hard that must have been for Carol's grandmother to pretend that her child was anything but hers.
I have been watching Imitation Of life for the past 40 years.This film has me bawling every time. I kept my DVD player just so I can watch it when ever I want.
Thank you. I am not black or have black in my heritage, I am excited how we find our family history. Thank you
Hi you have beautiful family💕
I have always loved carol channing so starting video. Came up on my utube feed fingers crossed I like it.👌💕🙏
I remember in the 80's there was a survey, all anonymous but an astounding count of biracial people who passed as white, included entertainers, moving away and cutting all ties with their entire family members to be allowed to participate in a white hierarchy world which allowed them good job, living in nice areas, having nice homes and free of racial discrimination. I wonder if the high count of hiding your black heritage continues?
I heard Ms. Channing tell this story years ago and thought her mother told her that to be mean.
Carol Channing's huge body of work speaks volumes... She always crossed color barriers, with grace. And continued to openly discuss it at 81.
Glad you’re back! I understand where she may have been coming from. I have hidden ancestry also and my kids are 1/4 black like Carol Channing was. I didn’t know about my black ancestry until fairly recently, which I have shared with you before. My kids acknowledge it now that we know (as do I) - it feels wrong to erase it. My oldest checked off black and white on her college applications. But I do feel strange when I see her get emails form African American student groups (and when I get invited to professional organizations for African Americans) because I wasn’t raised black. I had always been “confused” for black - not really confused I later learned - but it is hard to shift mind set when you’re raised to see yourself as not black.