Just Lucky I Guess: A Memoir of Sorts

by Carol Channing

Book Overview

Well, hello, Dolly Carol Channing, one of America's most beloved and enduring theatrical legends, takes on her most challenging role yet: as the author of this funny, ribald, and moving memoir. Known... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0743216067
• ISBN13: 9780743216067
• Release Date: October 2002
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.3" x 9.7"

Customer Reviews

Hello Dully!

Now, I understand that as we look back on our lives that we tend to remember the good times rather than the bad, but Carol does so to the point of chronicling a rather dull existence. She leaves out all the stories that made her one of the great survivors in the industry. Case in point, there's no mention of the story when Frank Sinatra beat her to within an inch of death with a pillowcase full of doorknobs. There's no mention of her bloodfeud with Rosemary Clooney and how she once pulled a knife on Clooney and cut off her pinky toe. And of course, the greatest omission of all: Carol has an irational fear of men with mustaches. Could have been better.

What a cover

I showed this book to my children and now they can't sleep.

just blessed

carol shed light on the world by admitting that she was african american while she is still alive ( unlike Dinah Shore where it was not until after she had passed to reveal her story ) She was AFRICAN AMERICAN too....I wish the color barrier didnt exist such that talented human beings ( such as Carol and Dinah ) would not have to hide their true selves in order to attain success. Another real example of the contributions of people of color to the prosperity of the United States of America.J A Rodgers was right....

Hello, Carol!

Is Carol Channing actually 81? Good grief! She's still a lot more lively than almost anybody a quarter her age. No ghost is credited, and it would seem that this book is, in fact, directly from the pen of Ms. Channing. It certainly sounds like her: the book reads like an extended interview, delivered in her inimitable voice (which I kept hearing while reading it). It's lots of fun to read, but probably best enjoyed in short bits, since the high energy level of the writing is almost too much to take after an hour or two! She bounces around madly from topic to topic, but that's part of the charm. A few personal notes: I grew up in a Christian Science family, and we knew the Channings (and I remember as a child visiting the First Reader's house which she describes). Her hilarious account of the foibles of Lady Astor will resonate with any Christian Scientist from that period! When Gentlemen Prefer Blondes appeared on Broadway, I remember a bit of a scandal in C.S. circles over her performance: not because of the naughty escapades of Lorelei Lee, but because she smoked a cigarette on stage! Oh well!

Theatre's Best Friend

She continues to amaze!Bravo, Ms. Channing.And most importantly, Thank you for getting it all on paper for us all to relish. This is gushy, but there is no other way to describe this book. Beautifully written, cohesive and truly inspiring.Powerful, in an odd and delightful way.The theatre biz has changed so much since Time Magazine put her on their cover in 1950 and proclaimed, "Perhaps once in a decade, a nova explodes above the Great White Way with enough brilliance to re-illuminate the whole gaudy legend of show business."Well, that was FIVE DECADES ago! And indeed no other Lady has had such theatrical staying-power...period!Put on your Sunday clothes......and GET THIS BOOK!