Channing is 'Woman of Year

Accepting the 21st Hasty Pudding Award for "Woman of the Year" yesterday afternoon, actress Carol Channing announced, "I feel elegant, just elegant. I'm sure my status in the legitimate theatre is now secure."

Riding on the shoulders of Puddingmen William C. Meyers '71 and Paul L. Hudson '71, Channing exclaimed, "I think it's wonderful. I'm in such good company. I know every one of the other award winners: Mamie Eisenhower, Angela Lansbury, and oh look here's my best friend Carol Burnett."

Golden Pot

Channing, currently starring on Broadway in David Merrick's "Four on a Garden," accepted a golden replica of the original Hasty Pudding Pot "in recognition of great acting skills and feminine qualities."

When questioned about politics, Channing said, "All I know about politics is that the Kennedys invited me to the White House several times. The Republicans never invited me so I guess I became a Democrat."

Dumb Blond

"I agree with women's lib and I would like to be involved but I just don't have the time." Channing said. "I don't see any conflict between what I do and women's lib. Hello Dolly was a wheeler-dealer matchmaker and just as smart as any man. You couldn't say I was a dumb blond in that show anyway, because she was a redhead."

Channing came to the Hasty Pudding with a suitcaseful of organic food. "It's all I've been eating for years," she said. "The pesticides and antibiotics they use in food give me an allergic reaction. A lot of people are now realizing that these things are bad but my system told me that years ago."

Wonderful Harvard

Asked to name her favorite men's school, Channing, a graduate of Bennington, quickly replied, "Why, Harvard, of course. As soon as I knew I was getting this award I all of a sudden realized that Harvard was wonderful and must have always been my favorite school. I guess you could say it's a mutual feeling."