Tony-winner Carol Channing dies

New York

Tributes from Broadway stars like Kristin Chenoweth and Bette Midler poured in to honor the life and career of Carol Channing, the three-time Tony Award-winning musical comedy star who delighted American audiences over 5,000 performances as the scheming Dolly Levi in "Hello, Dolly!" on Broadway and beyond.

She died Tuesday at 97.

Publicist B. Harlan Boll said Channing died of natural causes at 12:31 a.m. Tuesday in Rancho Mirage, California. Boll says she had twice suffered strokes in the last year.

Besides "Hello, Dolly!," Channing starred in other Broadway shows, but none with equal magnetism. She often appeared on television and in nightclubs, for a time partnering with George Burns in Las Vegas and a national tour.