The Versatile and Amazingly Talented Richard Skipper Answers Six Questions

An end-note: actor-singer Mollie Craven was moved to say this about Skipper: “As a young performer, attending Richard Skipper’s cabaret celebrating the 60th anniversary of Hello, Dolly! felt like stepping into a time machine to those glamorous days I have only read about. I felt elation and wonder as I witnessed stories and songs about this essential period of musical theatre history. I was hanging on Richard’s every word – as was the entire audience for the entire show – as he shared beautiful, heartwarming anecdotes from his friendship with the Legend with a capital “L,” Carol Channing. It felt like “Dame” Carol’s stardust twinkled through Richard’s eyes.I feel truly lucky to have been in the room to feel the magic of Hello, Dolly!”

NiteLife Exchange (NLE) asks Richard Skipper (RS) Six Questions:

NLE: When was the first time you became aware of the iconic Broadway musical Hello, Dolly!? Who are the leads that you’ve seen as an audience member?

RS: I am truly a product of 1960s and 70s television. It was my escape. My ‘introduction’ to Hello, Dolly! came from Lucille Ball’s impersonation of Carol Channing on “The Lucy Show.” It aired in 1965! I was four! I was mesmerized! The next time “Dolly” made an impact for me was when Carol Channing and Pearl Baily did their TV special, “Carol Channing and Pearl Bailey: On Broadway” in 1969! I was hooked. I could not get enough of Channing! In 1974, Hello, Dolly! (the film) was shown on CBS for the first time. I became obsessed with this score. I also made my stage debut (in community theatre) that year in Mame! So, Jerry Herman has been part of my soundtrack my entire life! The leads that I’ve seen, of course, Carol Channing and Andrea McArdle, Bette Midler, Donna Murphy, Bernadette Peters, Carolee Carmello, Betty Buckley, Nancy Opal, Lee Roy Reams, Christine Toy Johnson and Jennie Eisenhower–and those are the ones that come to mind!

NLE: Impersonation is a genre you’ve mastered. When did you realize this was something you could do and that you were interested in pursuing? How did you come to the conclusion that Carol Channing was going to be the performer you would concentrate on?

RS: The funny thing is that I didn’t pursue a career as a Channing impersonator. It pursued me. The 1960s and ’70s was the era of variety shows. THAT was the show business I aspired to. I mimicked EVERYTHING I saw. When I was in high school, I used to do lunchtime concerts on the front steps of my high school in Conway, SC. Believe it or not, Carol Channing was part of my staple that the other kids always asked me to perform.

Fast forward, I moved to New York in ‘79 to pursue my career. In 1980, I discovered the Piano Bar (housed at Beefsteak Charlie’s) at 67th and Broadway with Houston Allred at the piano. Thursday night was their Broadway night (with a free buffet!). I would go every Thursday night and my songs were usually “Broadway Baby” and “My Personal Property.” One Thursday night, I had some friends visiting from SC. After doing “Broadway Baby,” Houston asked me to do another song. I had nothing prepared. One of my friends yelled, “Do Carol Channing!”, which got a huge laugh. They then told the crowd that I used to ‘do her’ on the front steps of our high school… which got an even bigger laugh.

Houston stood up and asked me if I would humor him. After some arm twisting, I said YES. He got the waiters involved and he staged the Hello, Dolly! number! I got such a standing ovation that it still rings in my ears. I was 19! A woman by the name of Leola Harlow came up to me and wanted to know what my ‘drag name’ was. I didn’t even know what that meant! When she explained it to me, she said she was a costumer and wanted to dress me! I politely refused with these famous last words, “It will never happen!”

Well, after that night, whenever I returned to the Piano Bar, Houston wanted to close out the evening with our number. It became a staple! Several months later, I went to an audition for a show called All American Boy. When I walked in for my audition, the director exclaimed, “I know you! You’re Carol Channing!”  I froze. He came up with an idea. What if the lead characters were in an impersonation club like Finocchio in San Francisco and I performed the title song as Carol! I worked on the song with the musical director and they gave me the role on the spot. They also said that they had little to no budget and they assumed I had my own costumes. I led and said YES! I ran out and ran to the nearest pay phone (remember those days) and called Leola Harlow. She said come over NOW! I went to her apartment and she pulled a silver lame gown from her closet with marabou trim. I was a toothpick in those days and it fit me like a glove. I called a friend who went with me to Chinatown and we bought a cheap wig. He offered to do my make-up for the show.

Opening night, I stopped the show and the audience wanted an encore! I was in heaven until the creative team came in and told me they were cutting the segment from the show (as is). They didn’t want the show to be about my ‘star turn’! I Just went on with my career path… as usual.

When Halloween rolled around, I decided to go out as Carol Channing. I made a splash everywhere I went! I went to every piano bar in town, and at that time there were lots. This became a yearly ritual for me throughout most of the 80s. I got a job in ’89 at Marie’s Crisis as a waiter. Almost inevitably, every night, someone would come along and ask me to perform as Carol. Also in ‘89, John Glines approached me and told me that he was doing a reading of a new play and he wrote a part for me, Carl Channing… an out of work actor obsessed with Carol Channing! I opened in the show to some of the best reviews of my life.

When it was announced in 1994 that Carol was returning to Broadway for what would be her last revival of Dolly, a friend called me up and said that if I didn’t put together a show as Carol, I would be making the biggest mistake of my life. After a lot of soul searching, I began to put together my first show at Don’t Tell Mama in 1995. My first show was called Carol Channing’s Broadway. Circumstances led me to do the show for Carol before I opened (I detail some of the aspects of that evening in my current show). I went in with the attitude that if she didn’t like what I was doing I would never do it again. After all, I truly didn’t have that much invested in it at that time. After my performance, she told the audience that this wasn’t an impersonation, it was a valentine. When I told her of my plans to open at Don’t Tell Mama, she told me to “take the gauntlet and run with it!” If I didn’t have all of the photographs that were taken that night, I would still believe that I dreamed it! Little did I know that this was the beginning of a 25-year friendship and 20 year career as Carol Channing!

NLE: You had a very close relationship with Channing and through that friendship became an expert on her career and the show Hello, Dolly! Consequently, you created the website CallOnDolly.com. Is there a story that Carol related to you about her performing her role as Dolly Levi that surprised you?

RS: Nothing surprised me. For Carol, and me as well, it’s ALWAYS about the audience. Everything about the experience from purchasing the ticket to leaving the show matters to me. I learned about dedication to craft from Carol. Her passion for arts in education was something we both shared. Once, in the backseat of our car, she relayed a story about getting a bad review from Dorothy Kilgallen when she was doing Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. She began to believe it. AND it began to affect her performances. Anita Loos, who wrote Blondes, came backstage one night to see what was going on. When Carol told her, Anita said that for every person who liked her, there would be an equal number that don’t…. so get out there and entertain those who have come to be entertained. I think about that a lot! My focus is on those who like what I do.

NLE: You’ve been away from the stage since the Covid Pandemic. When was the moment you decided it was time for you to return to performing?

RS: Those who follow me know that I started a LIVE STREAM podcast when Covid hit. I did almost 900 episodes! I enjoyed it and it got me through Covid, but I missed the experience of being ‘LIVE’ in front of an audience! Last March, Parker Nolen invited me to kick off Capitol Cabaret in Washington, DC. I put together a mini version of my Magic of Believing show, which I had created prior to the pandemic. I was fortunate enough to perform it locally in Rockland County prior to taking it to DC. It was great to get my sea legs back. I also took a version of this to the Post Office Cafe in Provincetown this past summer.

As my 63rd Birthday was approaching, I wanted to perform on my actual birthday (February 11th). I have wanted to work with James Beaman for a long time. I’m a huge fan of his artistry and after seeing his recent return to cabaret, I knew he was the one to guide me. Again, the plan was to do a variation of my Magic of Believing show. I was thrilled when he said yes. I’m working with Patrice McKinley, an amazing career coach! During our early sessions when we were discussing the early plans of my ‘return’ to NYC cabaret after a four-year absence (!), s he asked me what my plans were in terms of making money at this. The podcast cost me thousands (believe it or not) and I needed to think about this. I was already booked to do a presentation at Valley Cottage Library in Rockland County on January 16 to commemorate the anniversary of Hello, Dolly! opening on Broadway in 1964. Then it dawned on me! Rather than trying to create two different shows, why not create a show that could be presented everywhere to celebrate this anniversary! When I ran my idea past James, it was a resounding YES from him and then he suggested Dan Pardo as musical director. They had worked together on Mame at the Goodspeed Opera House and Dan was associate music director on Klea Blackhurst’s Dolly, also at Goodspeed. Jerry Herman’s music is in his blood. We all got together and from that first moment, I knew I had the perfect team.

NLE: A decade ago you produced and hosted the 50th anniversary celebration of Hello, Dolly! at Sardi’s with original cast members. What are your fondest memories of that event?

RS: My fondest memory is that Jerry Herman called me the night before to thank me! As a result of that conversation, it led to me getting an interview with him. The love in that room of so many people who shared this experience but who had not seen each other in years! I felt after this undertaking that I could do anything I put my mind to!

NLE: After a sold out first show on February 11, you added a second date at the Laurie Beechman Theater with Lorna Dallas as your guest. She had the distinction of performing in the West End’s Hello Dolly! with Danny LaRue playing Dolly. What’s the first question you’re going to ask her?

RS: You’ll have to be there to find out!