Well, Hello Carol! It’s so nice to have you back where you belong ― live on stage and co-starring in a big-screen Hollywood musical on Friday, May 21, at the Bob Hope Theatre in downtown Stockton.

Broadway icon Carol Channing, whose career spans every facet of show business, will appear live at 7 p.m. before the screening of her 1968 movie musical “Thoroughly Modern Millie.”

Although Channing starred in films and on television, on Broadway she became an overnight star in “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” and danced into history singing “Hello, Dolly!” without missing a performance.

She became so identified with that mega hit that her success in other shows and movies is often overlooked, such as her Oscar-nominated turn as a jazz-age cutie in “Thoroughly Modern Millie.”

In it, she co-stars with Julie Andrews and Mary Tyler Moore as newly-minted flappers in New York looking for jobs and husbands. Channing gets to sing and dance “Jazz Baby,” one of the songs from the score that won Elmer Bernstein an Academy Award.

The movie also co-stars Beatrice Lillie, the great English vaudevillian in her last film, and John Gavin, who after “Psycho” and “Spartacus” gave up Hollywood to become Ronald Reagan’s Ambassador to Mexico.

Channing will introduce the movie, talk about her legendary career, and advocate for arts in the public schools through a foundation she established with her husband. The couple reside in Modesto.

During the film’s brief intermission, series host Jeff Sutherland will draw the winning ticket for the movie’s poster signed by Channing. She also will be available after the screening in the lobby to give autographs.

Friends of the Fox sponsor this series of monthly Friday night films now using a new digital projector. The evening begins with an optional 6:30 p.m. organ concert by Tom Thompson.

Complimentary wine, snacks, bottled water and soft drinks are served in the lobby (donations accepted). All tickets are $8 (children $4) at the box office, which opens at 6 p.m.

The current series concludes on June 25 with James Cagney in his Oscar-winning role as showbiz icon George M. Cohan in the flag-waving movie musical, just prior to Stockton’s July 4 celebration, “Yankee Doodle Dandy.”

At that time, Classic Films Chair Bob Hartzell will announce the July-November film series, which opens with the long-delayed public screening of John Huston’s classic “The African Queen” starring Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn.

For more information or to be added to the mailing list, call 952-2750 or 369-6850, or visit the Classic Cinema Series online at www.bobhopetheatre.org.