CAROL CHANNING - CHANNING'S STOLEN GOWN RETURNED

CHANNING'S STOLEN GOWN RETURNED

LATEST: Hollywood veteran CAROL CHANNING's priceless diamond dress has been returned to the actress after a thief stole the gown from her luggage at the Hollywood Renaissance hotel. Police were called to the Hollywood Renaissance Hotel on Thursday (13Sep07) after the actress and comedienne reported the garment she was planning to donate to the Smithsonian museum complex in New York after one final photoshoot had been swiped. Channing, 86, wore the dress over 700 times as Lorelei Lee in the stage production of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. The dress was returned to her by a homeless man, according to TMZ.com. The unnamed hero reportedly walked into the hotel's lobby on Saturday (15Sep07) and handed over a bag containing the dress to a security guard, explaining he found the garment in a nearby park and instinctively knew it was Channing's after reading about her stolen gown.