IN: Hello, Dolly! is a 1964 musical with lyrics and music by Jerry Herman and a book by Michael Stewart. Based on Thornton Wilder's 1938 farce The Merchant of Yonkers (which Wilder revised and retitled The Matchmaker in 1955), the musical follows the story of Dolly Gallagher Levi (a strong-willed matchmaker), as she travels to Yonkers, New York, to find a match for the miserly "well-known unmarried half-a-millionaire" Horace Vandergelder.

The plot of Hello, Dolly! originated in an 1835 English play, A Day Well Spent by John Oxenford, which Johann Nestroy adapted into the farce Einen Jux will er sich machen (He Will Go on a Spree or He'll Have Himself a Good Time). Thornton Wilder adapted Nestroy's play into his 1938 farcical play The Merchant of Yonkers, a flop which he revised and retitled The Matchmaker in 1955, expanding the role of Dolly, played by Ruth Gordon. The Matchmaker became a hit and was much revived and made into a 1958 film of the same name starring Shirley Booth. The story of a meddlesome widow who strives to bring romance to several couples and herself in a big city restaurant also features prominently in the 1891 hit musical A Trip to Chinatown.  The role of Dolly Gallagher Levi in the musical was originally written for Ethel Merman, but Merman turned it down, as did Mary Martin (although each eventually played it). Merrick then auditioned Nancy Walker. Eventually, he hired Carol Channing, who then created in Dolly her signature role. Director Gower Champion was not the producer's first choice, as Hal Prince and others (among them Jerome Robbins and Joe Layton) all turned down the job of directing the musical.  Hello, Dolly! had rocky out-of-town tryouts in Detroit and Washington, D.C. After receiving the reviews, the creators made major changes to the script and score, including the addition of the song "Before the Parade Passes By". The show was originally entitled Dolly, A Damned Exasperating Woman and Call on Dolly but Merrick changed the title upon hearing Louis Armstrong's version of "Hello, Dolly." The show became one of the most iconic Broadway shows of its era, the latter half of the 1960s, running for 2,844 performances, and was for a time the longest-running musical in Broadway history. During that decade, ten "blockbuster" musicals played over 1,000 performances and three played over 2,000, helping to redefine "success" for the Broadway musical genre.

What happened after that?

OUT: Eventually, he hired Carol Channing, who then created in Dolly her signature role.


IN: James Mark Cornette (born September 17, 1961) is an American podcaster, former professional wrestling booker, commentator, manager, and occasional professional wrestler. As a manager, commentator, member of the booking committee and member of the creative team, he has worked for Continental Wrestling Association, Mid-South Wrestling, Jim Crockett Promotions, World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment (now WWE), and from 1991 to 1995, was the owner of Smoky Mountain Wrestling. He has also worked as an on-screen character in an authoritative role; as "Commissioner" of Ring of Honor and "Management Director" (and off-screen road agent) for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling.

Cornette went to the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1993 while still serving as promoter of SMW. As he had done in other promotions, Cornette held several positions in the WWF, including manager, color commentator and member of the booking committee. Cornette's most notable managerial role in the WWF was as the "American spokesperson" of WWF Champion Yokozuna. Cornette joined the WWF full-time in 1996 after the demise of SMW, and had a major role in scouting and developing new talent.  On screen, he led a top heel stable of wrestlers referred to as "Camp Cornette". At any given time, Cornette's charges consisted of Yokozuna, Mantaur, Vader, Owen Hart, and The British Bulldog. He also served as the manager of Tom Prichard and Jimmy Del Ray during their brief stint in the WWF. In 1997, Cornette became a member of the WWF announce team where he served as a color commentator. It was during this time that he also began performing a series of controversial "worked shoots" where he would praise what he felt was right and condemn what he felt was wrong in professional wrestling. Although the segments were produced by the WWF, Cornette did not hesitate to give praise to WCW wrestlers that he felt deserved it. Cornette also became active behind the scenes working on the booking committee for several years before being removed after frequently butting heads with head writer Vince Russo.  In 1998, Cornette led an NWA invasion, based on the old Crockett Promotions territory, with a stable including Jeff Jarrett, Barry Windham and The Rock 'n' Roll Express. Later that year, Cornette managed Dan Severn and The New Midnight Express before he stepped back from managing. Cornette then did some color commentating, primarily on Sunday Night Heat, before disappearing from television. Cornette returned to WWF television for one night at WrestleMania X-Seven in Houston, where he took part in the "gimmick battle royal" but was quickly eliminated by Hillbilly Jim.  Cornette later became lead booker and part owner of Ohio Valley Wrestling, WWE's lead developmental territory at the time, run by "Nightmare" Danny Davis. As a talent developer, Cornette had previously been instrumental in developing current and former WWE Superstars such as Kane, D'Lo Brown, Sunny and Al Snow during his time running SMW. WWE credits Cornette with helping foster numerous successful superstars including John Cena, Dave Bautista, Randy Orton and Brock Lesnar.  In May 2005, Cornette was suspended for several weeks by WWE after slapping OVW developmental wrestler Anthony Carelli backstage after Carelli had "no-sold" fellow wrestler The Boogeyman by laughing at him during a live OVW event. Shortly after Cornette returned from his suspension, a separate incident occurred and the WWE released him from his contract in July 2005. In the spring of 2007, Carelli, who had since been called up to the WWE as Santino Marella, appeared on a Canadian radio program where he publicly challenged Cornette to a match despite Cornette working for rival promotion TNA at the time.

What were their earlier years like?

OUT:
Cornette held several positions in the WWF,