Mimi Hines (July 17, 1933 – October 21, 2024) was a Canadian actress, singer, and comedian, best known for her appearances on ''

The Ed Sullivan Show ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York City, New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the ''CB ...

'', ''

The Tonight Show ''The Tonight Show'' is an American late-night talk show that has been broadcast on NBC since 1954. The program has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno (1992–2 ...

'' and her work on Broadway. She succeeded

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand ( ; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress, songwriter, producer, and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success across multiple fields of entertainment, being the ...

in the original production of '' Funny Girl''.

Life and career

Hines was born in

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, Canada on July 17, 1933, the daughter of Eugene Saborne and Lillian Hines. Her parents split when she was young, and she used her mother's surname. She worked for a time in

Anchorage, Alaska Anchorage, officially the Municipality of Anchorage, is the List of cities in Alaska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Alaska. With a population of 291,247 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it contains nearly 40 percent of ...

, where she met comedian Phil Ford in 1952 while they were working at different night clubs. They married in 1954 and divorced in 1972. On August 28, 1958, she and Ford appeared on ''

'' for the first time. Hines sang " Till There Was You". In a later stand-up routine on ''The Tonight Show'', she portrayed the NBC peacock. In 1959 she sang several of the numbers on the Juan García Esquivel- Ray Martin Christmas song collaboration, ''The Merriest of Christmas Pops'' (

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic ...

). In 1964, Hines and Ford filmed a

pilot episode A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie) in United Kingdom and United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television netwo ...

for a potential sitcom, ''Mimi'', that would have starred the two as owners of a resort hotel, but the series was not picked-up for airing. In 1965, she and Phil Ford starred in the obscure comedy "Saturday Night Bath In Apple Valley", which was long-forgotten until Something Weird Video unearthed it and issued it on homevideo for the first time. It was directed by actor John Myhers and also starred Cliff Arquette and Joan Benedict (later 'Steiger' -- who also died earlier this year at age 96; Myhers and Benedict were married until he died in 1992). On December 27, 1965, Hines succeeded

on Broadway in '' Funny Girl'', performing the role for eighteen months until the show's New York closing on July 1, 1967, after which she starred in touring companies of '' I Do! I Do!'' and '' The Prisoner of Second Avenue'', as well as productions of '' Anything Goes'', '' Never Too Late'', ''

The Pajama Game ''The Pajama Game'' is a musical based on the 1953 novel '' 7½ Cents'' by Richard Bissell. The book is by George Abbott and Richard Bissell; the music and lyrics are by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. Dances were staged by Bob Fosse in his chor ...

'', '' The Unsinkable Molly Brown'', '' No, No, Nanette'' and ''

Sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecul ...

''. She played at Feinstein's at the Regency in New York City. She appeared with the Los Angeles Pops Orchestra and starred in national tours of '' Sugar Babies'' and '' Nite Club Confidential'' and on a recorded salute to

Johnny Mercer John Herndon Mercer (November 18, 1909 – June 25, 1976) was an American lyricist, songwriter, and singer, as well as a record label executive who co-founded Capitol Records with music industry businessmen Buddy DeSylva and Wallichs Music Cit ...

called ''Mostly Mercer''. She toured the world for a year in the title role of '' Hello, Dolly!'' and starred in productions of '' A Majority of One'' and '' Can-Can'' in

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

and in revues featuring the songs of Alan and Marilyn Bergman, '' How Do You Keep the Music Playing?'' in Los Angeles, as well as the songs of

Rodgers and Hart Rodgers and Hart were an American songwriting partnership between composer Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) and the lyricist Lorenz Hart (1895–1943). They worked together on 28 stage musicals and more than 500 songs from 1919 until Hart's ...

titled ''This Funny World'' at the

Kennedy Center The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, commonly known as the Kennedy Center, is the national cultural center of the United States, located on the eastern bank of the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. Opened on September 8, ...

in Washington, D.C., and the songs of Jerry Herman at the Schoenberg Theatre in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. Hines appeared as Mrs. Latimer on the television program ''

Frasier ''Frasier'' () is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for 11 seasons from September 16, 1993, to May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey (screenwriter), Peter Casey, and David Lee (scr ...

'' and returned to Broadway in 1994 for the

Tommy Tune Thomas James Tune (born February 28, 1939) is an American actor, dancer, singer, theatre director, producer, and choreographer. Over the course of his career, he has won ten Tony Awards, the National Medal of Arts, and a star on the Hollywood Wal ...

production of '' Grease'', in which she appeared as Miss Lynch. She also co-starred in the

off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

revival of

Kander and Ebb Kander and Ebb were a highly successful American songwriting team consisting of composer John Kander (born March 18, 1927) and lyricist Fred Ebb (April 8, 1928 – September 11, 2004). Known primarily for their stage musical theatre, musicals, whi ...

's '' 70, Girls, 70'', with Jane Powell, Charlotte Rae and

Helen Gallagher Helen Gallagher (July 19, 1926 – November 24, 2024) was an American actress, dancer, and singer. She received three Daytime Emmy Awards, two Tony Awards, a Donaldson Award, and a Drama Desk Award. Gallagher's work on the New York stages spa ...

, and was a guest in the final week of ''

The Rosie O'Donnell Show ''The Rosie O'Donnell Show'' is an American daytime variety show, variety television talk show created, hosted, and produced by actress and comedian Rosie O'Donnell. It premiered on June 10, 1996, and concluded after six seasons on June 27, 200 ...

''. She performed for L.A.'s reprise, as Letitia Primrose in '' On The Twentieth Century'', and in 2005 as Berthe in '' Pippin''. She co-starred in 2002 as Sister Mary Amnesia in the National Tour of the 20th Anniversary production of '' Nunsense'', along with Kaye Ballard, Georgia Engel, Lee Meriwether, and Darlene Love. In 2007, Hines starred in the City Center

Encores! Encores! is a Tony Honors for Excellence in Theatre, Tony-honored concert series dedicated to reviving United States, American Musical theatre, musicals, usually with their original orchestrations. Presented by New York City Center since 1994, E ...

production of ''Follies'' in New York City. Hines died in her Las Vegas home on October 21, 2024, at age 91 from natural causes. A celebration of Mimi’s life, career, and marriage was held January 21, 2025, to coincide with the ceremony to unveil Hines and Ford's Star on the

Palm Springs Walk of Stars The Palm Springs Walk of Stars is a walk of fame in downtown Palm Springs, California, where "Golden Palm Stars", honoring various people who have lived in the greater Palm Springs area, are embedded in the sidewalk pavement. The walk includes p ...

Discography

*''Mimi Hines Sings'' (

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis after his acquisition of a gramophone manufacturer, The Decca Gramophone Company. It set up an American subsidiary under the Decca name, which bec ...

, 1966) *''Mimi Hines is a Happening'' (Decca Records, 1966) *''Mimi'' (Custom Fidelity Records)

Sidework

*''The Merriest of Christmas Pops,'' singing on tracks with Ray Martin and his orchestra (

, 1959)

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hines, Mimi 1933 births 2024 deaths 20th-century American actresses 20th-century American women singers 20th-century Canadian actresses 20th-century Canadian women singers 21st-century American actresses 21st-century American women singers 21st-century Canadian actresses 21st-century Canadian women singers Actresses from Vancouver American musical theatre actresses Canadian emigrants to the United States Canadian musical theatre actresses Singers from Vancouver