Actress, comedian, and powerhouse vocalist Mimi Hines has died at the age of 91. News of her passing was confirmed by her attorney, Mark Sendroff.
Ms. Hines was one of the last surviving performers of the vaudeville tradition. Born July 17, 1933 in Vancouver, Ms. Hines polished her style on the nightclub circuit before meeting fellow comic Phil Ford in Anchorage, Alaska. The pair quickly fit together on and offstage, forming their own vaudeville duo (Ford and Hines) and marrying in 1954.
On August 28, 1958, Ms. Hines and Mr. Ford appeared on The Tonight Show with Jack Paar, transforming their careers over night. In addition to their vaudeville-style comic sketches, Ms. Hines performed the tender love song "Till There Was You" from The Music Man, which immediately caught the ear of numerous record executives. The duo quickly became familiar faces on the then-burgeoning television circuit, appearing on the shows led by Johnny Carson, Ed Sullivan, Dean Martin, Bobby Darin, Mike Douglas, and Merv Griffin, as well as numerous returns to The Tonight Show.
In 1959, Ms. Hines recorded several songs for the Esquivel-Ray Martin Christmas collaboration, The Merriest of Pops. She and Mr. Ford filmed a pilot episode for a sitcom that was to be entitled Mimi, which would have starred the pair as owners of a resort hotel. The series was not picked up for airing before Ms. Hines booked the job that would launch her as a star in her own right, outside of her and Mr. Ford's collaboration.
In 1966, Ms. Hines replaced Barbra Streisand on Broadway in the original production of Funny Girl. Ms. Hines thrived in the role for 18 months, kicking off an impressive solo stage career; while Mr. Ford had also joined Funny Girl alongside Ms. Hines in the role of Eddie Ryan, by the end of their run, both their collaboration and their marriage had begun to deteriorate.
In the afterglow of her Funny Girl run, Ms. Hines recorded and releast two albums for Decca Records; Mimi Hines Sings and Mimi Hines is a Happening. A third, simply titled Mimi, was released by Custom Fidelity Records. Following the end of Funny Girl on Broadway, Ms. Hines hit the road, starring in touring companies of I Do! I Do!, The Prisoner of Second Avenue, and Sugar Babies as well as productions of Anything Goes, Never Too Late, The Pajama Game, The Unsinkable Molly Brown, No, No, Nanette, and Sugar. She performed across the country in various solo nightclub acts, and toured the world for a year in the title role of Hello, Dolly!. She and Mr. Ford divorced in 1972.
On television, Ms. Hines acted on Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Fake-Out, and The Ugily Family, as well as a memorable appearance on Frasier as Mrs. Latimer. Ms. Hines returned to Broadway in 1994 for the Tommy Tune production of Grease, starring as the no-nonsense teacher Miss Lynch. Ms. Hines toured the production as well before beginning a gradual retirement after 40 years of constant work following her first performance on The Tonight Show.
Off-Broadway, Ms. Hines starred in the revival of Kander and Ebb's 70, Girls, 70, alongside Jane Powell, Charlotte Rae, and Helen Gallagher. Returning to her roots, Ms. Hines was a guest in the final week of The Rosie O'Donnell Show, and in 2002, she starred as Sister Mary Amnesia in the 20th Anniversary touring production of Nunsense, along with Kaye Ballard, Georgia Engel, Lee Meriwether, and Darlene Love. In 2007, she appeared in the City Center Encores! production of Follies, performing the song "Broadway Baby."
Ms. Hines was predeceased by Mr. Ford in 2005. The pair were recently awarded a Star on the Palm Springs Walk of Fame, and the planned ceremony will now serve as a celebration of Ms. Hines' life and career.
