Mimi Hines(1933-2024)

As the zany distaff member of the one-time husband-and-wife comedy team of "Ford and Hines," the incomparable Mimi Hines has withstood an amazing number of highs and lows in a five-decade career. Like the Sondheim song says, this trooper is, at age 70+, "still here." She was born in Canada in 1933 and grew up with a marvelous knack for making faces and getting laughs. The then-19-year-old met the much older Phil Ford in Alaska while both were playing different clubs in 1952. She was a quick fill-in after his female partner accidentally broke her ankle. The rest is history. They married two years later and continued performing together in night clubs with Phil serving as the straight man.

The plain-Jane, rubber-faced singer/comedienne with the prominent dimples and toothy grin had her customers alternately rolling in the aisles with her "chipmunk" routines and sobbing in their beers with heart-wrenching versions of torch songs. She and Phil earned their big break on Jack Paar's "The Tonight Show" program on August 28, 1958. Their routine included Mimi singing a tear-inducing rendition of "Till There Was You." From then on Ford and Hines became a hot commodity in niteries, Las Vegas showrooms and on TV variety shows hosted by the likes of Ed Sullivan, Merv Griffin, Mike Douglas, Jimmy Dean and Johnny Carson.

In 1965 it all culminated in the role of a lifetime for Mimi when she replaced Barbra Streisand in "Funny Girl" on Broadway in the role of entertainer Fanny Brice. The part of the famed Jewish torch singer/comedienne fit like a glove and Mimi stayed with the show for a healthy 18 months, putting her own indelible stamp on the role. Phil co-starred with Mimi in the smash musical playing the role of Eddie Ryan, Fanny's show biz confidante. Mimi continued to perform in musical comedy (often opposite Phil) with productions of "I Do! I Do!," "The Prisoner of Second Avenue," "Anything Goes," "Never Too Late," "The Unsinkable Molly Brown," "No, No, Nanette," "Hello, Dolly!" and plenty of others. She also recorded albums during this peak and went on to appear in acting parts on TV, including "Love, American Style" and, more recently, "Frasier."

The partnership eventually dissolved with Mimi and Phil divorcing in 1972 but each continuing to perform solo. Surviving several personal and professional roadblocks over the past few decades, the indefatigable Mimi continues to headline in nightclubs, music halls and the touring stage, both here and abroad, reuniting on several occasions with Ford (who died in 2005 at age 85). More recent musicals have included "Sugar Babies," "Nite Club Confidential," "Sugar," "Pippin" and "Nunsense."