Mimi Hines, Star of ‘Funny Girl’ on Broadway, Dies at 91

Mimi Hines, the Canadian comedian and stage actress who succeeded Barbra Streisand in the Broadway production of “Funny Girl,” has died. She was 91.

Hines died of natural causes on Oct. 21 in her home in Los Vegas, according to her long-time attorney, Mark Sendroff.

Hines got her Hollywood break performing on “The Tonight Show” with her late husband Phil Ford. After she made the show’s then-host Jack Paar cry with her performance of “Till There Was You,” the pair was an instant hit. Hines and Ford went on to secure bookings on several other late-night programs and nab top billings at nightclubs around the country.

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In 1965, Hines took over for Streisand in the original stage production of “Funny Girl” on Broadway, which she starred in for 18 months. Following “Funny Girl,” Hines starred in national productions of “I Do! I Do!,” “Prisoner of Second Avenue,” “Sugar Babies,” “Hello, Dolly!,” “Anything Goes,” Never Too Late,” “The Unsinkable Molly Brown,” “No, No, Nanette,” “Sugar,” On The Twentieth Century” and “Nite Club Confidential.”

During the 1960s, Hines also released three studio albums: “Mimi Hines Is a Happening,” “Mimi Hines Sings” and “Stars for Defense,” which she recorded with Ford.

After appearing in the NBC sitcom “Frasier” in 1999 as Mrs. Latimer, Hines returned to Broadway, starring as Miss Lynch in “Grease” and Hattie Walker in the New York City Center’s production of “Follies.”

Hines and Ford were recently honored with a star on the Palm Springs Walk of Fame. A ceremony is to take place to celebrate Mimi’s life, career and partnership with Ford.