1. Miriam Ruth "Mimi" Benzell was an American soprano who performed with the Metropolitan Opera before establishing herself as a Broadway musical theatre, television, and nightclub performer.
15 Facts About Mimi Benzell
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Mimi Benzell was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut on April 6,1918 to William and Esther Benzell.
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Mimi Benzell's father was in the furniture business and her paternal grandfather had been a popular singer in Russia before emigrating to the United States.
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Mimi Benzell later attended Hunter College for two years and the Mannes School of Music.
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At the age of 20, Mimi Benzell made her debut in a Sunday concert in Mexico City on December 3,1944, during which she played the role of Zerlina in Mozart's Don Giovanni and the Queen of the Night in The Magic Flute.
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Mimi Benzell made her Metropolitan Opera stage debut on January 5,1945, again playing the role of the Queen of the Night in The Magic Flute.
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Additional Met credits that Mimi Benzell compiled include performances in La Boheme, Mignon, Rigoletto, Der Rosenkavalier, Carmen, and Barber of Seville.
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On March 23,1956, Mimi Benzell starred as the guest soloist in the Hofstra College Symphony Orchestra's final concert of the season at Hofstra University.
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Mimi Benzell performed on The Ed Sullivan Show, then still titled Toast of the Town, eleven times between 1949 and 1955.
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Mimi Benzell appeared as a panelist on both the daytime and primetime editions of the game show To Tell the Truth, and was a guest star on the short-lived DuMont series Off the Record alongside Zero Mostel and Joey Faye.
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On January 30,1969, Benzell was appointed by Nassau County Executive Eugene H Nickerson as the director of the Nassau County Office of Performing and Fine Arts.
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Mimi Benzell served in this capacity until 1970, when she stepped down for personal reasons.
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Mimi Benzell was married to Walter Gould, the brother of American composer Morton Gould; Walter served as her manager.
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Mimi Benzell was active in numerous charitable organizations, including the women's division of B'nai B'rith.
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Mimi Benzell died of an undisclosed form of cancer on December 23,1970, at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, New York, at the age of 52.