Mimi Benzell
Mimi Benzell | |
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 Benzell in 1956. | |
| Background information | |
| Born | May 6, 1924 Bridgeport, Connecticut |
| Died | December 23, 1970 (aged 46) Manhasset, New York |
| Genres | Jazz, classical |
Mimi Benzell (May 6, 1924 – December 23, 1970) was an American soprano who performed with the Metropolitan Opera before establishing herself as a Broadway musical theatre, television, and nightclub performer.
Life and career
Born on May 6, 1924, in Bridgeport, Connecticut, Benzell attended James Madison High School in Brooklyn, New York. She was 21 when she made her Met debut, initially in a Sunday concert on Dec. 3, 1944; her stage debut was in Mozart's The Magic Flute on January 5, 1945.[1] Additional Met credits that Benzell compiled include performances in La Bohème, Rigoletto, Der Rosenkavalier, Carmen, and Barber of Seville.[2] In 1961 she appeared in Jerry Herman's first book musical, Milk and Honey, which proved to be her only Broadway production.[3]
Benzell performed on The Ed Sullivan Show, then still titled Toast of the Town, eleven times between 1949 and 1955.[4] She 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.
Among Benzell's recordings were Roberta and The Vagabond King, both with Alfred Drake.
Benzell died of cancer on December 23, 1970, in Manhasset, New York, at the age of 46.[5]
References
External links
- Mimi Benzell scrapbook, 1961-62 (documenting her appearance in Milk and Honey) in the Music Division of the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.
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