Cast of Life Can Be Beautiful October 1940

Lillian "Mitzi" Smith (November 13, 1918 – April 29, 2004), known professionally as Mitzi Haynes, was an American actress and showgirl.

Early years

Haynes was born into a

Yiddish Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ver ...

-speaking family in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, New York, in 1918,''California, U.S., Federal Naturalization Records, 1888–1991'' the daughter of Max Smith and Sarah "Sadie" Albin (born in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

to Russian émigré parents).''New York, U.S., Naturalization Records, 1882-1944'' She went on to become fluent in French as well as in English. She graduated from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

with a bachelor of arts degree and a double major in English and French literature. Unable to take a teaching examination after graduation, she took a part in a production of a musical comedy for the summer.

Career

Early in her career, Haynes acted in plays, worked as a model, and performed with bands. She debuted on radio in ''Dear Columbia''. Some of her other roles in radio programs are shown in the table below. She was also a regular cast member of ''Criminal Case Book'' and ''The American School of the Air''. Gould also portrayed Nancy Parker in an episode of ''The Parker Family'' that was broadcast on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

television on May 9, 1941. On Broadway, Haynes appeared in ''Behind Red Lights'' (1937) and ''

Banjo Eyes ''Banjo Eyes'' is a musical based on the play ''Three Men on a Horse'' by John Cecil Holm and George Abbott. It has a book by Joseph Quinlan and Izzy Ellinson, music by Vernon Duke, and lyrics by John La Touche and Harold Adamson. Produced by ...

'' (1941). She also performed at the Hollywood Restaurant and Latin Quarter night clubs in New York.

Personal life

She married film dance director

Dave Gould Dave Gould (born Dezső Guttmann; March 11, 1899 - June 3, 1969) was a Hungarian-American choreographer and dance director. He is notable as one of the three people to win the short-lived Academy Award for Best Dance Direction The Academy Awards ...

on April 20, 1937. She filed for divorce from him in 1939. In 1943, she married steel executive William Fabrikant after having been married to Walter Pickit, an attorney. They divorced in 1954. In 1981, she married Leslie J. Kovach.''New York, New York, U.S., Marriage License Indexes, 1907–2018''

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Haynes, Mitzi 1918 births 2004 deaths American people of Polish-Jewish descent American people of Russian-Jewish descent 20th-century American Jews Actresses from Brooklyn 20th-century American actresses American film actresses American radio actresses American soap opera actresses American stage actresses