Mimi Benzell

Mimi Benzell, born Miriam Ruth Benzell on April 6, 1918, in Bridgeport, Connecticut, was an American soprano whose career spanned opera, Broadway, television, radio, and nightclub performance. She died on December 23, 1970, at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, New York, at the age of 52.

Benzell was the daughter of William and Esther Benzell; her father worked in the furniture business, and her paternal grandfather had been a well-known singer in Russia before emigrating to the United States. The family relocated to New York City, where Benzell attended James Madison High School in Brooklyn. She subsequently studied at Hunter College for two years and at the Mannes School of Music. Although she began her musical training as a piano student, she transitioned to voice under the instruction of Madame Olga Eisner.

Her operatic career began with a Sunday concert debut in Mexico City on December 3, 1944, at which she performed the roles of Zerlina in Mozart's Don Giovanni and the Queen of the Night in The Magic Flute. She made her Metropolitan Opera stage debut on January 5, 1945, again in the role of the Queen of the Night. Her additional credits at the Met included performances in La Bohème, Mignon, Rigoletto, Der Rosenkavalier, Carmen, and Barber of Seville. On March 23, 1956, she appeared as guest soloist at Hofstra University in the Hofstra College Symphony Orchestra's final concert of the season.

In 1961, Benzell made her sole Broadway appearance in Milk and Honey, Jerry Herman's first book musical. Her television work included eleven appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show, then broadcast under the title Toast of the Town, between 1949 and 1955. She also appeared as a panelist on both the daytime and primetime editions of the game show To Tell the Truth and guest-starred on the short-lived DuMont series Off the Record alongside Zero Mostel and Joey Faye. In 1951, she co-starred with Jack Pearl on the NBC radio program The Pet Milk Show, which aired on Tuesday nights and also featured Cliff Hall and Gus Haenschen's Orchestra. Her recordings included Roberta and The Vagabond King, both made with Alfred Drake.

On January 30, 1969, Nassau County Executive Eugene H. Nickerson appointed Benzell director of the Nassau County Office of Performing and Fine Arts. Under her leadership, the office coordinated cultural programs across schools throughout Nassau County. She stepped down from the directorship in 1970 for personal reasons but continued to serve the office in an advisory capacity.

Benzell was married to Walter Gould, the brother of American composer Morton Gould, who also served as her manager. The couple had two children, Jonathan and Jennifer, and lived at 45 Cardinal Road in Flower Hill, New York. Benzell was active in charitable work, including the women's division of B'nai B'rith. Her funeral service was held in Manhattan on December 27, 1970. A small green space on Waring Drive in Flower Hill, near her former home, has been named Miriam Benzell Green in her honor.