Mitzi Haynes

Lillian "Mitzi" Smith, known professionally as Mitzi Haynes, was an American actress and showgirl born on November 13, 1918, in Brooklyn, New York. Her family was Yiddish-speaking, and her mother, Sarah "Sadie" Albin, had been born in Paris to Russian émigré parents. Her father was Max Smith. Haynes became fluent in both English and French, and she earned a bachelor of arts degree from New York University with a double major in English and French literature. Following graduation, she was unable to sit for a teaching examination and instead took a role in a summer musical comedy production, which set her on a path toward a professional performance career.

In the early stages of her career, Haynes worked as a model, acted in plays, and performed with bands. She made her radio debut on Dear Columbia and went on to become a regular cast member of Criminal Case Book and The American School of the Air. On May 9, 1941, she appeared on NBC television in an episode of The Parker Family, portraying the character Nancy Parker. Beyond stage and broadcast work, Haynes performed at the Hollywood Restaurant and Latin Quarter nightclubs in New York.

Her Broadway career spanned from 1937 to 1941. She appeared in Behind Red Lights in 1937 and in the musical Banjo Eyes in 1941.

Haynes married film dance director Dave Gould on April 20, 1937, and filed for divorce from him in 1939. She subsequently married attorney Walter Pickit, and later, in 1943, wed steel executive William Fabrikant, from whom she divorced in 1954. In 1981, she married Leslie J. Kovach. Through her marriage to Gould, she also carried the name Mitzi Gould professionally. Haynes died on April 29, 2004.