She was a regular on the Abbott & Costello Radio Show and a frequent guest artist during the golden years of television variety shows, appearing with Milton Berle, Eddie Cantor, Perry Como, Frankie Laine and Ed Sullivan, among others.
Haines sang on Sinatra's 89th birthday television tribute in 1995, and continued to work in cabaret rooms, nightclubs and big band revival events until two years ago.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Saturday, September 27, 2008 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 1 inches; 37 words Type of Material: Correction
Connie Haines obituary: The obituary of big band singer Connie Haines and an accompanying photo caption in Friday's California section reported that she performed at Frank Sinatra's 89th birthday tribute in 1995. He was 80 that year.
Born Jan. 20, 1921, in Savannah, Ga., she was reared in Florida and began performing at an early age, trained by her mother, a music and dance teacher.
Haines was winning dance contests by the age of 5. At 9, she had her own radio show -- "Baby Yvonne Marie, the Little Princess of the Air," singing with a 30-piece orchestra.
She appeared with the Paul Whiteman Orchestra when she was 10, won a Major Bowes amateur contest and was heard on the Fred Allen radio show while she was still in her early teens. By 1939, Haines -- at age 18 and slightly less than 5 feet tall -- was singing alongside Sinatra in the Harry James Band.
She survived several health crises and near-fatal accidents. While performing with the Dorsey Orchestra, an errant match set her evening gown on fire. Sinatra, standing nearby, pulled her to the floor and smothered the flames with his coat. In her characteristic fashion, Haines brushed herself off, got up and finished her song, wearing only the charred dregs of her gown.
Haines was treated for cancer and had a double mastectomy in 1984. But once again, the experience did not deter her from continuing her musical activities and moving on with her life.
In 2002, after a celebratory holiday performance in Florida, Haines broke two vertebrae in her neck in an auto accident. She was back singing again in six months, although the after-effects of the injury never fully disappeared.
"Connie often talked about her fascination with near-death experiences -- even told me she had one when she was 9 years old," said close friend Roseanne DeMarco, "but she found joy in every day. The funny thing was that, even when she was feeling ill, her vital signs always seemed fine, as though she loved life so much that she wanted to experience every minute of it that she could."
Haines' marriage to Robert DeHaven, an ace pilot during World War II, ended in divorce.
She is survived by her mother, Mildred JaMais, who is 109; a son, Robert DeHaven Jr. of San Francisco; a daughter, Kimberly Harlan of Prineville, Ore.; and three grandchildren.
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