Wishing a happy 83rd birthday to the great Lainie Kazan, 1960s singing bombshell to Greek mom

If you only know her from movies like My Big Fat Greek Wedding My Favorite Year and Beaches and TV shows like The Nanny, you may not be too familiar with the 1960s Lainie Kazan.

After making a major splash as Barbra Streisand’s understudy in Funny Girl, Lainie released a series of albums, performed live in first-rate venues, and was a frequent guest star on television variety show – most notably with Dean Martin with whom she appeared more than 30 times, and The Ed Sullivan Show and a whopping 22 times on The Merv Griffin Show.

She was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for St. Elsewhere and the 1993 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for My Favorite Year.

Enjoy these videos of the young Lainie who turns 83 today and still working including an episode of Chicago Med last year and an appearance in the upcoming My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3.