Genie Hinton loved movies. She was an extra on the big screen, but she was a star in her husband Ron Hinton’s eyes.
She had quick with wit, was talkative and loved telling stories, which gave her no trouble making friends.
Hinton grew up in Atlanta, where her father worked as an artist for the Paramount Theater painting billboards. She spent most of her childhood in the theater watching movies and meeting movie stars. She would often go straight to the theater after school.
She married her first husband and gave birth to her son soon after graduating from high school. Her dream of being an actress was briefly put on hold. After she was divorced and then married Ron Hinton, he encouraged her to take a few acting classes.
“She auditioned for hundreds of things,” he said.
She landed a few roles in commercials, then got a break as an extra in “My Cousin Vinny,” the Covington-filmed “In the Heat of the Night” and “Fried Green Tomatoes.” She worked her way around to sit next to Kathy Bates during one scene. “I told all my friends,” said son Dean Findley.
Eugenia Henry Hinton, known as Genie by most, died Aug. 17 at DeKalb Medical Hillandale from complications of a large kidney stone. She was 73. A funeral will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday with visitation a half-hour prior to the service at A. S. Turner & Sons Funeral Home, 2773 N. Decatur Road, Decatur.
“She was the love of my life,” husband Ron Hinton said.
“I knew she loved me and I returned it as best I could.”
The couple married in 1973, and through their 41 years they nursed each other through great pain and illness.
She worked most of her life in administration for hospitals and doctor’s offices but she rose to her ailing husband’s side after his stint with hip replacement complications, said niece Sandra Shupe. “She had such compassion and mercy.”
In the later part of her life Hinton fell ill to Meniere’s disease. The disease, with dizzy spells, was distressing but her husband stayed on her side.
“In between her attacks she was her beautiful special self,” said Hinton.
Her compassion spread from her husband to those she knew and loved. She helped teach her stepson Mike Hinton how to drive and, “She took care of me by myself and paid for my first year in college,” said Findley.
She may not have been a medical doctor or the lead actor in a film, but she took care of her family and will continue to grace televisions each time those classic films are played.
Hinton is survived by husband Ron Hinton, son C. Dean Findley and stepson Mike Hinton, all of Atlanta.
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