Maurice Hines, the Broadway dancer, choreographer, and actor, died of natural causes at the Actors Fund Home in Englewood, New Jersey on Friday, December 29, 2023 at the age of 80.
Born Maurice Robert Hines Jr. on December 13, 1943 in New York City to Alma Iola (née Lawless) and Maurice Robert Hines Sr., a soda salesman who taught himself to play the drums. They raised the family at W. 150th Street and Amsterdam Avenue in the Harlem Section of New York City.
Hines Jr. began his career at the age of five, studying tap dance at the Henry LeTang Dance Studio in Manhattan. LeTang recognized his talent and began choreographing numbers specifically for him and his younger brother Gregory, patterned on the Nicholas Brothers.
Maurice was about 6 when he and Gregory made their professional debut as the tap-dancing Hines Kids, and they appeared on Broadway in 1954 as a newspaper boy and shoeshine boy, respectively, in The Girl in Pink Tights, choreographed by Agnes de Mille.
Shortly thereafter, as the Hines Brothers, they began touring as the opening act for such headliners as Lionel Hampton and Gypsy Rose Lee. Their father joined them and "Hines, Hines & Dad" performed on a regular basis in New York, Las Vegas, and throughout Europe and on many television shows, including The Pearl Bailey Show, The Hollywood Palace, and The Tonight Show.
Maurice Jr.. decided to pursue a solo career and was cast as Nathan Detroit in the national tour of Guys and Dolls, after which he returned to Broadway in Eubie! (1978). Additional Broadway credits include Bring Back Birdie and Sophisticated Ladies (both in 1981) as a performer, Uptown... It's Hot! (1986) as a performer (earning a Tony Award nomination as Best Actor in a Musical) and choreographer, and Hot Feet (2006), which he conceived, choreographed, and directed.
Hines co-directed and choreographed the national tour of the Louis Armstrong musical biography Satchmo and directed, choreographed, and starred in the national tour of Harlem Suite with successive leading ladies Jennifer Holliday, Stephanie Mills, and Melba Moore. He directed and choreographed Havana Night in Cuba, an all-Latino production of The Red Shoes in the Dominican Republic, and created the revue Broadway Soul Jam to inaugurate an entertainment complex in the Netherlands.
He directed and choreographed music videos, including one for Quincy Jones. He was the first African American to direct at Radio City Music Hall.
Hines only appeared in one feature film: a leading role in Francis Ford Coppola's 1984 film The Cotton Club, in which Maurice and his brother Gregory portrayed the "Williams Brothers", a tap-dancing duo reminiscent of the real-life Nicholas Brothers. Hines also appeared in Oops, Ups & Downs: The Murder Mystery of Humpty Dumpty in 2007. On television, he appeared in Eubie!, Love, Sidney, and Cosby.
Hines played the lead role in Washington, D.C.'s Arena Stage production of the Duke Ellington-inspired musical Sophisticated Ladies at the historic Lincoln Theatre in April and May 2010, featuring teenaged tap-dancing brothers John and Leo Manzari. The Washington Post review was positive for his role and the show in general.
Mr. Hines conceived, directed, and choreographed Yo Alice, an urban hip-hop fantasy staged for a workshop in 2000 and a reading in 2007 at the Triad Theatre.
In May 2013, he performed a tribute to his late brother Gregory, entitled Tappin' Thru Life: An Evening with Maurice Hines, at the Cutler Majestic Theatre, which was reviewed by The Boston Globe as "a class act by a class act". "Tappin' " went on to Boston and the Manhattan club 54 Below, and opened in November 2013 for a six-week run at the Arena Stage, where The Washington Post wrote, "it's a pleasure to be in the company of a shameless, ebullient vaudeville heart." The production again featured the Manzari Brothers, Washington D.C. seventh-graders, and identical twins Max and Sam Heimowitz, who tap-danced on stage with Hines.
Originally commissioned by Arena Stage in 2004, Mr. Hines conceived and directed Ella, First Lady of Song, a tribute to Ella Fitzgerald, for whom he and his late brother Gregory Hines had opened in Las Vegas. The musical starred Rhythm and Blues/Jazz singer Freda Payne, known best for her 1970 hit, Band of Gold. It had three developmental out-of-town try-outs, which included The Crossroads Theatre and Metro Stage Theatre in Washington, D.C. and the Delaware Theatre Company in 2018.
In 2019, John Carluccio directed the feature film Maurice Hines: Bring Them Back, a biographical documentary about Hines. The film was awarded the Metropolis Grand Jury Prize at the DOC NYC film festival in fall 2019. The Hollywood Reporter wrote that the film "Digs much deeper than your usual showbiz doc." Joining Hines, the film includes appearances by Chita Rivera, Mercedes Ellington and Debbie Allen. The Hines brothers had a falling out and didn't talk for 10 years for reasons that Maurice refused to discuss. He provided no explanation in the film, but instead took every opportunity to praise Gregory and say how much he loved him. Nonetheless, the lingering emotional pain of their rift is deeply evident in such moments in the film as Maurice sadly remembering that they didn't even speak to each at their mother's wedding, to her great distress. The film includes footage of Gregory's Tony Award acceptance speech [in 1992] in which he pointedly thanks everyone in his family except his brother, particularly when mentioning his father, adding 'Sr.' so that nobody would misunderstand.
The brothers reconciled before Gregory died from liver cancer at age 57 in 2003.
Maurice got on a Zoom call with several Broadway luminaries who wanted to celebrate his 80th birthday with him.
Survivors include his nephew, Zach, and niece, Daria.
Born Maurice Robert Hines Jr. on December 13, 1943 in New York City to Alma Iola (née Lawless) and Maurice Robert Hines Sr., a soda salesman who taught himself to play the drums. They raised the family at W. 150th Street and Amsterdam Avenue in the Harlem Section of New York City.
Hines Jr. began his career at the age of five, studying tap dance at the Henry LeTang Dance Studio in Manhattan. LeTang recognized his talent and began choreographing numbers specifically for him and his younger brother Gregory, patterned on the Nicholas Brothers.
Maurice was about 6 when he and Gregory made their professional debut as the tap-dancing Hines Kids, and they appeared on Broadway in 1954 as a newspaper boy and shoeshine boy, respectively, in The Girl in Pink Tights, choreographed by Agnes de Mille.
Shortly thereafter, as the Hines Brothers, they began touring as the opening act for such headliners as Lionel Hampton and Gypsy Rose Lee. Their father joined them and "Hines, Hines & Dad" performed on a regular basis in New York, Las Vegas, and throughout Europe and on many television shows, including The Pearl Bailey Show, The Hollywood Palace, and The Tonight Show.
Maurice Jr.. decided to pursue a solo career and was cast as Nathan Detroit in the national tour of Guys and Dolls, after which he returned to Broadway in Eubie! (1978). Additional Broadway credits include Bring Back Birdie and Sophisticated Ladies (both in 1981) as a performer, Uptown... It's Hot! (1986) as a performer (earning a Tony Award nomination as Best Actor in a Musical) and choreographer, and Hot Feet (2006), which he conceived, choreographed, and directed.
Hines co-directed and choreographed the national tour of the Louis Armstrong musical biography Satchmo and directed, choreographed, and starred in the national tour of Harlem Suite with successive leading ladies Jennifer Holliday, Stephanie Mills, and Melba Moore. He directed and choreographed Havana Night in Cuba, an all-Latino production of The Red Shoes in the Dominican Republic, and created the revue Broadway Soul Jam to inaugurate an entertainment complex in the Netherlands.
He directed and choreographed music videos, including one for Quincy Jones. He was the first African American to direct at Radio City Music Hall.
Hines only appeared in one feature film: a leading role in Francis Ford Coppola's 1984 film The Cotton Club, in which Maurice and his brother Gregory portrayed the "Williams Brothers", a tap-dancing duo reminiscent of the real-life Nicholas Brothers. Hines also appeared in Oops, Ups & Downs: The Murder Mystery of Humpty Dumpty in 2007. On television, he appeared in Eubie!, Love, Sidney, and Cosby.
Hines played the lead role in Washington, D.C.'s Arena Stage production of the Duke Ellington-inspired musical Sophisticated Ladies at the historic Lincoln Theatre in April and May 2010, featuring teenaged tap-dancing brothers John and Leo Manzari. The Washington Post review was positive for his role and the show in general.
Mr. Hines conceived, directed, and choreographed Yo Alice, an urban hip-hop fantasy staged for a workshop in 2000 and a reading in 2007 at the Triad Theatre.
In May 2013, he performed a tribute to his late brother Gregory, entitled Tappin' Thru Life: An Evening with Maurice Hines, at the Cutler Majestic Theatre, which was reviewed by The Boston Globe as "a class act by a class act". "Tappin' " went on to Boston and the Manhattan club 54 Below, and opened in November 2013 for a six-week run at the Arena Stage, where The Washington Post wrote, "it's a pleasure to be in the company of a shameless, ebullient vaudeville heart." The production again featured the Manzari Brothers, Washington D.C. seventh-graders, and identical twins Max and Sam Heimowitz, who tap-danced on stage with Hines.
Originally commissioned by Arena Stage in 2004, Mr. Hines conceived and directed Ella, First Lady of Song, a tribute to Ella Fitzgerald, for whom he and his late brother Gregory Hines had opened in Las Vegas. The musical starred Rhythm and Blues/Jazz singer Freda Payne, known best for her 1970 hit, Band of Gold. It had three developmental out-of-town try-outs, which included The Crossroads Theatre and Metro Stage Theatre in Washington, D.C. and the Delaware Theatre Company in 2018.
In 2019, John Carluccio directed the feature film Maurice Hines: Bring Them Back, a biographical documentary about Hines. The film was awarded the Metropolis Grand Jury Prize at the DOC NYC film festival in fall 2019. The Hollywood Reporter wrote that the film "Digs much deeper than your usual showbiz doc." Joining Hines, the film includes appearances by Chita Rivera, Mercedes Ellington and Debbie Allen. The Hines brothers had a falling out and didn't talk for 10 years for reasons that Maurice refused to discuss. He provided no explanation in the film, but instead took every opportunity to praise Gregory and say how much he loved him. Nonetheless, the lingering emotional pain of their rift is deeply evident in such moments in the film as Maurice sadly remembering that they didn't even speak to each at their mother's wedding, to her great distress. The film includes footage of Gregory's Tony Award acceptance speech [in 1992] in which he pointedly thanks everyone in his family except his brother, particularly when mentioning his father, adding 'Sr.' so that nobody would misunderstand.
The brothers reconciled before Gregory died from liver cancer at age 57 in 2003.
Maurice got on a Zoom call with several Broadway luminaries who wanted to celebrate his 80th birthday with him.
Survivors include his nephew, Zach, and niece, Daria.
Maurice Hines, the Broadway dancer, choreographer, and actor, died of natural causes at the Actors Fund Home in Englewood, New Jersey on Friday, December 29, 2023 at the age of 80.
Born Maurice Robert Hines Jr. on December 13, 1943 in New York City to Alma Iola (née Lawless) and Maurice Robert Hines Sr., a soda salesman who taught himself to play the drums. They raised the family at W. 150th Street and Amsterdam Avenue in the Harlem Section of New York City.
Hines Jr. began his career at the age of five, studying tap dance at the Henry LeTang Dance Studio in Manhattan. LeTang recognized his talent and began choreographing numbers specifically for him and his younger brother Gregory, patterned on the Nicholas Brothers.
Maurice was about 6 when he and Gregory made their professional debut as the tap-dancing Hines Kids, and they appeared on Broadway in 1954 as a newspaper boy and shoeshine boy, respectively, in The Girl in Pink Tights, choreographed by Agnes de Mille.
Shortly thereafter, as the Hines Brothers, they began touring as the opening act for such headliners as Lionel Hampton and Gypsy Rose Lee. Their father joined them and "Hines, Hines & Dad" performed on a regular basis in New York, Las Vegas, and throughout Europe and on many television shows, including The Pearl Bailey Show, The Hollywood Palace, and The Tonight Show.
Maurice Jr.. decided to pursue a solo career and was cast as Nathan Detroit in the national tour of Guys and Dolls, after which he returned to Broadway in Eubie! (1978). Additional Broadway credits include Bring Back Birdie and Sophisticated Ladies (both in 1981) as a performer, Uptown... It's Hot! (1986) as a performer (earning a Tony Award nomination as Best Actor in a Musical) and choreographer, and Hot Feet (2006), which he conceived, choreographed, and directed.
Hines co-directed and choreographed the national tour of the Louis Armstrong musical biography Satchmo and directed, choreographed, and starred in the national tour of Harlem Suite with successive leading ladies Jennifer Holliday, Stephanie Mills, and Melba Moore. He directed and choreographed Havana Night in Cuba, an all-Latino production of The Red Shoes in the Dominican Republic, and created the revue Broadway Soul Jam to inaugurate an entertainment complex in the Netherlands.
He directed and choreographed music videos, including one for Quincy Jones. He was the first African American to direct at Radio City Music Hall.
Hines only appeared in one feature film: a leading role in Francis Ford Coppola's 1984 film The Cotton Club, in which Maurice and his brother Gregory portrayed the "Williams Brothers", a tap-dancing duo reminiscent of the real-life Nicholas Brothers. Hines also appeared in Oops, Ups & Downs: The Murder Mystery of Humpty Dumpty in 2007. On television, he appeared in Eubie!, Love, Sidney, and Cosby.
Hines played the lead role in Washington, D.C.'s Arena Stage production of the Duke Ellington-inspired musical Sophisticated Ladies at the historic Lincoln Theatre in April and May 2010, featuring teenaged tap-dancing brothers John and Leo Manzari. The Washington Post review was positive for his role and the show in general.
Mr. Hines conceived, directed, and choreographed Yo Alice, an urban hip-hop fantasy staged for a workshop in 2000 and a reading in 2007 at the Triad Theatre.
In May 2013, he performed a tribute to his late brother Gregory, entitled Tappin' Thru Life: An Evening with Maurice Hines, at the Cutler Majestic Theatre, which was reviewed by The Boston Globe as "a class act by a class act". "Tappin' " went on to Boston and the Manhattan club 54 Below, and opened in November 2013 for a six-week run at the Arena Stage, where The Washington Post wrote, "it's a pleasure to be in the company of a shameless, ebullient vaudeville heart." The production again featured the Manzari Brothers, Washington D.C. seventh-graders, and identical twins Max and Sam Heimowitz, who tap-danced on stage with Hines.
Originally commissioned by Arena Stage in 2004, Mr. Hines conceived and directed Ella, First Lady of Song, a tribute to Ella Fitzgerald, for whom he and his late brother Gregory Hines had opened in Las Vegas. The musical starred Rhythm and Blues/Jazz singer Freda Payne, known best for her 1970 hit, Band of Gold. It had three developmental out-of-town try-outs, which included The Crossroads Theatre and Metro Stage Theatre in Washington, D.C. and the Delaware Theatre Company in 2018.
In 2019, John Carluccio directed the feature film Maurice Hines: Bring Them Back, a biographical documentary about Hines. The film was awarded the Metropolis Grand Jury Prize at the DOC NYC film festival in fall 2019. The Hollywood Reporter wrote that the film "Digs much deeper than your usual showbiz doc." Joining Hines, the film includes appearances by Chita Rivera, Mercedes Ellington and Debbie Allen. The Hines brothers had a falling out and didn't talk for 10 years for reasons that Maurice refused to discuss. He provided no explanation in the film, but instead took every opportunity to praise Gregory and say how much he loved him. Nonetheless, the lingering emotional pain of their rift is deeply evident in such moments in the film as Maurice sadly remembering that they didn't even speak to each at their mother's wedding, to her great distress. The film includes footage of Gregory's Tony Award acceptance speech [in 1992] in which he pointedly thanks everyone in his family except his brother, particularly when mentioning his father, adding 'Sr.' so that nobody would misunderstand.
The brothers reconciled before Gregory died from liver cancer at age 57 in 2003.
Maurice got on a Zoom call with several Broadway luminaries who wanted to celebrate his 80th birthday with him.
Survivors include his nephew, Zach, and niece, Daria.
Born Maurice Robert Hines Jr. on December 13, 1943 in New York City to Alma Iola (née Lawless) and Maurice Robert Hines Sr., a soda salesman who taught himself to play the drums. They raised the family at W. 150th Street and Amsterdam Avenue in the Harlem Section of New York City.
Hines Jr. began his career at the age of five, studying tap dance at the Henry LeTang Dance Studio in Manhattan. LeTang recognized his talent and began choreographing numbers specifically for him and his younger brother Gregory, patterned on the Nicholas Brothers.
Maurice was about 6 when he and Gregory made their professional debut as the tap-dancing Hines Kids, and they appeared on Broadway in 1954 as a newspaper boy and shoeshine boy, respectively, in The Girl in Pink Tights, choreographed by Agnes de Mille.
Shortly thereafter, as the Hines Brothers, they began touring as the opening act for such headliners as Lionel Hampton and Gypsy Rose Lee. Their father joined them and "Hines, Hines & Dad" performed on a regular basis in New York, Las Vegas, and throughout Europe and on many television shows, including The Pearl Bailey Show, The Hollywood Palace, and The Tonight Show.
Maurice Jr.. decided to pursue a solo career and was cast as Nathan Detroit in the national tour of Guys and Dolls, after which he returned to Broadway in Eubie! (1978). Additional Broadway credits include Bring Back Birdie and Sophisticated Ladies (both in 1981) as a performer, Uptown... It's Hot! (1986) as a performer (earning a Tony Award nomination as Best Actor in a Musical) and choreographer, and Hot Feet (2006), which he conceived, choreographed, and directed.
Hines co-directed and choreographed the national tour of the Louis Armstrong musical biography Satchmo and directed, choreographed, and starred in the national tour of Harlem Suite with successive leading ladies Jennifer Holliday, Stephanie Mills, and Melba Moore. He directed and choreographed Havana Night in Cuba, an all-Latino production of The Red Shoes in the Dominican Republic, and created the revue Broadway Soul Jam to inaugurate an entertainment complex in the Netherlands.
He directed and choreographed music videos, including one for Quincy Jones. He was the first African American to direct at Radio City Music Hall.
Hines only appeared in one feature film: a leading role in Francis Ford Coppola's 1984 film The Cotton Club, in which Maurice and his brother Gregory portrayed the "Williams Brothers", a tap-dancing duo reminiscent of the real-life Nicholas Brothers. Hines also appeared in Oops, Ups & Downs: The Murder Mystery of Humpty Dumpty in 2007. On television, he appeared in Eubie!, Love, Sidney, and Cosby.
Hines played the lead role in Washington, D.C.'s Arena Stage production of the Duke Ellington-inspired musical Sophisticated Ladies at the historic Lincoln Theatre in April and May 2010, featuring teenaged tap-dancing brothers John and Leo Manzari. The Washington Post review was positive for his role and the show in general.
Mr. Hines conceived, directed, and choreographed Yo Alice, an urban hip-hop fantasy staged for a workshop in 2000 and a reading in 2007 at the Triad Theatre.
In May 2013, he performed a tribute to his late brother Gregory, entitled Tappin' Thru Life: An Evening with Maurice Hines, at the Cutler Majestic Theatre, which was reviewed by The Boston Globe as "a class act by a class act". "Tappin' " went on to Boston and the Manhattan club 54 Below, and opened in November 2013 for a six-week run at the Arena Stage, where The Washington Post wrote, "it's a pleasure to be in the company of a shameless, ebullient vaudeville heart." The production again featured the Manzari Brothers, Washington D.C. seventh-graders, and identical twins Max and Sam Heimowitz, who tap-danced on stage with Hines.
Originally commissioned by Arena Stage in 2004, Mr. Hines conceived and directed Ella, First Lady of Song, a tribute to Ella Fitzgerald, for whom he and his late brother Gregory Hines had opened in Las Vegas. The musical starred Rhythm and Blues/Jazz singer Freda Payne, known best for her 1970 hit, Band of Gold. It had three developmental out-of-town try-outs, which included The Crossroads Theatre and Metro Stage Theatre in Washington, D.C. and the Delaware Theatre Company in 2018.
In 2019, John Carluccio directed the feature film Maurice Hines: Bring Them Back, a biographical documentary about Hines. The film was awarded the Metropolis Grand Jury Prize at the DOC NYC film festival in fall 2019. The Hollywood Reporter wrote that the film "Digs much deeper than your usual showbiz doc." Joining Hines, the film includes appearances by Chita Rivera, Mercedes Ellington and Debbie Allen. The Hines brothers had a falling out and didn't talk for 10 years for reasons that Maurice refused to discuss. He provided no explanation in the film, but instead took every opportunity to praise Gregory and say how much he loved him. Nonetheless, the lingering emotional pain of their rift is deeply evident in such moments in the film as Maurice sadly remembering that they didn't even speak to each at their mother's wedding, to her great distress. The film includes footage of Gregory's Tony Award acceptance speech [in 1992] in which he pointedly thanks everyone in his family except his brother, particularly when mentioning his father, adding 'Sr.' so that nobody would misunderstand.
The brothers reconciled before Gregory died from liver cancer at age 57 in 2003.
Maurice got on a Zoom call with several Broadway luminaries who wanted to celebrate his 80th birthday with him.
Survivors include his nephew, Zach, and niece, Daria.
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