Maurice Robert Hines Jr. (December 13, 1943 – December 29, 2023) was an American actor, director, singer, and choreographer. He was the older brother of dancer

Gregory Hines Gregory Oliver Hines (February 14, 1946 – August 9, 2003) was an American dancer, actor, choreographer, and singer. He is one of the most celebrated tap dancers of all time. As an actor, he is best known for '' Wolfen'' (1981), '' The Cotton C ...

Life and career

Maurice Robert Hines Jr. was born on December 13, 1943, in New York City to a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

couple, Alma Iola (Lawless) and Maurice Robert Hines Sr., a dancer, musician, and actor. Hines began his career at the age of five, studying

tap dance Tap dance (or tap) is a form of dance that uses the sounds of tap shoes striking the floor as a form of percussion; it is often accompanied by music. Tap dancing can also be performed with no musical accompaniment; the sound of the taps is its ow ...

at the Henry LeTang Dance Studio in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

.Karen Campbell, "Maurice Hines reflects on past in 'Tappin' Thru Life'"
''Boston Globe'', April 6, 2013. LeTang recognized his talent and began choreographing numbers specifically for him and his younger brother Gregory, patterned on the

Nicholas Brothers The Nicholas Brothers were an entertainment act composed of brothers, Fayard (1914–2006) and Harold (1921–2000), who excelled in a variety of dance techniques, primarily between the 1930s and 1950s. Best known for their unique interpretati ...

. Maurice made his

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

debut in ''The Girl in Pink Tights'' in 1954. Hines directed and choreographed music videos, including one for

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (March 14, 1933 – November 3, 2024) was an American record producer, composer, arranger, conductor, trumpeter, and bandleader. Over the course of his seven-decade career, he received List of awards and nominations re ...

. He was the first African American to direct a production at

Radio City Music Hall Radio City Music Hall (also known as Radio City) is an entertainment venue and Theater (structure), theater at 1260 Sixth Avenue (Manhattan), Avenue of the Americas, within Rockefeller Center, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York C ...

. Hines only appeared in one feature film: a leading role in

Francis Ford Coppola Francis Ford Coppola ( ; born April 7, 1939) is an American filmmaker. He is considered one of the leading figures of the New Hollywood and one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. List of awards and nominations received by Francis Ford Coppo ...

'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

. Hines also appeared in ''Oops, Ups & Downs: The Murder Mystery of Humpty Dumpty'' in 2007. On television, he appeared in ''Eubie!'', ''

Love, Sidney ''Love, Sidney'' is an American sitcom television series which aired two seasons on NBC, from October 28, 1981, to June 6, 1983. It stars Tony Randall as Sidney Shorr (a single, closeted gay man), Swoosie Kurtz as Laurie Morgan (a single mother w ...

'', and '' Cosby''. Hines played the lead role in Washington, D.C.'s Arena Stage production of the

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous Big band, jazz orchestra from 1924 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D ...

-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 ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' review was positive for his role and the show in general. Hines conceived, directed, and choreographed ''Yo Alice'', an urban

hip-hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...

fantasy written by Lee Summers and 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 The Cutler Majestic Theatre at Emerson College, in Boston, Massachusetts, is a 1903 Beaux Arts style theater, designed by the architect John Galen Howard. Originally built for theatre, it was one of three theaters commissioned in Boston by ...

, which was reviewed by ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...

'' 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 ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' wrote, "it's a pleasure to be in the company of a shameless, ebullient vaudeville heart." The production again featured the Manzari Brothers, 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, Hines conceived and directed ''Ella, First Lady of Song'', a tribute to

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April25, 1917June15, 1996) was an American singer, songwriter and composer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phra ...

, for whom he and his late brother

had opened in

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

. The musical was written by Lee Summers and starred Rhythm and Blues/Jazz singer

Freda Payne Freda Charcilia Payne (born September 19, 1942Some sources give a birth year of 1945, but this appears to be an error as all sources agree that she is older than her sister Scherrie, born 1944.) is an American singer and actress. Payne is best ...

, known best for her 1970 hit, ''Band of Gold'' and "Brings The Boys Home". It has had three developmental out-of-town try-outs, which include The Crossroads Theatre and Metro Stage Theatre in Washington, D.C. and most recently, 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 ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' wrote that the film "Digs much deeper than your usual showbiz doc." Joining Hines, the film included appearances by

Chita Rivera Dolores Conchita Figueroa del Rivero (January 23, 1933 – January 30, 2024), known professionally as Chita Rivera, was an American actress, singer, and dancer. Rivera received numerous accolades including two Tony Awards, two Drama Desk Awa ...

, Mercedes Ellington, and

Debbie Allen Deborah Kaye Allen (born January 16, 1950) is an American actress, dancer, choreographer, singer, director, producer, and a former member of the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities. She has been nominated 20 times for an Emmy Award ...

. Hines died in

Englewood, New Jersey Englewood is a city in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Englewood was incorporated as a city by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 17, 1899, from portions of Ridgefield Township and the remaining portions of Engle ...

, on December 29, 2023, at the age of 80.

Filmography

Discography

* ''I've Never Been in Love Before'' ( Arbors, 2001) * ''To Nat King Cole With Love'' (Arbors, 2006)

References

External links

Maurice Hines website.
* . * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hines, Maurice 1943 births 2023 deaths 20th-century African-American male actors 20th-century American LGBTQ people 20th-century American male actors 20th-century American male singers 20th-century American singers 21st-century African-American educators 21st-century African-American male actors 21st-century American educators 21st-century American LGBTQ people 21st-century American male actors 21st-century American male singers 21st-century American singers African-American Catholics African-American choreographers African-American LGBTQ people African-American male child actors African-American male dancers African-American male singers American choreographers American dance teachers American gay actors American gay artists American gay musicians American LGBTQ dancers American LGBTQ singers American male child actors American male dancers American male film actors American male musical theatre actors American male stage actors American tap dancers American theatre directors Arbors Records artists Dancers from New York (state) Educators from New York City Gay dancers Gay singers LGBTQ choreographers LGBTQ people from New York (state) LGBTQ theatre directors Male actors from New York City Musicians from New York City