Maurice Hines

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Maurice Hines
File:MauriceHines-byPhilipRomano.jpg
Hines in 2023
Background information
Born (1943-12-13)December 13, 1943
New York City, New York, U.S.
Died Script error: The function "death_date_and_age" does not exist.
Englewood, New Jersey, U.S.
Occupation(s) Actor, director, choreographer, singer
Years active 1954–2023
Labels Arbors
Associated acts Gregory Hines
Website www.mauricehines.com

Maurice Robert Hines Jr. (December 13, 1943 – December 29, 2023) was an American actor, director, singer, and choreographer.[1] He was the older brother of dancer Gregory Hines.

Life and career

Maurice Robert Hines Jr. was born on December 13, 1943, in New York City to a Catholic couple, Alma Iola (Lawless) and Maurice Robert Hines Sr., a dancer, musician, and actor.[2][3] Hines began his career at the age of five, studying tap dance at the Henry LeTang Dance Studio in Manhattan.[4] LeTang recognized his talent and began choreographing numbers specifically for him and his younger brother Gregory, patterned on the Nicholas Brothers.[4] Maurice made his Broadway debut in The Girl in Pink Tights in 1954.[5]

Shortly after, the brothers 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.

Hines 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). His 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.

Hines 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.[6] 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.[7] The Washington Post review was positive for his role and the show in general.[8]

Hines conceived, directed, and choreographed Yo Alice, an urban hip-hop fantasy written by Lee Summers and staged for a workshop in 2000 and a reading in 2007 at the Triad Theatre.[9]

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".[10] "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."[11]

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.[12]

Originally commissioned by Arena Stage in 2004, 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 stars Rhythm and Blues/Jazz singer Freda Payne, known best for her 1970 hit, Band of Gold[13] and is written by Lee Summers and "Brings The Boys Home".[14] It has had three developmental out-of-town try-outs, which include The Crossroads Theatre[15] and Metro Stage Theatre in Washington, D.C.[16] and most recently, the Delaware Theatre Company in 2018.[17]

In 2019, John Carluccio directed the feature film Maurice Hines: Bring Them Back,[18] a biographical documentary about Hines. The film was awarded the Metropolis Grand Jury Prize at the DOC NYC film festival in fall 2019.[19] The Hollywood Reporter wrote that the film "Digs much deeper than your usual showbiz doc."[20] Joining Hines, the film includes appearances by Chita Rivera, Mercedes Ellington, and Debbie Allen.[21]

Hines died in Englewood, New Jersey on December 29, 2023, at the age of 80.[22]

Filmography

Television and Film
Year Title Role Notes
1967 Away We Go Guest Performer (TV Series), 1 episode: "Episode #1.9"
1981 Eubie! Cast member (Filmed version of Eubie!, a musical revue show at the Ambassador Theatre (New York)
1982 Love, Sidney Unknown role (TV Series), 1 episode: "Charlotte's Web"
1984 The Cotton Club Clay Williams (film)
1987 The Equalizer Billy Bump / Billie Bump (TV Series), 2 episodes: "Memories of Manon: Part 1" and "Shadow Play"
1997 Cosby Unknown role (TV Series), 1 episode: "Shall We Dance?"
2019 This Giant Beast That is the Global Economy Greg (TV Series documentary), 1 episode: "A.I. is the Future. Will it Keep Us Around to Enjoy It?"

Discography

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

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Karen Campbell, "Maurice Hines reflects on past in 'Tappin' Thru Life'", Boston Globe, April 6, 2013.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Sarah Kauffman, "Washington teens John and Leo Manzari have all the right dance moves", "Washington Post", April 30, 2010.
  8. ↑ Pressley, Nelson."Theater review: Arena Stage's 'Sophisticated Ladies' at Lincoln Theatre"Washington Post, April 21, 2010
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Don Aucoin, "Maurice Hines taps into his history", Boston Globe, May 16, 2013.
  11. ↑ Nelson Pressley, "In 'Tappin' Thru Life,' Maurice Hines sings his heart out", Washington Post, Nov. 24, 2013.
  12. ↑ Rebecca Ritzel, "Tap-dancing siblings in 'Tappin' Thru Life', Washington Post, Nov. 8, 2013.
  13. ↑ Band of Gold youtube
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ First Lady of Song Variety, 2004
  16. ↑ Semnani, Neda. '"Review 'Ella Fitzgerald" Washingtonian, January 28, 2014
  17. ↑ Obenrender, Gail. Delaware Theatre Company presents Maurice Hines’s ‘Ella: First Lady of Song’ broadstreetreview.com, April 2018
  18. ↑ Maurice Hines: Bring Them Back
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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