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Gregory Hines

March 29, 2023

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 Club (1984), White Nights (1985), Running Scared (1986), The Gregory Hines Show (1997–1998), playing Ben on Will & Grace (1999–2000), and for voicing Big Bill on the Nick Jr. animated children's television program Little Bill (1999–2004).

Gregory Hines
Hines in 1993
Born
Gregory Oliver Hines

(1946-02-14)February 14, 1946
New York City, New York, U.S.
DiedAugust 9, 2003(2003-08-09) (aged 57)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Resting placeSaint Volodymyr Ukrainian Cemetery
Oakville, Ontario, Canada
Occupations
  • Dancer
  • actor
  • choreographer
  • singer
Years active1951–2003
Spouse(s)Patricia Panella
(m. 1968; div. 1972)
Pamela Koslow
​
​
(m. 1981; div. 2000)​
Partner(s)Negrita Jayde
(2000–2003)
Children2
RelativesMaurice Hines (brother)

Hines starred in more than 40 films and also appeared on Broadway. He received many accolades, including a Daytime Emmy Award, a Drama Desk Award, and a Tony Award, as well as nominations for a Screen Actors Guild Award and four Primetime Emmy Awards.

Early life

Hines was born in New York City, on February 14, 1946, to Alma Iola (Lawless) and Maurice Robert Hines, a dancer, musician, and actor, and grew up in the Sugar Hill neighborhood of Harlem.[1] He began tap dancing when he was two years old, and began dancing semi-professionally at age five. After that, he and his older brother Maurice performed together, studying with choreographer Henry LeTang.

Gregory and Maurice also studied with veteran tap dancers such as Howard Sims and The Nicholas Brothers when they performed at the same venues. The brothers were known as The Hines Kids, making nightclub appearances at venues in Miami, Florida, with Cab Calloway.[2] They were later known as The Hines Brothers.

When their father joined the act as a drummer, their name changed again in 1963 to Hines, Hines, and Dad.[1][3]

Career

Tap dance

Hines was an avid improviser of tap steps, tap sounds, and tap rhythms alike. His improvisation was like that of a drummer, doing a solo and coming up with rhythms. He also improvised the phrasing of a number of tap steps, mainly based on sound produced. A laid-back dancer, he usually wore loose fitting pants and a tighter shirt.[4]

Although he inherited the roots and tradition of the black rhythmic tap, he also promoted the new black rhythmic tap. "He purposely obliterated the tempos," wrote tap historian Sally Sommer, "throwing down a cascade of taps like pebbles tossed across the floor. In that moment, he aligned tap with the latest free form experiments in jazz and new music and postmodern dance."[5]

Throughout his career, Hines wanted and continued to be an advocate for tap in America. He successfully petitioned the creation of National Tap Dance Day in May 1989, which is now celebrated in forty cities in the United States, as well as eight other nations. He was on the board of directors of Manhattan Tap, a member of the Jazz Tap Ensemble, and a member of the American Tap Dance Foundation, which was formerly called the American Tap Dance Orchestra.

In 1989, he created and hosted a PBS special called Gregory Hines' Tap Dance in America, which featured various tap dancers such as Savion Glover and Bunny Briggs.[6][7]

In 1990, Hines visited his idol (and Tap co-star) Sammy Davis Jr., who was dying of throat cancer and was unable to speak. After Davis died, an emotional Hines spoke at Davis's funeral of how Sammy made a gesture to him, "as if passing a basketball ... and I caught it." Hines spoke of the honor that Sammy thought that Hines could carry on from where he left off.[8]

Through his teaching, he influenced tap dancers such as Savion Glover, Dianne Walker, Ted Levy, and Jane Goldberg.[5] In an interview with The New York Times in 1988, Hines said that everything he did was influenced by his dancing: "my singing, my acting, my lovemaking, my being a parent."[5]

Stage acting

Hines made his Broadway debut with his brother in The Girl in Pink Tights in 1954. He earned Tony Award nominations for Eubie! (1979), Comin' Uptown (1980), and Sophisticated Ladies (1981), and won the Tony Award and Drama Desk Award for Jelly's Last Jam (1992) and the Theatre World Award for Eubie!.[citation needed]

Music

Hines performed as the lead singer and musician in a rock band called Severance based in Venice, Los Angeles in 1975 and 1976. Severance was one of the house bands at an original music club called Honky Hoagies Handy Hangout, otherwise known as the 4H Club. Severance released their self-titled debut album on Largo Records (a subsidiary of GNP Crescendo) in 1976.

In 1986, he sang a duet with Luther Vandross called "There's Nothing Better Than Love", which reached the No. 1 position on the Billboard R&B charts.[9] Encouraged by his first success on the chart, Hines subsequently released his self-titled debut album on Epic in 1988 with much support of Vandross. This album produced a Vandross-penned single "That Girl Wants to Dance with Me", which peaked at #8 on the Billboard Hot 100 in May 1988.[10]

Film and television

In 1981, Hines made his movie debut in Mel Brooks's History of the World, Part I, replacing Richard Pryor, who was originally cast in the role but suffered severe burns just days before he was due to begin shooting.[11][12] Madeline Kahn, also starring in the film, suggested to director Mel Brooks that he look into Hines for the role after they learned of Pryor's hospitalization.[12] He also appeared in the horror film Wolfen later that year.

Hines's peak as an actor came in the mid-1980s. He had a large role in The Cotton Club (1984), where he and his brother Maurice (in his sole film credit) played a 1930s tap-dancing duo reminiscent of the Nicholas Brothers.[13] Hines co-starred with Mikhail Baryshnikov in the 1985 film White Nights, and co-starred with Billy Crystal in the 1986 buddy cop film Running Scared. He starred in the 1989 film Tap opposite Sammy Davis Jr. (in Davis's last screen performance). He appeared alongside Whitney Houston and Loretta Devine in the highly successful 1995 film Waiting to Exhale and opposite Houston, Denzel Washington and Courtney B. Vance the following year in The Preacher's Wife. On television, he starred in his own sitcom in 1997, The Gregory Hines Show, which ran for one season on CBS, and had a recurring role of Ben Doucette on Will & Grace.

In an interview in 1987, Hines said that he often looked for roles written for white actors, "preferring their greater scope and dynamics." Of his role in Running Scared, for example, he said that he enjoyed that his character had sex scenes, because "usually, the black guy has no sexuality at all."[14]

Hines starred in the 1998 film The Tic Code. He voiced Big Bill in the Nick Jr. animated children series Little Bill, which ran from 1999 to 2004. He won the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program for the role in 2003.

Other

Hines co-hosted the Tony Awards ceremony in 1995 and 2002.

Personal life

Hines's marriages to Patricia Panella and Pamela Koslow ended in divorce. He had two children and a stepdaughter.[15]

Death

Hines died of liver cancer on August 9, 2003 en route to the hospital from his home in Los Angeles. He was diagnosed with the disease a year earlier, but informed only his closest friends. At the time of his death, production of the television show Little Bill was ending, and he was engaged to bodybuilder Negrita Jayde, who was based in Toronto.[15]

His funeral was held at St. Monica Catholic Church in Santa Monica, California. He was buried at St. Volodymyr Ukrainian Catholic Cemetery in Oakville, Ontario.[16][17]

Legacy

On January 28, 2019, the United States Postal Service honored Hines with a postage stamp as part of its Black Heritage Series. It was issued with a ceremony at the Buffalo Academy for Visual and Performing Arts.[18]

Awards and nominations

Awards

Nominations

Filmography

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Gregory Hines, obituary". The Telegraph. August 12, 2003. from the original on June 3, 2013. Retrieved May 29, 2019.
  2. ^ Wadler, Joyce (February 24, 1985). "Hines on Tap". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286.
  3. ^ Editors, Biography com (September 23, 2020). "Gregory Hines". Biography. Retrieved September 15, 2021. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  4. ^ Abrams, Dennis; De Angelis, Gina (April 1, 2008). Gregory Hines. Infobase Publishing. ISBN 978-0791097182. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
  5. ^ a b c Valis Hill, Constance. "Biography of Gregory Hines". New York Public Library. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
  6. ^ Rothstein, Mervyn (September 1, 1992). . Cigar Aficionado. Archived from the original on October 8, 2009. Retrieved May 25, 2012.
  7. ^ Tap: With Gregory Hines. New York Public Library. 1989. Retrieved April 23, 2013.
  8. ^ . The Sammy Davis, Jr. Association. 1992. Archived from the original on May 13, 2008. Retrieved June 9, 2008.
  9. ^ Luther Vandross Chart History
  10. ^ Gregory Hines Chart History
  11. ^ Monaghan, Terry (August 12, 2003). "Gregory Hines". The Guardian. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
  12. ^ a b Brooks, Mel (June 7, 1981). "The World According to Mel Brooks". The New York Times. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
  13. ^ White, Armond (October 23, 2019). "Coppola's Cotton Club Encore Remakes American Entertainment". National Review.
  14. ^ Gregory Hines: a dancer hits the screen and gets the girls: [FINAL Edition] Philip Wuntch Dallas Morning News. The Citizen; Ottawa, Ont. [Ottawa, Ont]30 June 1986: D10.
  15. ^ a b Dunning, Jennifer (August 11, 2003). "Gregory Hines, Versatile Dancer and Actor, Dies at 57". The New York Times. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
  16. ^ "Pallbearers carry the coffin of Gregory Hines' at the memorial..." Getty Images. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
  17. ^ "Gregory Hines buried in Oakville City, Ontario". CBC News. Retrieved August 21, 2013.
  18. ^ "Gregory Hines As Honoree on New Forever Stamp". United States Postal Service. January 28, 2019.
  19. ^ "The Amazing Falsworth". IMDb. November 5, 1985.

External links

March 29, 2023
gregory, hines, gregory, oliver, hines, february, 1946, august, 2003, american, dancer, actor, choreographer, singer, most, celebrated, dancers, time, actor, best, known, wolfen, 1981, cotton, club, 1984, white, nights, 1985, running, scared, 1986, show, 1997,. 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 Club 1984 White Nights 1985 Running Scared 1986 The Gregory Hines Show 1997 1998 playing Ben on Will amp Grace 1999 2000 and for voicing Big Bill on the Nick Jr animated children s television program Little Bill 1999 2004 Gregory HinesHines in 1993BornGregory Oliver Hines 1946 02 14 February 14 1946New York City New York U S DiedAugust 9 2003 2003 08 09 aged 57 Los Angeles California U S Resting placeSaint Volodymyr Ukrainian Cemetery Oakville Ontario CanadaOccupationsDancer actor choreographer singerYears active1951 2003Spouse s Patricia Panella m 1968 div 1972 Pamela Koslow m 1981 div 2000 wbr Partner s Negrita Jayde 2000 2003 Children2RelativesMaurice Hines brother Hines starred in more than 40 films and also appeared on Broadway He received many accolades including a Daytime Emmy Award a Drama Desk Award and a Tony Award as well as nominations for a Screen Actors Guild Award and four Primetime Emmy Awards Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 2 1 Tap dance 2 2 Stage acting 2 3 Music 2 4 Film and television 2 5 Other 3 Personal life 4 Death 5 Legacy 6 Awards and nominations 7 Filmography 8 See also 9 References 10 External linksEarly life EditHines was born in New York City on February 14 1946 to Alma Iola Lawless and Maurice Robert Hines a dancer musician and actor and grew up in the Sugar Hill neighborhood of Harlem 1 He began tap dancing when he was two years old and began dancing semi professionally at age five After that he and his older brother Maurice performed together studying with choreographer Henry LeTang Gregory and Maurice also studied with veteran tap dancers such as Howard Sims and The Nicholas Brothers when they performed at the same venues The brothers were known as The Hines Kids making nightclub appearances at venues in Miami Florida with Cab Calloway 2 They were later known as The Hines Brothers When their father joined the act as a drummer their name changed again in 1963 to Hines Hines and Dad 1 3 Career EditTap dance Edit Hines was an avid improviser of tap steps tap sounds and tap rhythms alike His improvisation was like that of a drummer doing a solo and coming up with rhythms He also improvised the phrasing of a number of tap steps mainly based on sound produced A laid back dancer he usually wore loose fitting pants and a tighter shirt 4 Although he inherited the roots and tradition of the black rhythmic tap he also promoted the new black rhythmic tap He purposely obliterated the tempos wrote tap historian Sally Sommer throwing down a cascade of taps like pebbles tossed across the floor In that moment he aligned tap with the latest free form experiments in jazz and new music and postmodern dance 5 Throughout his career Hines wanted and continued to be an advocate for tap in America He successfully petitioned the creation of National Tap Dance Day in May 1989 which is now celebrated in forty cities in the United States as well as eight other nations He was on the board of directors of Manhattan Tap a member of the Jazz Tap Ensemble and a member of the American Tap Dance Foundation which was formerly called the American Tap Dance Orchestra In 1989 he created and hosted a PBS special called Gregory Hines Tap Dance in America which featured various tap dancers such as Savion Glover and Bunny Briggs 6 7 In 1990 Hines visited his idol and Tap co star Sammy Davis Jr who was dying of throat cancer and was unable to speak After Davis died an emotional Hines spoke at Davis s funeral of how Sammy made a gesture to him as if passing a basketball and I caught it Hines spoke of the honor that Sammy thought that Hines could carry on from where he left off 8 Through his teaching he influenced tap dancers such as Savion Glover Dianne Walker Ted Levy and Jane Goldberg 5 In an interview with The New York Times in 1988 Hines said that everything he did was influenced by his dancing my singing my acting my lovemaking my being a parent 5 Stage acting Edit Hines made his Broadway debut with his brother in The Girl in Pink Tights in 1954 He earned Tony Award nominations for Eubie 1979 Comin Uptown 1980 and Sophisticated Ladies 1981 and won the Tony Award and Drama Desk Award for Jelly s Last Jam 1992 and the Theatre World Award for Eubie citation needed Music Edit Hines performed as the lead singer and musician in a rock band called Severance based in Venice Los Angeles in 1975 and 1976 Severance was one of the house bands at an original music club called Honky Hoagies Handy Hangout otherwise known as the 4H Club Severance released their self titled debut album on Largo Records a subsidiary of GNP Crescendo in 1976 In 1986 he sang a duet with Luther Vandross called There s Nothing Better Than Love which reached the No 1 position on the Billboard R amp B charts 9 Encouraged by his first success on the chart Hines subsequently released his self titled debut album on Epic in 1988 with much support of Vandross This album produced a Vandross penned single That Girl Wants to Dance with Me which peaked at 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 in May 1988 10 Film and television Edit In 1981 Hines made his movie debut in Mel Brooks s History of the World Part I replacing Richard Pryor who was originally cast in the role but suffered severe burns just days before he was due to begin shooting 11 12 Madeline Kahn also starring in the film suggested to director Mel Brooks that he look into Hines for the role after they learned of Pryor s hospitalization 12 He also appeared in the horror film Wolfen later that year Hines s peak as an actor came in the mid 1980s He had a large role in The Cotton Club 1984 where he and his brother Maurice in his sole film credit played a 1930s tap dancing duo reminiscent of the Nicholas Brothers 13 Hines co starred with Mikhail Baryshnikov in the 1985 film White Nights and co starred with Billy Crystal in the 1986 buddy cop film Running Scared He starred in the 1989 film Tap opposite Sammy Davis Jr in Davis s last screen performance He appeared alongside Whitney Houston and Loretta Devine in the highly successful 1995 film Waiting to Exhale and opposite Houston Denzel Washington and Courtney B Vance the following year in The Preacher s Wife On television he starred in his own sitcom in 1997 The Gregory Hines Show which ran for one season on CBS and had a recurring role of Ben Doucette on Will amp Grace In an interview in 1987 Hines said that he often looked for roles written for white actors preferring their greater scope and dynamics Of his role in Running Scared for example he said that he enjoyed that his character had sex scenes because usually the black guy has no sexuality at all 14 Hines starred in the 1998 film The Tic Code He voiced Big Bill in the Nick Jr animated children series Little Bill which ran from 1999 to 2004 He won the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program for the role in 2003 Other Edit Hines co hosted the Tony Awards ceremony in 1995 and 2002 Personal life EditHines s marriages to Patricia Panella and Pamela Koslow ended in divorce He had two children and a stepdaughter 15 Death EditHines died of liver cancer on August 9 2003 en route to the hospital from his home in Los Angeles He was diagnosed with the disease a year earlier but informed only his closest friends At the time of his death production of the television show Little Bill was ending and he was engaged to bodybuilder Negrita Jayde who was based in Toronto 15 His funeral was held at St Monica Catholic Church in Santa Monica California He was buried at St Volodymyr Ukrainian Catholic Cemetery in Oakville Ontario 16 17 Legacy EditOn January 28 2019 the United States Postal Service honored Hines with a postage stamp as part of its Black Heritage Series It was issued with a ceremony at the Buffalo Academy for Visual and Performing Arts 18 Awards and nominations EditAwards 1979 Theatre World Award Eubie 1988 Image Awards Outstanding Lead Actor in a Motion Picture Running Scared 1992 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical Jelly s Last Jam 1992 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Actor in a Musical Jelly s Last Jam 1998 Flo Bert Award Lifetime Achievement in Tap Dance by the New York Committee to Celebrate National Tap Dance Day 2002 Image Awards Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie Mini Series or Dramatic Special Bojangles 2003 Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program Little BillNominations 1979 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical Eubie 1980 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical Comin Uptown 1981 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical Sophisticated Ladies 1982 Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement Special Class I Love Liberty 1985 Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program Motown Returns to the Apollo 1989 Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety Music or Comedy Program Great Performances Tap Dance in America 1992 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Choreography Jelly s Last Jam 1992 Tony Award for Best Choreography Jelly s Last Jam 1995 Image Awards Outstanding Lead Actor in a Motion Picture Waiting to Exhale 1998 American Comedy Awards Funniest Male Guest Appearance in a TV Series Will amp Grace 1998 Image Awards Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series The Gregory Hines Show 2001 Black Reel Awards Network Cable Best Actor Bojangles 2001 Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie Bojangles 2001 Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries Bojangles 2003 Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in a Children s Special The Red Sneakers 2003 Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing in a Children s Special The Red SneakersFilmography EditFinian s Rainbow 1968 Child Extra History of the World Part I 1981 Josephus Wolfen 1981 Coroner Whittington Deal of the Century 1983 Ray Kasternak The Muppets Take Manhattan 1984 Roller Skater The Cotton Club 1984 Sandman Williams White Nights 1985 Raymond Greenwood Faerie Tale Theatre Puss in Boots 1985 Edgar Amazing Stories TV The Amazing Falsworth 19 1985 Falsworth About Tap 1985 Himself Running Scared 1986 Detective Ray Hughes Off Limits 1988 Albaby Perkins Tap 1989 Max Washington Gregory Hines Saigon 1987 Himself Gregory Hines Tap Dance in America 1989 Himself Eve of Destruction 1991 Colonel Jim McQuade A Rage in Harlem 1991 Goldy White Lie 1991 Len Madison Jr T Bone N Weasel 1992 T Bone Dead Air 1994 Mark Jannek Jim Sheppard Renaissance Man 1994 Sergeant Cass Kangaroo Court 1994 Happily Ever After Fairy Tales for Every Child 1995 Episode Beauty and the Beast The Beast Prince Koro voice A Stranger in Town 1995 Barnes Waiting to Exhale 1995 Marvin King Good Luck 1996 Bernard Bern Lemley Mad Dog Time 1996 Jules Flamingo The Preacher s Wife 1996 Joe Hamilton The Cherokee Kid 1996 Jedediah Turner The Undertaker Subway Stories Tales From the Underground 1997 Jack segment Manhattan Miracle The Gregory Hines Show 1997 to 1998 Ben Stevenson Blue s Clues 1999 Episode Blue s Big Treasure Hunt Jack The Tic Code 1999 Tyrone Pike Will amp Grace TV 1999 to 2000 Ben Doucette Things You Can Tell Just by Looking at Her 2000 Robert segment Fantasies About Rebecca Who Killed Atlanta s Children TV 2000 Ron Larson Once in the Life 2000 Ruffhouse Bojangles 2001 Bojangles Venice Lost and Found 2002 Himself The Red Sneakers TV 2002 Zeke Law amp Order TV Suicide Box 2003 Carl Helpert Lost at Home TV 2003 Jordan King The Root 2003 Little Bill TV 1999 to 2004 until his death Bill Big Bill final television appearance Keeping Time The Life Music amp Photography of Milt Hinton 2004 Himself Love That Girl Sally 2004 Fred final film role dedicated production See also EditList of dancersReferences Edit a b Gregory Hines obituary The Telegraph August 12 2003 Archived from the original on June 3 2013 Retrieved May 29 2019 Wadler Joyce February 24 1985 Hines on Tap The Washington Post ISSN 0190 8286 Editors Biography com September 23 2020 Gregory Hines Biography Retrieved September 15 2021 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a last has generic name help Abrams Dennis De Angelis Gina April 1 2008 Gregory Hines Infobase Publishing ISBN 978 0791097182 Retrieved March 31 2020 a b c Valis Hill Constance Biography of Gregory Hines New York Public Library Retrieved December 21 2017 Rothstein Mervyn September 1 1992 The Man in the Dancing Shoes Cigar Aficionado Archived from the original on October 8 2009 Retrieved May 25 2012 Tap With Gregory Hines New York Public Library 1989 Retrieved April 23 2013 Gregory Hines Interview The Sammy Davis Jr Association 1992 Archived from the original on May 13 2008 Retrieved June 9 2008 Luther Vandross Chart History Gregory Hines Chart History Monaghan Terry August 12 2003 Gregory Hines The Guardian Retrieved March 31 2020 a b Brooks Mel June 7 1981 The World According to Mel Brooks The New York Times Retrieved March 31 2020 White Armond October 23 2019 Coppola s Cotton Club Encore Remakes American Entertainment National Review Gregory Hines a dancer hits the screen and gets the girls FINAL Edition Philip Wuntch Dallas Morning News The Citizen Ottawa Ont Ottawa Ont 30 June 1986 D10 a b Dunning Jennifer August 11 2003 Gregory Hines Versatile Dancer and Actor Dies at 57 The New York Times Retrieved March 31 2020 Pallbearers carry the coffin of Gregory Hines at the memorial Getty Images Retrieved January 24 2022 Gregory Hines buried in Oakville City Ontario CBC News Retrieved August 21 2013 Gregory Hines As Honoree on New Forever Stamp United States Postal Service January 28 2019 The Amazing Falsworth IMDb November 5 1985 External links EditGregory Hines at the Internet Broadway Database Gregory Hines at IMDb Gregory Hines at Find a Grave Blog of Death obituary Tapping into history Deborah Jowitt Village Voice August 2003 TonyAwards com Interview with Gregory Hines Archival footage of Gregory Hines Dianne Walker andJimmy Slyde in 1996 at Jacob s Pillow Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Gregory Hines amp oldid 1146974968, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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