Maurice Hines, the dancer, choreographer, and actor, died at the age of 80, according to Jordan Strohl, executive director of the Actors Fund Home in Englewood, New Jersey, where Hines spent his final days.
During his early career, Maurice frequently teamed with his younger brother Gregory Hines, most notably in the 1984 Francis Ford Coppola film Cotton Club. His brother, Gregory Hines, died of cancer in 2003.
The majority of Maurice Hines’s fame came from his Broadway career. He made his stage debut in The Girl in Pink Tights in 1954. He went on to feature in Guys and Dolls, Eubie!, and Uptown…It’s Hot!, among other shows, and was nominated for a Tony Award for outstanding actor in a musical. In addition, Hines was in high demand as a director and choreographer.
He worked on shows including the 2006 conception, choreography, and direction of the Earth Wind and Fire musical Hot Feet and the national tour of the Louis Armstrong musical biography Satchmo.
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Maurice Hines also achieved the milestone of being the first Black director to helm a production at Radio City Music Hall, staging the Radio City Christmas Spectacular. Born in New York in 1943, Hines began tap dancing at the age of five. Charles Randolph-Wright, the executive producer of the 2019 documentary Maurice Hines: Bring Them Back, expressed his memories on social media, emphasizing Hines’s unique energy and affection for fellow artists.
Randolph-Wright stated, “We are so grateful that Maurice allowed us to document his life and to share both his joy and pain, and his laughter and tears in our documentary film. There will never be another like him.” The film’s director, John Carluccio, also shared on Instagram, “I will deeply miss my charming and lovable friend, who always kept me on my toes.”
