Maurice Hines, Broadway star and brother of tap legend Gregory Hines, has died. He was 80 years old.
Maurice died of natural causes on Friday at the Actors Fund Home in Englewood, New Jersey, the facility for the infirm where he had lived in recent years, the home’s executive director, Jordan Strohl, confirmed to PEOPLE.
Maurice was nominated for a 1986 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical for his role in Uptown…It’s Hot! Some of his other Broadway appearances include the 1981 Bring back Birdie and, most recently, in 2006 Hot feet, which he choreographed. He made his Broadway debut in 1954 The girl in the pink tights.
The Harlem, New York, native first came to public attention while touring with his father, Maurice Sr., and his younger brother Gregory (who died of cancer in 2003) in a dance act called Hines, Hines & Dad. In 1963, the family performed together at The Ed Sullivan Show.
Dancer-choreographer Maurice Hines in 1989.
Jack Mitchell/Getty
In 1984, Maurice and Gregory played feuding brothers Clay and Sandman Williams in Francis Ford Coppola’s Cotton Clubabout a famous jazz club in Harlem.
At the beginning of their careers, they performed together as the Hines Brothers, but there were real tensions in their relationship. Documentary from 2019 Maurice Hines: Bring them on back she revealed that Gregory and Maurice had fallen out and hadn’t spoken in 10 years.
Hines co-directed and choreographed a national tour of a musical biography of Louis Armstrong Satchmo, together with production Havana night in Cuba.
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In 2013, he toured selected cities in the US in a performance dedicated to his brother called Tappin’ Thru Life.
Maurice’s friend, actress-producer-director and former dancer-choreographer, Debbie Allen, posted a tribute to him on Instagram on Friday.
“Maurice Hines, I was your first female lead on ‘Guys and Dolls’ and I will always cherish our journey together,” Allen, 73, wrote. “My tears are because of my inability to talk to you or hug you. I will ALWAYS SAY YOUR NAME. See you on the other side. 🥲🥲🙏🏼🙏🏼❤️❤️.”
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education