Maurice Hines, tap dance pioneer, Broadway star, and brother to the late Gregory Hines, has died. He was 80.
The dance legend died of natural causes at the Actors Fund Home, an assistant living facility in Englewood, New Jersey.
Hines, born on Dec. 13, 1943, in New York City, launched his dance career at age 5 and made his Broadway debut in 1954 in “The Girl in Pink Tights.” Often working as a duo with Gregory, who died in 2003 of liver cancer at age 57, and their dad, Maurice Sr., he was seen onstage, in nightclubs and on television, with credits that include appearances on “The Tonight Show,” “The Ed Sullivan Show,” “Love, Sidney,” “The Equalizer” and “Cosby.”
His famous friend Debbie Allen, a producer on the 2019 documentary “Maurice Hines: Bring Them Back,” mourned the star on social media.
“Maurice Hines, I was your first leading lady in a show, ‘Guys and Dolls,’ and I will always treasure our journey together,” Allen wrote. “My tears are for my inability to speak with you or to hold you. I will ALWAYS SPEAK YOUR NAME. See you on the other side.”
His numerous stage credits include playing Nathan Detroit in the national touring company of “Guys and Dolls” (in the ‘70s) and roles in “Bring Back Birdie” and “Sophisticated Ladies” (both 1981).
He co-directed and choreographed the national tour of “Satchmo,” the Louis Armstrong biography, and directed, choreographed and starred in the national tour of “Harlem Suite.”