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Gregory Hines (1946-2003)
2001 Hoofer Award Recipient
Tap-dancing actor-singer Gregory Hines,
recognized as part of a rich tradition of African-American
tap masters, died Aug. 9 of cancer.
Mr. Hines, who, with his brother Maurice,
appeared as an act for several years (including in the
musical Eubie!) before they took separate performance
jobs, won the 1992 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical
for Jelly's Last Jam, for which he was also
nominated for a Best Choreography. He played the title
character.
His alternately meditative and explosive
choreography was seen in the film The Cotton Club,
which also featured his brother. In the 1989 film Tap,
some of Mr. Hines' tap-dance heroes, including Sammy
Davis Jr., Sandman Sims, Harold Nicholas and Jimmy Slyde,
appeared in the tribute to tap, a tale of a man who
cannot escape the dance tradition.
Mr. Hines was nominated for Tonys for
Best Actor in a Musical in 1980 and 1981, respectively,
for Comin' Uptown and Sophisticated Ladies
1981. He was also nommed in 1979 for Best Featured Actor
in a Musical for Eubie!
He took dramatic roles in the films
Running Scared, White Nights and Waiting
to Exhale. On the TV comedy Will and Grace,
he was Will's boss and Grace's lover (and danced a tap
routine on one episode). He also starred in The
Gregory Hines Show.
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