| LOS ANGELES, Aug. 10 — Gregory Hines, the greatest tap dancer of his generation who also transcended the stage with successful film and television roles, has died of cancer. Hines died Saturday in Los Angeles, publicist Allen Eichorn said Sunday. Hines, who started on Broadway and moved to films including “White Nights” and “Running Scared” was 57. | |||
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| It's close to curtain time at the Virginia Theater on Broadway, and backstage in his dressing room Gregory Hines is getting ready to put on his dancing shoes. They are bright and shining, brown and tan; on the bottom of each are two pieces of metal called taps, one covering the heel, the other the front of the sole. “You've got to be sure the shoe fits comfortably and snugly,” he says. ”And you can choose from many different styles. But when it comes down to it, it's not the shoe that matters. It's what's in your heart that counts.“ | |||
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Gregory Hines's heart has been in his shoes for most of his 46 years, as he has tap-danced his way into the heart of America. And soon on this hot Sunday afternoon, he will walk out of the dressing room door, head for the stage and go into his song and dance to thrill a sold-out audience with his portrayal of the great jazz composer Jelly Roll Morton in Jelly's Last Jam. In that role, Hines received this year's Tony Award as best actor in a musical. | |
| As he prepares to go on, Hines is sitting before a mirror surrounded by photographs of his friends and family, talking about his life and his career: his new show, his childhood performances with his brother, Maurice, as a tap-dancing duo in Harlem, his Broadway success in Sophisticated Ladies, and his roles in movies such as The Cotton Club, White Nights, and Tap. And, as he speaks, his deep, dark expressive eyes and his gentle, relaxed friendly smile convey the warmth and happiness he has achieved by doing what he enjoys most. |  Television Filter ~ 70's TV  |
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"I just love to tap-dance," he says. "I've been tapping for 44 years, and for me, it's the easiest way I can express myself as an artist. I don't mean it isn't challenging. It's just that when I have my tap shoes on, I feel very self-confident. I feel like I can speak from my heart. It's a way I've always been able to get in touch with many different emotions. I put my shoes on and I start to dance, and it's clear to me what I'm feeling." |
| Involved in show business since toddler hood, Gregory Hines has grown up to be a highly acclaimed tap dancer, choreographer, dramatic and comic actor, singer, and director. Hines is the brother of actor/dancer Maurice Hines. When Hines was two, his father employed him in a dance act with his older brothers. The child honed his dancing skills with master tap dancer Henry Le Tang. He was five when his father teamed him with his big brother, Jake, to form the Hines Kids. The brothers spent much of their early careers dancing at the Apollo Theater and learned much from such famed fellow performers as the Nicholas Brothers and Sandman Sims. At age eight, he debuted on Broadway in the musical The Girl in Pink Tights (1954). When the boys reached adolescence, they were called the Hines Brothers. In 1963, they became Hines, Hines and Dad, and started a ten-year stint on the nightclub circuit and on television. They also went abroad. In 1973, he left his brother and father's act to form a jazz-rock group called Severance. He eventually came back to New York, where in 1973, he launched a distinguished Broadway career that garnered him a Tony (for playing Jelly Roll Morton in George C. Wolfe's musical tribute Jelly's Last Jam in 1992), three additional Tony nominations, and a Theater World Award. Hines made his feature-film debut in Mel Brooks' all-star farce The History of the World, Pt. I, replacing an ailing Richard Pryor in the role of Josephus. It was actress Madeline Kahn who suggested Hines for the role. | |||
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| Gregory Hines was a genial, suave dancer, singer and actor who for many personified the art of classical tap in the 1980's and 90's. | Gregory Hines and Billy Crystal on location during the filming of "Running Scared," a 1986 film about two Chicago police officers. | Mikhail Baryshnikov and Gregory Hines in "White Nights," a 1985 film in which Mr. Hines played an American defector to the Soviet Union. | ||
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| Gregory Hines as Jelly Roll Morton in "Jelly's Last Jam" in 1992, a role that won Mr. Hines a Tony Award. | Gregory Hines hosted the Tony Award ceremony in 2002 with Bernadette Peters. |
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| One
of my favorite shots of Gregory This presentation would not have been complete without it :) |
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Actors Guild Awards 2002 this was only last year - had we known this would be one of our last times to 'see' this actor would we have been more observant? |
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| TAP My Favorite :) |
Gregory Toe Tapping! |
