Maurice Hines

Maurice Robert Hines Jr. was born in New York City on December 13, 1943, and began tap training at approximately age five with the influential teacher and choreographer Henry LeTang. His younger brother Gregory joined him in study, and the two brothers performed together professionally, eventually appearing with their father Maurice Hines Sr. as Hines, Hines and Dad in major nightclub and television venues. Hines made his Broadway debut as a child in *The Girl in Pink Tights* in 1954, establishing himself early in the demanding ecosystem of precision, musical timing, comedy, and direct audience address that shaped his entire career.

After the family trio separated, Hines expanded his range across Broadway stages. He appeared in the original 1978 production of *Eubie!*, celebrating the music of Eubie Blake, and later performed in *Sophisticated Ladies* and *Bring Back Birdie*. In 1984, he and Gregory Hines played dancing brothers in Francis Ford Coppola's film *The Cotton Club*, a fictional drama that drew on their real performance relationship without serving as a literal account of the Hines family.

Hines's most concentrated Broadway authorship came with *Uptown…It's Hot!* in 1986, which he conceived, directed, choreographed, and starred in. The production earned him a Tony Award nomination for Best Actor in a Musical and demonstrated the full breadth of his theatrical practice: he was not only a featured tap dancer but also an organizer of material, movement, staging, and performance tone. He continued directing and choreographing into the 2000s, including the 2006 Broadway musical *Hot Feet*, built around the music of Earth, Wind & Fire and developed with a creative team of collaborators and assistants.

In his later years, Hines returned to his own history through *Tappin' Thru Life*, a theatrical memoir featuring music, stories, and tap that centered on intergenerational and ensemble artistry. The 2014 production at Atlanta's Alliance Theatre included the Manzari Brothers and the all-women Diva Jazz Orchestra, making collaborative practice central to the work. The documentary *Maurice Hines: Bring Them Back*, released in 2019, further examined his artistry, family bonds, sexuality, aging, and the costs of a life in performance. Hines died in Englewood, New Jersey, on December 29, 2023, shortly after his eightieth birthday, leaving a record that linked Black vaudeville and nightclub practice with Broadway authorship, screen performance, concert presentation, and contemporary documentary memory.