Maurice Hines
Encyclopedia
Maurice Hines is an American
actor
, director, jazz
singer and choreographer.
Born in New York City
, Hines began his career at the age of five, studying tap dance
at the Henry LeTang
Dance Studio in Manhattan
. LeTang recognized his talent and began choreographing numbers specifically for him and his younger brother Gregory
. He made his Broadway
debut in The Girl in Pink Tights in 1954.
Shortly after, the brothers began touring as the opening act for such headliners as Lionel Hampton
and Gypsy Rose Lee
. Their father joined them and Hines, Hines & Dad performed on a regular basis in New York, Las Vegas
, and throughout Europe
and on many television
shows, including The Pearl Bailey
Show, The Hollywood Palace
, and The Tonight Show
.
Hines decided to pursue a solo career and was cast as Nathan Detroit in the national tour of Guys and Dolls, after which he returned to Broadway in Eubie!
(1978). Additional Broadway credits include Bring Back Birdie
and Sophisticated Ladies
(both in 1981) as a performer, Uptown... It's Hot!
(1986) as a performer (earning a Tony Award
nomination as Best Actor in a Musical) and choreographer, and Hot Feet
(2006), which he conceived, choreographed, and directed.
Hines co-directed and choreographed the national tour of the Louis Armstrong
musical bio
Satchmo and directed, choreographed, and starred in the national tour of Harlem Suite with successive leading ladies Jennifer Holliday
, Stephanie Mills
, and Melba Moore
. He directed and choreographed Havana Night in Cuba
, an all-Latino
production of The Red Shoes
in the Dominican Republic
, and created the revue
Broadway Soul Jam to inaugurate an entertainment complex in Holland.
Hines has directed and choreographed music videos, including one for Quincy Jones
. He is the first African-American to direct at Radio City Music Hall
.
Hines' film debut, Francis Ford Coppola
's The Cotton Club
, remains his sole big screen credit to date, although he appears in Oops, Ups & Downs: The Murder Mystery of Humpty Dumpty, scheduled for release in 2007. On television, he appeared in Eubie!, Love, Sidney
, and Cosby
.
Hines played the lead role in Washington, DC's Arena Stage
production of the Duke Ellington-inspired musical Sophisticated Ladies at the historic Lincoln Theatre
in April and May 2010. The Washington Post review was positive for his role and the show in general.
Hines is currently at work on Yo Alice, an urban
hip-hop fantasy
he conceived and will direct and choreograph.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, director, jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
singer and choreographer.
Born in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, Hines began his career at the age of five, studying tap dance
Tap dance
Tap dance is a form of dance characterized by using the sound of one's tap shoes hitting the floor as a percussive instrument. As such, it is also commonly considered to be a form of music. Two major variations on tap dance exist: rhythm tap and Broadway tap. Broadway tap focuses more on the...
at the Henry LeTang
Henry LeTang
Henry LeTang was an American theatre,film, and television choreographer and a dance instructor.-Biography:Born in the Harlem neighbourhood of Manhattan, LeTang was the second son of Clarence, born in Dominica, and his wife Marie, who emigrated from St. Croix. The couple owned and operated a radio...
Dance Studio in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
. LeTang recognized his talent and began choreographing numbers specifically for him and his younger brother Gregory
Gregory Hines
Gregory Oliver Hines was an American actor, singer, dancer and choreographer.-Early years:Born in New York City, Hines and his older brother Maurice started dancing at an early age, studying with choreographer Henry LeTang...
. He made his Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
debut in The Girl in Pink Tights in 1954.
Shortly after, the brothers began touring as the opening act for such headliners as Lionel Hampton
Lionel Hampton
Lionel Leo Hampton was an American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, percussionist, bandleader and actor. Like Red Norvo, he was one of the first jazz vibraphone players. Hampton ranks among the great names in jazz history, having worked with a who's who of jazz musicians, from Benny Goodman and Buddy...
and Gypsy Rose Lee
Gypsy Rose Lee
Gypsy Rose Lee was an American burlesque entertainer famous for her striptease act. She was also an actress, author, and playwright whose 1957 memoir was made into the stage musical and film Gypsy.-Early life:...
. Their father joined them and Hines, Hines & Dad performed on a regular basis in New York, Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
, and throughout Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and on many television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
shows, including The Pearl Bailey
Pearl Bailey
Pearl Mae Bailey was an American actress and singer. After appearing in vaudeville, she made her Broadway debut in St. Louis Woman in 1946. She won a Tony Award for the title role in the all-black production of Hello, Dolly! in 1968...
Show, The Hollywood Palace
The Hollywood Palace
The Hollywood Palace is an hour-long American television variety show that was broadcast weekly on ABC from January 4, 1964 to February 7, 1970. It began as a mid-season replacement for the short-lived Jerry Lewis Show, another variety show which had lasted only three months...
, and The Tonight Show
The Tonight Show
The Tonight Show is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. It is the longest currently running regularly scheduled entertainment program in the United States, and the third longest-running show on NBC, after Meet the Press and Today.The Tonight Show has been hosted by...
.
Hines decided to pursue a solo career and was cast as Nathan Detroit in the national tour of Guys and Dolls, after which he returned to Broadway in Eubie!
Eubie!
Eubie! is a revue featuring the music of Eubie Blake, with lyrics by Noble Sissle, Andy Razaf, Johnny Brandon, F.E. Miller, and Jim Europe.-Production:...
(1978). Additional Broadway credits include Bring Back Birdie
Bring Back Birdie
Bring Back Birdie is a musical with a book by Michael Stewart, lyrics by Lee Adams, and music by Charles Strouse.A sequel to Bye Bye Birdie, it focuses on a scheme for rock 'n' roller Conrad Birdie, who disappeared after being discharged from the U. S. Army twenty years ago, to make a comeback on a...
and Sophisticated Ladies
Sophisticated Ladies
Sophisticated Ladies is a musical revue based on the music of Duke Ellington.After fifteen previews, the Broadway production, conceived by Donald McKayle, directed by Michael Smuin, and choreographed by McKayle, Smuin, Henry LeTang, Bruce Heath, and Mercedes Ellington, opened on March 1, 1981 at...
(both in 1981) as a performer, Uptown... It's Hot!
Uptown... It's Hot!
Uptown... It's Hot! was a 1986 Broadway play created, directed, choreographed by and starring Maurice Hines. Performed at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, the play was a musical anthology chronicling the history of African American music in the United States....
(1986) as a performer (earning a Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
nomination as Best Actor in a Musical) and choreographer, and Hot Feet
Hot Feet
Hot Feet is a jukebox musical featuring the music of Earth, Wind & Fire, a book by Heru Ptah and was conceived, directed, and choreographed by Maurice Hines. The musical opened on Broadway at the Foxwoods Theatre on April 30, 2006 and closed on July 23, 2006.Hot Feet is about a beautiful young...
(2006), which he conceived, choreographed, and directed.
Hines co-directed and choreographed the national tour of the Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....
musical bio
Biography
A biography is a detailed description or account of someone's life. More than a list of basic facts , biography also portrays the subject's experience of those events...
Satchmo and directed, choreographed, and starred in the national tour of Harlem Suite with successive leading ladies Jennifer Holliday
Jennifer Holliday
Jennifer-Yvette Holliday is an African-American singer and Tony Award-winning actress. She started her career on Broadway in musicals such as Dreamgirls, and later became a successful recording artist...
, Stephanie Mills
Stephanie Mills
Stephanie Dorthea Mills is an American R&B and soul singer, and a former Broadway star.-Career:Mills began her career appearing in her first play at the age of nine. Two years later, Mills won Amateur Night at the Apollo Theater a record six times...
, and Melba Moore
Melba Moore
Beatrice Melba Smith , known by her stage name, Melba Moore is an American disco, R&B singer and actress. She is the daughter of saxophonist Teddy Hill and R&B singer Bonnie Davis.-Early life:...
. He directed and choreographed Havana Night in Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, an all-Latino
Latino
The demonyms Latino and Latina , are defined in English language dictionaries as:* "a person of Latin-American descent."* "A Latin American."* "A person of Hispanic, especially Latin-American, descent, often one living in the United States."...
production of The Red Shoes
The Red Shoes (musical)
The Red Shoes is a musical with a book by Marsha Norman, lyrics by Norman and Bob Merrill and music by Jule Styne...
in the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
, and created the revue
Revue
A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century American popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own during its golden years from 1916 to 1932...
Broadway Soul Jam to inaugurate an entertainment complex in Holland.
Hines has directed and choreographed music videos, including one for Quincy Jones
Quincy Jones
Quincy Delightt Jones, Jr. is an American record producer and musician. A conductor, musical arranger, film composer, television producer, and trumpeter. His career spans five decades in the entertainment industry and a record 79 Grammy Award nominations, 27 Grammys, including a Grammy Legend...
. He is the first African-American to direct at Radio City Music Hall
Radio City Music Hall
Radio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue located in New York City's Rockefeller Center. Its nickname is the Showplace of the Nation, and it was for a time the leading tourist destination in the city...
.
Hines' film debut, Francis Ford Coppola
Francis Ford Coppola
Francis Ford Coppola is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. He is widely acclaimed as one of Hollywood's most innovative and influential film directors...
's The Cotton Club
The Cotton Club (film)
The Cotton Club is a 1984 crime-drama, centered on a famed Harlem jazz club of the 1930s, the Cotton Club.The movie was co-written and directed by Francis Ford Coppola, choreographed by Henry LeTang, and starred Richard Gere, Diane Lane, and Gregory Hines...
, remains his sole big screen credit to date, although he appears in Oops, Ups & Downs: The Murder Mystery of Humpty Dumpty, scheduled for release in 2007. On television, he appeared in Eubie!, Love, Sidney
Love, Sidney
Love, Sidney was an American situation comedy television series about a gay man, Sidney Shorr, and his relationship with a single mother and her five year-old daughter whom he invites to live with him...
, and Cosby
Cosby
Cosby is a situation comedy television series broadcast on CBS from September 16, 1996 to April 28, 2000, loosely based on the British sitcom One Foot in the Grave. The program starred Bill Cosby, Phylicia Rashād...
.
Hines played the lead role in Washington, DC's Arena Stage
Arena Stage
Arena Stage is a not-for-profit regional theater based in Southwest Washington, D.C. Its declared mission"is to produce huge plays of all that is passionate, exuberant, profound, deep and dangerous in the American spirit. Arena has broad shoulders and a capacity to produce anything from vast epics...
production of the Duke Ellington-inspired musical Sophisticated Ladies at the historic Lincoln Theatre
Lincoln Theatre (Washington, D.C.)
Lincoln Theatre is a theater in Washington, D.C. located at 1215 U Street, next to Ben's Chili Bowl. The theater, located on "Washington's Black Broadway", served the city's African American community when segregation kept them out of other venues. The Lincoln Theatre included a movie house and...
in April and May 2010. The Washington Post review was positive for his role and the show in general.
Hines is currently at work on Yo Alice, an urban
Urban contemporary
Urban contemporary is a music radio format. The term was coined by the late New York DJ Frankie Crocker in the mid 1970s. Urban contemporary radio stations feature a playlist made up entirely of hip hop/rap, contemporary R&B, pop, electronica such as dubstep and drum and bass and Caribbean music...
hip-hop fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
he conceived and will direct and choreograph.
Select discography
- I've Never Been In Love Before (Arbors RecordsArbors RecordsArbors Records is an independent American jazz record label based in Clearwater, Florida. It was founded by the family team of Mat and Rachel Domber in 1989, initially devoted to the recordings of their friend Rick Fay.-History:...
) - To Nat "King" Cole With Love (Arbors RecordsArbors RecordsArbors Records is an independent American jazz record label based in Clearwater, Florida. It was founded by the family team of Mat and Rachel Domber in 1989, initially devoted to the recordings of their friend Rick Fay.-History:...
)