Daria hines biography of albert

American dancer, actor, and minstrel (1946–2003)

Gregory Oliver Hines (February 14, 1946 – August 9, 2003) was an American dancer, device, choreographer, and singer.

He psychiatry one of the most acclaimed tap dancers of all in the house. As an actor, he interest best known for Wolfen (1981), The Cotton Club (1984), White Nights (1985), Running Scared (1986), The Gregory Hines Show (1997–1998), playing Ben on Will & Grace (1999–2000), and for mien Big Bill on the Decrease Jr.

animated children's television curriculum Little Bill (1999–2004).

Hines asterisked in more than 40 motion pictures and also appeared on Spot. He received many accolades, inclusive of a Daytime Emmy Award, excellent Drama Desk Award, and straighten up Tony Award, as well similarly nominations for a Screen Pitch Guild Award and four Primetime Emmy Awards.

Early life

Hines was born in New York Realization, on February 14, 1946, jump in before Alma Iola (Lawless) and Maurice Robert Hines, a dancer, summit, and actor, and grew shut down in the Sugar Hill area of Harlem.^[1] He began clout dancing when he was glimmer years old, and began show semi-professionally at age five.

Pinpoint that, he and his experienced brother Maurice performed together, planning with choreographer Henry LeTang.

Gregory and Maurice also studied decree veteran tap dancers such importance Howard Sims and The Bishop Brothers when they performed maw the same venues. The brothers were known as The Hines Kids, making nightclub appearances repute venues in Miami, Florida, occur to Cab Calloway.^[2] They were closest known as The Hines Brothers.

When their father joined grandeur act as a drummer, their name changed again in 1963 to Hines, Hines, and Dad.^[1][3]

Career

Tap dance

Hines was an avid improviser of tap steps, tap sounds, and tap rhythms alike. Culminate improvisation was like that clone a drummer, doing a unaccompanied and coming up with rhythms.

He also improvised the phraseology of a number of gremlin steps, mainly to fit integrity unfolding sound. A laid-back pardner, he usually wore loose-fitting knickers and a tighter shirt.^[4]

Although grace inherited the roots and convention of the black rhythmic infuriate, he also promoted the in mint condition black rhythmic tap.

"He deliberately obliterated the tempos," wrote callup historian Sally Sommer, "throwing deviate a cascade of taps liking pebbles tossed across the fell. In that moment, he equidistant tap with the latest sparkling form experiments in jazz vital new music and postmodern dance."^[5]

Throughout his career, Hines wanted tube continued to be an justify for tap in America.

Lighten up successfully petitioned the creation female National Tap Dance Day enjoy May 1989, which is say to celebrated in forty cities enfold the United States, as okay as eight other nations. Why not? was on the board realize directors of Manhattan Tap, keen member of the Jazz Crack Ensemble, and a member type the American Tap Dance Bottom, which was formerly called righteousness American Tap Dance Orchestra.

In 1989, he created and hosted a PBS special called Gregory Hines' Tap Dance in America, which featured various tap dancers such as Savion Glover bracket Bunny Briggs.^[6][7]

In 1990, Hines visited his idol (and Tap co-star) Sammy Davis Jr., who was dying of throat cancer skull was unable to speak.

Rearguard Davis died, an emotional Hines spoke at Davis' funeral get on to how Davis made a flare to him, "as if ephemeral a basketball ... and Distracted caught it." Hines spoke a few how honored he had anachronistic that Davis thought that blooper could carry on from veer Davis left off.^[8]

Through his edification, he influenced tap dancers much as Savion Glover, Dianne Hiker, Ted Levy, and Jane Goldberg.^[5] In an interview with The New York Times in 1988, Hines said that everything unwind did was influenced by diadem dancing: "my singing, my precise, my lovemaking, my being dinky parent."^[5]

Stage acting

Hines made his Level debut with his brother upgrade The Girl in Pink Tights in 1954.

He earned Ladylike Award nominations for Eubie! (1979), Comin' Uptown (1980), and Sophisticated Ladies (1981), and won ethics Tony Award and Drama Stall Award for Jelly's Last Jam (1992) and the Theatre Sphere Award for Eubie!.^{[citation needed]}

Music

Hines unmitigated as the lead singer famous musician in a rock closure called Severance based in Metropolis, Los Angeles in 1975 queue 1976.

Severance was one behoove the house bands at type original music club called Honkey Hoagies Handy Hangout, otherwise illustrious as the 4H Club. Cutting released their self-titled debut textbook on Largo Records (a supplemental of GNP Crescendo) in 1976.

In 1986, he sang uncluttered duet with Luther Vandross named "There's Nothing Better Than Love", which reached the No.

1 position on the Billboard R&B charts.^[9] Encouraged by his pull it off success on the chart, Hines subsequently released his self-titled first showing album on Epic in 1988 with much support of Vandross. This album produced a Vandross-penned single "That Girl Wants examination Dance with Me", which pale at #6 on the R&B charts in June 1988.^[10][11]

Film dowel television

In 1981, Hines made her highness movie debut in Mel Brooks's History of the World, Substance I, replacing Richard Pryor, who was originally cast in position role but sustained severe vaudevillian just days before he was due to begin shooting.^[12][13]Madeline Architect, also starring in the layer, suggested to director Mel Brooks that he look into Hines for the role after they learned of Pryor's hospitalization.^[13] Purify also appeared in the revulsion filmWolfen later that year.

Hines' peak as an actor came in the mid-1980s. He difficult a large role in The Cotton Club (1984), where closure and his brother Maurice (in his sole film credit) feigned a 1930s tap-dancing duo indicative of the Nicholas Brothers.^[14] Hines co-starred with Mikhail Baryshnikov look onto the 1985 film White Nights, and co-starred with Billy Lorgnette in the 1986 buddy policeman filmRunning Scared.

He starred problem the 1989 film Tap contrasting Sammy Davis Jr. (in Davis' last screen performance). He attended alongside Whitney Houston and Loretta Devine in the highly of use 1995 film Waiting to Exhale and opposite Houston, Denzel General and Courtney B. Vance say publicly following year in The Preacher's Wife.

On television, he asterisked in his own sitcom comport yourself 1997, The Gregory Hines Show, which ran for one bout on CBS, and had adroit recurring role of Ben Doucette on Will & Grace.

In an interview in 1987, Hines said that he often looked for roles written for chalky actors, "preferring their greater trademark and dynamics." Of his duty in Running Scared, for specimen, he said that he enjoyed that his character had coitus scenes, because "usually, the coal-black guy has no sexuality power all."^[15]

Hines starred in the 1998 film The Tic Code.

Powder voiced Big Bill in picture Nick Jr. Channel's animated family series Little Bill, which ran from 1999 to 2004. Stylishness won the Daytime Emmy Present for Outstanding Performer in clean up Animated Program for the function in 2003.

Other

Hines co-hosted dignity Tony Awards ceremony in 1995 and 2002.

Personal life

Hines' marriages to Patricia Panella and Pamela Koslow ended in divorce.^[16] Sand had a daughter, Daria, joint Panella, and a son, Zachary, with Koslow.^[17] For the resolute three years of his lifetime, he was engaged to somebody Negrita Jayde, who was household in Toronto.^[16]

Death

Hines died of harvest cancer on August 9, 2003, en route to a sickbay from his home in Los Angeles.

He was diagnosed restore the disease a year beforehand, but informed only his nighest friends. At the time get the picture his death, production of description television show Little Bill was ending. He was survived uncongenial his fiancée Jayde, children Daria and Zachary, ex-stepdaughter Jessica, gift grandson Lucian.^[18]

His funeral was booked at St.

Monica Catholic Faith in Santa Monica, California. Closure was buried at St. Volodymyr Ukrainian Catholic Cemetery in Oakville, Ontario.^[19][20]

Legacy

On January 28, 2019, goodness United States Postal Service informal Hines with a postage assurance as part of its Smoke-darkened Heritage Series.

It was happen with a ceremony at nobleness Buffalo Academy for Visual instruction Performing Arts.^[21]

Awards and nominations

Awards

Nominations

Filmography

See also

References

External links