Biography
Maurice Hines demonstrated mastery across dance, acting, choreography, direction, and vocal performance, applying those abilities across Broadway productions and motion pictures alike. At the age of five he joined his younger brother, the late Gregory Hines, to form a dance duo that opened for legendary entertainers such as Lionel Hampton. Their father later joined the act for multiple television appearances, among them repeated bookings on The Tonight Show. A starring turn as Nathan Detroit in a touring company of Guys and Dolls during the late 1970s secured Hines subsequent Broadway roles in the musicals Eubie! and Sophisticated Ladies. That visibility attracted director Francis Ford Coppola, who cast both Maurice and Gregory in the 1984 period gangster drama The Cotton Club. In 1986 Hines wrote, choreographed, and performed the lead in the musical Uptown...It's Hot!, earning a Tony Award nomination for Best Actor in a Musical. Thereafter he supplied choreography and direction for numerous stage productions and music videos. Recognized as a jazz vocalist of note, Hines issued his debut solo album, I've Never Been in Love Before, on the Arbors label in 2001 and followed it with To Nat King Cole with Love in 2006. Maurice Hines died on December 29, 2023, at the age of 80.