Maurice Hines Has Passed Away at 80

BroadwayWorld is saddened to report that tap icon Maurice Hines has passed away at 80. Hines died Friday, December 29th, 2023, of natural causes at the Actors Fund Home in Englewood, New Jersey, his cousin and rep Richard Nurse confirmed to the Hollywood Reporter. Hines had been living at the home for a few years.

Hines began working when he was five years old. He made his Broadway debut in The Girl in the Pink Tights in 1954, and went on to appear in Eubie!, Sophisticated Ladies, Bring Back Birdie, and Uptown…It’s Hot! (Tony Nomination). Other major credits include Nathan Detroit in a 2001 tour of Guys and Dolls alongside Debbie Allen, Leslie Uggams, and Richard Roundtree, and Captain Jonas in Encores! House of Flowers in 2003.

Watch Debbie Allen discuss working with Hines in the tribute below:

In 2016, Hines appeared off-Broadway and around the country in Maurice Hines: Tapping Through Life, in which he shared funny and heartbreaking experiences about his life with Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Duke Ellington, Lena Horne, Judy Garland and many others. The show was a tribute to his loving family, both on stage and off.

"I have had an absolute ball bringing Maurice Hines Tappin' Thru Life to New York," said Maurice Hines in 2016. "Since my brother and mother made their transition, I have been lonely but keeping them alive every night has been one of the greatest joys of my life. I am truly appreciative for all of the love and support I receive nightly from audiences."

Hines was the older brother of Gregory Hines, who passed away in 2003. They starred together in Francis Ford Coppola's The Cotton Club.

Watch the brothers tap together in a scene here:

Maurice Hines: Bring Them Back, a 2019 documentary film about the tap legend, is available to view here.

Hines brought Tappin' Through Life back to NYC at 54 Below in 2019. Watch a preview of the performance here: