Gregory Hines, the tap dancer, actor and Tony Award winner, died in Los Angeles on August 9, 2003, aged 57. Contemporary obituaries reported cancer as the cause but did not establish a specific type. From a childhood performing with his family to Broadway’s Jelly’s Last Jam and films including White Nights, Hines brought tap to audiences across stage and screen—and helped renew interest in the art form.
Who was Gregory Hines?
Born in New York City on February 14, 1946, Hines grew up in a family of performers. He started dancing as a small child and appeared professionally with his older brother Maurice. At times, their father joined them in the act Hines, Hines and Dad. The brothers made their Broadway debut as children.
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
Tap Dance Made Easy - Level 1 - Basic | $14.95 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
|
Dance Pedagogy | $54.99 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
|
School Dance: (A Graphic Novel) (The Brinkley Yearbooks Book 3) | $8.99 | Buy on Amazon |
| 4 |
|
Dancing for Kids (Baby Ballet / Tot Tap / Junior Jazz) | $15.00 | Buy on Amazon |
| 5 |
|
Bob Rizzo: Tap Dance Classics-Time Steps & Tap Turns with Charles Kelley | $17.99 | Buy on Amazon |
Hines later described dancing as inseparable from his life: “I don’t remember not dancing,” he said in a 2001 Associated Press interview quoted by CBS News.
How did Hines become a Broadway star?
From family act to musical theater
After stepping away from dance for a period, Hines returned to Broadway in Eubie! in 1978. Sophisticated Ladies in 1981 further established his stage profile. He went on to receive five Tony Award nominations, according to The Washington Post.
PC Slower Than It Used to Be?
A free scan shows the junk files, broken settings and background clutter dragging Windows down - then fixes them in one click.Free scan · Windows 10 & 11Crashes, No Sound, or Screen Glitches?
Random freezes, missing sound and display glitches usually trace back to one bad driver. Find and replace yours safely.Free scan · under a minute#1 Best Overall
Jelly’s Last Jam and his Tony win
Hines won the 1992 Tony Award for best actor in a musical for playing jazz pianist and composer Jelly Roll Morton in Jelly’s Last Jam. The award recognized his performance in a musical—not a general acting category.
What were Gregory Hines’s best-known screen roles?
Hines’s film work included The Cotton Club, White Nights and Waiting to Exhale. On television, he voiced Big Bill in the animated series Little Bill. The Washington Post reported that he won a Daytime Emmy in 1999 for that role.
Rank #2
In the 2001 television film Bojangles, Hines played tap legend Bill Robinson. The Los Angeles Times obituary described the role as a labor of love and reported that his performance earned an Emmy nomination.
What was Hines’s influence on tap dance?
Hines was known for improvising choreography and building on a Black tap tradition shaped by earlier masters. The New York Public Library biography describes him as a creator of improvised tap choreography. The Washington Post credited him with helping revive interest in tap among a generation raised on rock and roll and noted that he mentored teenage tap sensation Savion Glover.
What’s actually slowing this PC down?
Pick the symptom - the matching free tool is one click away.
For Hines, tap was not simply one skill among many. “I like to think of myself as an artist entertainer. But deep down inside, I think of myself as a tap dancer,” he told The Washington Post. He also said that when asked for his occupation abroad, he put “tap dancer”—a title he was proud to claim.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How did audiences remember him after his death?
Hines died in Los Angeles on August 9, 2003. Obituaries reported cancer as the cause; the accounts cited here do not specify a cancer type. He was 57.
Rank #4
- Factory sealed DVD
In September 2003, a tribute at Harlem’s Apollo Theater brought performers and film clips together in his honor, including excerpts from White Nights and Bojangles. The event offered a public expression of the connection between his dance, acting and the audiences who had followed both.
Hines once recalled the difficult period when he left tap behind: “Tap had died, and we were doing lounge routines.” His subsequent return to Broadway and his work across film and television became part of a career that introduced tap to new audiences without separating it from the tradition that formed him.
Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsQuick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
