Actor and dancer Gregory Hines has died of cancer according to CNN. More details forthcoming.

A great talent has been lost...but he is in a better place.

i dont see anything on it... lemme re check


found it....

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Tony Award winner Gregory Hines, the tap-dancing actor who starred on Broadway and in movies including "White Nights" and "Running Scared," has died, his publicist said. He was 57.

Hines died Saturday in Los Angeles of cancer, publicist Allen Eichorn said.

The dancer, among the best in his generation, won a 1993 Tony for the musical "Jelly's Last Jam."

Hines became internationally known as part of a jazz tap duo with his brother, Maurice, and the two danced together in the musical revue "Eubie!" in 1978. The brothers later performed together in Broadway's "Sophisticated Ladies" and on film in 1984's "The Cotton Club."

In "The Cotton Club," Hines also had a lead acting role, which led to more work in film. He starred with Mikhail Baryshnikov in 1985's "White Nights" and with Billy Crystal in 1986's "Running Scared," and he appeared with Whitney Houston and Angela Bassett in 1995's "Waiting to Exhale," among other movies.

On television, he had his own sitcom in 1997 called "The Gregory Hines Show," as well as a recurring role on "Will and Grace." This past March, he appeared in the spring television series "Lost at Home."

Gregory Oliver Hines was born on February 14, 1946, in New York City. He has said his mother urged him and his older brother toward tap dancing because she wanted them to have a way out of the ghetto.

When he was a toddler, he said, his brother was already taking tap lessons and would come home and teach him steps. They began performing together when Gregory Hines was five, and they performed at the Apollo for two weeks when he was six.

In 1974 they were cast in the Broadway musical "The Girl in Pink Tights," starring French ballerina Jeanmaire.

"I don't remember not dancing," Hines said in a 2001 interview with The Associated Press. "When I realized I was alive and these were my parents, and I could walk and talk, I could dance."

Paired with his brother Maurice, he was a professional child star. In his teens, joined by their father, Maurice Sr., on drums, they were known as Hines, Hines and Dad.

Later he earned Tony nominations on Broadway in "Eubie," "Comin' Uptown" and "Sophisticated Ladies." He won a Tony for best actor in a musical playing jazz legend "Jelly Roll" Morton in "Jelly's Last Jam."

There was a time, he said, when he didn't want to dance. He was in his mid-20s, "a hippie" in a brief moment of rebellion, he said in 2001.

"I felt that I didn't want to be in show business anymore. I felt that I wanted to be a farmer," he said with a laugh.

Invited to work on a farm in upstate New York, he quickly learned a lesson. Beginning before dawn, "I was milking cows and shoveling terrible stuff and working all day. By the end of the day all I wanted was my tap shoes -- I thought, `What am I doing? I better get back where I belong on the stage where we work at night and can sleep late!"'

Hines had a falling out with his older brother in the late 1960s because the younger was becoming influenced by counter-culture and wanted to perform to rock music and write his songs.

In 1973, the family act disbanded and Hines moved to Venice Beach. "I was going through a lot of changes," Hines told the Washington Post in 1981. "Marriage. We'd just had a child. Divorce. I was finding myself."

He returned to New York in 1978, partly to be near his daughter, Daria, who was living with Hines' first wife, dance therapist Patricia Panella. His brother, with whom he had reconciled, told him about an audition for the Broadway-bound "The Last Minstrel Show." He got the part, but the show opened and closed in Philadelphia.

Hines landed his first film role in the 1981 Mel Brooks comedy "History of the World Part I," in which he played a Roman slave as a last-minute replacement for Richard Pryor.

Hines' has been nominated for a number of Emmy Awards, most recently in 2001 for his lead role in the mini-series "Bojangles." His PBS special "Gregory Hines: Tap Dance in America" was nominated in 1989, and in 1982 he was nominated for

his performance in "I Love Liberty," a variety special saluting America.

He also won a Daytime Emmy Award in 1999 for his work as the voice of "Big Bill" in the Bill Cosby animated TV series "Little Bill" and NAACP Image Awards for "Bojangles" and "Running Scared."
[This message was edited Sun Aug 10 9:41:53 PDT 2003 by Finess]

http://www.cnn.com/2003/S...index.html


im sad now...

OMG I dont BELIEVE THIS...horrible news, I was just watching him on tv the other night, on a rerun of Will and Grace (he played Will's boss)

I just dont know what to say

Oh man, I just got this news. He was a great talent, and may he rest in now.

I'll always remember that role he played in "The Cotton Club". His moves were flawless. It's just a tragedy, man.

i was a big fan of his. i'm in shock because i didn't know he was sick...

WTF?

My mom called and said: "Guess who died?" (Goodness, where could I begin?) I would've never guessed Gregory Hines! Wow! I had no idea he was ill.

R.I.P. Mr. Hines.

R.I.P. Gregory

I was floored to hear this. So young. I loved him in movies, especially in one of my favorites with Billy Crystal, he had this comedic timing that was natural. The kind of guy you could hang with you know.

Loved his dancing, I was always glad to see him keep Tap Dancing alive, I hope his influence will continue in kids.

Thanks Mr. Hines.

I was watching him on Will and Grace the other night too and I was just starting to notice him and want to know more about him.
I know he has a lot of fans in the dance world especially. His memory will live on.
Rest in Peace,
Anna

Yeah, I just saw this on the headline of AOHell. I noticed when I saw him on a recent episode of "Law & Order" he didn't look too good. My prayers go out to his family. R.I.P.

OH MY GOD. This is such a shock. He's the last person I thought would die. I see him all the time on TV (Will & Grace, Waiting To Exhale, cameos, etc.) He was an unforgettable talent. OMG. My condolences. He will be missed.

i loved teh GregoryHinesShow & one night when dad & i stayed in a motel on the way back from sydney this year,i woke up & Bojangles was on cable.
i wanted 2 stay just 2 watch the rest of it but we had 2 get home eventually.

really talented guy,such a shame.

my heart & love goes out 2 his family friends & fans.

ps: cancer can go fuck itself.

another talent gone...

it made me go play the song he did with Luther..

and no-one mentioned (unless I missed it) the lovely film "Tap" with the late great Sammy Davis, this movie also featured a very young Savion Glover, who Gregory Hines acknowled as a great tap talent and who did Bring in The Noise Bring in the Funk on Broadway a few years ago... this was such a fabulous show and not at all the typical Broadway show...
In the movie there were cameos from the great "hoofers" and Gregory Hines did so much to keep this dance form alive which in the early days was very much a part of Jazz...
yes, he will be missed by us all... here's to his spirit and contribution living on...

I am totally shocked and sad. Hines was one of my favorite performers. He was scheduled to come to Detroit and perform a one-man show in October--I just recently told my mom that we should get tickets.

R.I.P. Gregory

Couldn't believe it when I heard - he was so young & incredibly talented...