Today is the 77th birthday of the actor and dancer Gregory Hines. The world is a better place because he was in it and still feels the loss that he has left.
NAME: Gregory Hines
DATE OF BIRTH: 14-Feb-1946
PLACE OF BIRTH: New York City
DATE OF DEATH: 9-Aug-2003
PLACE OF DEATH: Los Angeles, CA
CAUSE OF DEATH: Cancer – Liver
REMAINS: Buried, St. Volodymyr’s Ukrainian Catholic Cemetery, Oakville, Ontario, Canada
FATHER: Maurice Hines, Sr.
MOTHER: Alma
BROTHER: Maurice Hines
WIFE: Patricia Panella (div., one daughter)
DAUGHTER: Daria Hines (b. 1971)
WIFE: Pamela Koslow (m. 1981, div. 2000, two children)
DAUGHTER: Jessica (step-daughter)
SON: Zachary (b. 1983)
BEST KNONW FOR: Gregory Hines began dancing as a child and went on to launch a successful Broadway, television and film career. His notable movies include The Cotton Club and White Nights.
Tap dancer, actor, director, musician. Born February 14, 1946 in New York City. Involved in show business at an early age, Hines grew up as a member of Hines, Hines, and Dad alongside his father and older brothers. He studied dance with master tap dancer Henry Le Tang and spent much of his early career dancing at the Apollo Theater, gleaning knowledge from such fellow performers as the Nicholas Brothers and Sandman Sims.
In 1973, he left Hines, Hines, and Dad to form a jazz-rock group called Severance. But the smooth-as-silk tap dancer soon returned to New York where he launched a distinguished Broadway career that won him a Tony award in 1992 for the headlining role in George C. Wolfe’s musical tribute Jelly’s Last Jam.
In 1981, Hines landed his first film role, as a Roman slave in Mel Brooks’ History of the World-Part 1, as a last-minute replacement for an ailing Richard Pryor. That role proved a stepping stone in Hines’ film career, and he went on to star in a range of movies, including 1984’s The Cotton Club and White Nights opposite Mikhail Baryshnikov the following year. He also exhibited his comedic timing in such films as Renaissance Man in 1994. That same year, he made his directorial debut with Bleeding Hearts.
In 1987, Hines released an album, simply titled Gregory Hines. He also starred in the short-lived CBS sitcom The Gregory Hines Show, in which he played a single father having trouble reentering the dating scene.
Hines has a daughter Daria with his first wife, Patricia Panella. He has a son Zachary and a stepdaughter Jessica with his second wife, Pamela Koslow.
Gregory Hines died of cancer in Los Angeles August 9, 2003 at the age of 57.
TELEVISION
Little Bill Big Bill (2001-04)
Will & Grace Ben Doucette (1999-2000)
The Gregory Hines Show Ben Stevenson (1997-98)
FILMOGRAPHY AS DIRECTOR
The Red Sneakers (10-Feb-2002)
FILMOGRAPHY AS ACTOR
The Red Sneakers (10-Feb-2002) · Zeke
Bojangles (4-Feb-2001)
Once in the Life (27-Oct-2000) · Ruffhouse
Who Killed Atlanta’s Children? (16-Jul-2000)
Things You Can Tell Just by Looking at Her (22-Jan-2000) · Robert
The Tic Code (Feb-1999) · Tyrone
Color of Justice (7-Sep-1997) · Rev. Walton
Subway Stories: Tales From the Underground (17-Aug-1997)
The Cherokee Kid (14-Dec-1996)
The Preacher’s Wife (13-Dec-1996) · Joe Hamilton
Mad Dog Time (8-Nov-1996)
Good Luck (7-Nov-1996)
Waiting to Exhale (22-Dec-1995) · Marvin
A Stranger in Town (29-Mar-1995) · Barnes
Dead Air (6-Oct-1994)
Baseball (18-Sep-1994) · Himself
Renaissance Man (3-Jun-1994)
White Lie (25-Sep-1991)
A Rage in Harlem (3-May-1991) · Goldy
Eve of Destruction (18-Jan-1991)
Tap (10-Feb-1989)
Off Limits (11-Mar-1988)
Running Scared (27-Jun-1986) · Ray Hughes
White Nights (22-Nov-1985)
The Cotton Club (14-Dec-1984) · Sandman Williams
The Muppets Take Manhattan (13-Jul-1984) · Cameo Guest Star
Deal of the Century (4-Nov-1983) · Ray Kasternak
Wolfen (24-Jul-1981) · Whittington
History of the World: Part I (12-Jun-1981)
Waldina 
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