Remembering Gregory Hines

On this last day of Black History Month 2022, I want to remember one of my favorite entertainers from childhood who left us far too early: tap dancer, singer, and actor Gregory Hines.

Born in NYC in 1946, he grew up in the Sugar Hill area of Harlem and, as early as two years old, demonstrated his great abilities to dance and light up a stage. A child performer, he made his Broadway debut in 1954 and continued to perform on stage, earning Tony nominations in the 1970s and 80s before winning one in 1992 for Jelly's Last Jam. He was a life-longer performer and teacher of tap dancing, influencing a generation of tap dancers including the great Savion Glover.

Hine's singing and acting career were equally impressive. He fronted a band in LA in the 1970s called Severance. In the 1980s he dueted with Luther Vandross for the song "There's Nothing Better Than Love" that reached #1 on the Billboard charts. And he starred in movies including History of the World Part I, Wolfen, White Nights (dancing up a storm with Mikhail Baryshnikov), and even did a buddy cop movie with Billy Crystal called Runnin' Scared. He also appeared many times on the show Will & Grace and won a voiceover Emmy for a Nick Jr show called Little Bill in 2003 -- the year that he died from liver cancer, aged 57.

Gregory Hines was a blazing talent, a true multi-hyphenate performer, a proud New Yorker, and his passing remains a true loss to the culture of this city and country.