Maurice Hines, who tap danced with brother in ‘The Cotton Club,’ dead at 80

Actor Maurice Hines, a tap dancer and choreographer who showcased his skills alongside his late younger brother Gregory in “The Cotton Club,” died Friday. He was 80.

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The Tony Award nominee died of natural causes at the Actors Fund Home in Englewood, New Jersey, his cousin and representative, Richard Nurse, told The Hollywood Reporter.

Born on Dec. 13, 1943, in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City, Maurice Hines began studying tap dancing when he was 5, according to Billboard. He made his Broadway debut in “The Girl in Pink Tights” in 1954, Variety reported. With his father, Maurice Hines Sr., and younger brother, who died in 2003, Maurice Hines created an act modeled after the Nicholas Brothers, calling it Hines, Hines & Dad, according to the entertainment news website.

Maurice Hines, Tap Dancer Extraordinaire, Dies at 80 https://t.co/fcZ9BRJX9Q
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) December 30, 2023

The family performed together on “The Ed Sullivan Show” in 1963, People reported.

Maurice Hines received a Tony Award nomination in 1986 for best actor in a musical for “Uptown … It’s Hot” and starred in the 2006 Broadway production of “Hot Feet,” according to The Hollywood Reporter. He conceived, directed and choreographed both shows.

While a marquee actor on Broadway and on tour, Maurice Hines’ only feature film role came in Francis Ford Coppola’s 1984 musical, “The Cotton Club,” Variety reported. He and his brother, Gregory Hines, played the tap-dancing Williams Brothers in the film.

Maurice and Gregory Hines had a falling out and did not speak for a decade, Billboard reported.

In the 2019 documentary “Maurice Hines: Bring Them Back,” Maurice Hines refused to say why the brothers had a falling out.

“He provides no explanation in the film, but instead takes every opportunity to praise Gregory and say how much he loved him,” The Hollywood Reporter noted in a review of the film.

In 2013, Maurice Hines toured in a tribute show to his brother, called Tappin’ Thru Life.

His friend, actress and former dancer Debbie Allen, paid tribute to him in an Instagram post on Friday.

“Maurice Hines, I was your first leading lady in a show, ‘Guys and Dolls,’ and I will always treasure our journey together,” Allen wrote. “My tears are for my inability to speak with you or to hold you. I will ALWAYS SPEAK YOUR NAME. See you on the other side.”