Was gregory hines gay
An intimate portrait of an overlooked elder song-and-dance man, who with humor and grace battles the challenges of entertainment business and a complex relationship with a superstar brother.
"Digs much deeper than your usual showbiz doc"
- The Hollywood Reporter
"You can't support but laugh, tear and cheer"
- The Georgia Voice
"Mesmerizing and high energy"
- The Austin Chronicle
"A portrait of a sassy, charming, and brutally honest trailblazer"
- Icon TV | NewNowNext
"I love this documentary, it’s literally something I can survey over and over again."
- Irish Movie Critic
EXCERPT: Don’t Ignore God’s Gifts
EXCERPT: The Hines Bros – Spirit Brothers
Something Extra!: SYLVIA’S w/Jenifer Lewis
Maurice Hines: Bring Them Back is a portrait of the charismatic song-and-dance guy from his tap-dancing childhood to today. Maurice and friends—Chita Rivera, Mercedes Ellington and Debbie Allen—tell tales from his seven-decade career, including Broadway shows, a co-starring role in Francis Ford Coppola’s The Cotton Club and about his loving yet complex relationship with his superstar bro
Howard Alumna and Husband Create Documentary on Maurice Hines
In Maurice Hines, celebrated dancer, singer, actor and choreographer, Tracy E. Hopkins (BA ’92) saw a subject with a compelling story who deserved greater recognition and more widespread familiarity.
“Honoring Black elders is really vital to me,” Hopkins says. “I’m happy we were competent to give Maurice his flowers with this film.”
Maurice Hines rose to stardom alongside his younger brother, Gregory Hines. As children in the 1950s, the brothers formed a trio along with their father, famous as Hines, Hines and Dad. Specializing in tap sway, the family outfit performed on television and traveled the world, captivating audiences with their anthem and dance routines.
Hopkins spent her career writing and reporting on arts and entertainment, but had never done a documentary. When the opportunity arose to work with her husband, John Carluccio, on the documentary “Maurice Hines: Bring Them Back” about multidimensional talent Maurice Hines, Hopkins didn’t back down from the doubt of doing something she had never done before.
“I have this background in arts and entertainment journalism, interviewing performing artists
The True King of Tap
BY DAVID NOH| There was no show more entertaining than “Tappin’ Thru Life,” starring the phenomenal triple threat talent Maurice Hines, who, at 72, just blew me away with his inexhaustible energy, showmanship, and elegance (in some fabulous Armani). Backed by the wonderful all-girl Diva Jazz Orchestra and featuring three dazzling, gorgeous, and excruciatingly young tap dancers, the Manzari Brothers and Luke Spring, it was a musical journey through his incredible life, from the beginnings at the Apollo Theater, where he and his brother, the late Gregory Hines, tap danced their way into the hearts of Harlem and big-time TV and Las Vegas audiences.
I’ve always loved this warm and winning man, running into him often back in the night at the Christopher Street subway stop, and was so looking forward to our interview. The day before it happened, his show’s closing that Sunday was announced, but always the trouper, he decided to carry on, regardless, and we had a delish dish sesh in his dressing room before his Friday night show.
When celebrated tap dancer and choreographer Maurice Hines (elder brother and onetime stage partner of Gregory Hines) died at 80 slow last year, the truth that he was openly gay didn’t factor heavily into the obituaries. But in his 2019 documentary, Maurice Hines: Bring Them Back, he explored his experiences being both Dark and gay in reveal business.
“Never let anybody or anything define who you are. You define who you are,” Hines said, adding. “I feel very free being gay, although I don’t like to label anything. I’m Maurice. I just happen to be gay, and loving it!”
Can You Hear Us Now? The Queer Tap Dance Revolution
6/20-6/23: Thu-Fri 7 PM, Sat-Sun 2 PM; ASL interpretation Thu; Edge Theater, 5451 N. Broadway, 773-769-9112, chicagotaptheatre.com, $35-$75
Molly Smith of Chicago Tap Theatre (CTT) wants to distribute that same celebratory soul with the company’s Can You Hear Us Now? The Queer Tap Boogie Revolution, opening tonight and running through the weekend at the Edge Theater. The evening-length concert features pieces that focus on the history of Homosexual artists in tap and jazz, offering “a celebration of queer culture and history and an former partner