In Memoriam: Multi-talented entertainer Maurice Hines dead at 80

by Brenda C. Siler, The Washington Informer On stage, an exuberant Maurice Hines was irresistible. Hines was a showman to the “ninth degree.” He died on Dec. 29 at the Actors Fund Home, an assisted living facility in Englewood, New Jersey.& Entertaining came to Hines and his brother, the late Gregory Hines, at ages 5 and 3, respectively. With their father, Maurice Sr., the three performed as Hines, Hines, and Dad, making regular appearances on the “Tonight Show with Johnny Carson” and in Las Vegas clubs.& The Hines brothers were multi-talented entertainers throughout their careers together and as solo artists. Many felt they were worthy of wider recognition. There was a memorable pairing of Maurice and Gregory in the Francis Ford Coppola film “Cotton Club,” which closely paralleled their lives away from the public eye. Gregory died in 2003 of cancer. As news of his death circulated, Maurice’s peers and mentees fondly acknowledged his leadership. He was considered a generous taskmaster. “He was a shining light, and someone who I loved dearly. He chose me to do Ella Fitzgerald on stage in a play that was written by Lee Summers,” singer& Freda Payne& said on her Instagram page. “I’ll never...