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CNN Live At Daybreak

Gregory Hines Has Died

Aired August 11, 2003 - 06:24   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Gregory Hines has died. He could do it all. He could tap dance and make you want to watch, even though tap dancing is kind of old-fashioned. And who could forget the movie "Running Scared" with Billy Crystal?
More memories now from CNN's Fredricka Whitfield.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): He was born on Valentine's Day in 1946 and Gregory Hines danced his way into the hearts of millions. He was an actor and musician, but most remembered for his fancy footwork. Hines won a 1992 Tony award for the Broadway musical "Jelly's Last Jam" and a year later he worked with another legend, Ben Vereen.

GREGORY HINES: I am exhausted. He exhausted me. He whipped me and threw me and shook me.

WHITFIELD: Born and raised in New York City, he said his mother urged him and his brother to learn to dance as a way to escape the ghetto. They danced together as children, appeared in musical acts with their father. A trio known as Hines, Hines & Dad, brothers Hines first came to international attention in 1978 in the musical revue "Eubie!" They went on to other shows on the Great White Way, working together in "Sophisticated Ladies" and "Comin' Uptown," and together, again, in the 1984 film "The Cotton Club."

On his own, he starred in "The Gregory Hines Show," a comedy which ran on CBS in 1997 and '98. Later, he'd appear on the NBC drama "Law and Order" and most recently made us laugh on NBC's hit sitcom, "Will and Grace."

During his entertainment career, Hines directed two films and produced another. He credited his success, in part, to the civil rights leadership of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

HINES: Every day in America I feel the effects of Dr. King's work and I find that things and aspects of life that were, when I was a child, were sometimes humorous at the notion that black people could achieve these things are very real today.

WHITFIELD: His dancing made him a legend, once sharing the spotlight with another famed dancer, Mikhail Baryshnikov, in the 1985 film "White Nights." Hines, once reflecting on his life, said, "I don't ever remember not dancing."

Gregory Hines dead at 57.

Fredricka Whitfield, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired August 11, 2003 - 06:24   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Gregory Hines has died. He could do it all. He could tap dance and make you want to watch, even though tap dancing is kind of old-fashioned. And who could forget the movie "Running Scared" with Billy Crystal?
More memories now from CNN's Fredricka Whitfield.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): He was born on Valentine's Day in 1946 and Gregory Hines danced his way into the hearts of millions. He was an actor and musician, but most remembered for his fancy footwork. Hines won a 1992 Tony award for the Broadway musical "Jelly's Last Jam" and a year later he worked with another legend, Ben Vereen.

GREGORY HINES: I am exhausted. He exhausted me. He whipped me and threw me and shook me.

WHITFIELD: Born and raised in New York City, he said his mother urged him and his brother to learn to dance as a way to escape the ghetto. They danced together as children, appeared in musical acts with their father. A trio known as Hines, Hines & Dad, brothers Hines first came to international attention in 1978 in the musical revue "Eubie!" They went on to other shows on the Great White Way, working together in "Sophisticated Ladies" and "Comin' Uptown," and together, again, in the 1984 film "The Cotton Club."

On his own, he starred in "The Gregory Hines Show," a comedy which ran on CBS in 1997 and '98. Later, he'd appear on the NBC drama "Law and Order" and most recently made us laugh on NBC's hit sitcom, "Will and Grace."

During his entertainment career, Hines directed two films and produced another. He credited his success, in part, to the civil rights leadership of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

HINES: Every day in America I feel the effects of Dr. King's work and I find that things and aspects of life that were, when I was a child, were sometimes humorous at the notion that black people could achieve these things are very real today.

WHITFIELD: His dancing made him a legend, once sharing the spotlight with another famed dancer, Mikhail Baryshnikov, in the 1985 film "White Nights." Hines, once reflecting on his life, said, "I don't ever remember not dancing."

Gregory Hines dead at 57.

Fredricka Whitfield, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com