Hinton Battle, Tony-Winning Actor, Dead At 67
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Hinton Battle, the three-time Tony Award winning actor, has died at age 67. His cause of death is unknown.
The tragic news was confirmed by his friend, Debbie Allen, on social media. The famed dancer-actress wrote, “Today I honor Hinton Battle, my dear friend who left us to dance and sing in God’s Ensemble last night. He fought this battle to live and be creative impacting audiences and young people across the globe. Let us always hold him high in our hearts and in our mind’s eye and forever speak his name.”
Battle is best known for his role as Wayne in 2006’s Dreamgirls and as Scarecrow in the original 1975 run of The Wiz on Broadway.
Fans flooded Allen’s comments on Instagram with an outpouring of love and condolences. One wrote, “Devastated. One of the most talented humans ever to inhabit our planet. My deepest condolences to his family and friends.” Another chimed in, writing, “Heartbroken over this news. A legend in our hearts today and always.”
Battle was born in Germany on November 29, 1956. His agency regarded him as one of “Broadway’s most respected musical stars.” He studied at Washington, D.C.’s renowned Jones Haywood School of Ballet and at the School of American Ballet in New York City before launching his career on Broadway as a teenager by originating the role as Scarecrow in The Wiz.
According to Playbill, he went on to win three Tony Awards for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for his roles in Miss Saigon, The Tap Dance Kid, and Sophisticated Ladies. Later, he transitioned into acting, writing, directing, and producing as an adult.
Battle made appearances in Touched By An Angel, Quantum Leap, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Foreign Student, and These Old Broads. Then, Battle and Yoshimoto Kogyo opened the Hinton Battle Dance Academy in Tokyo to help prepare the youth for a career within entertainment.
VIBE sends our deepest condolences to the Battle family during this time.
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