Hinton Battle

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Hinton Battle
Born November 29, 1956 (1956-11-29) (age 51)
Flag of West Germany Neubrücke, Rhineland-Palatinate, West Germany
Occupation Film, stage, television actor, dancer, choreographer
Years active 1975-present

Hinton G. Battle (born 29 November 1956) is an American actor, dancer, and dance teacher. He has won three Tony Awards, all in the category of Featured Actor in a Musical. He was the first to portray the Scarecrow in the stage version of The Wiz in 1975, but Michael Jackson replaced him for the 1978 film.

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

Battle was born in Neubrücke, West Germany (part of the Baumholder Army Military Community) and raised in Washington, D.C. and New York City. His mother was a homemaker and his father a U.S. army officer.[1] Battle's tremendous talent became apparent at the early age of nine. After three years of studying ballet at the Jones & Haywood School of Ballet, he received a scholarship to The School of American Ballet where he studied until the age of fifteen under the legendary George Balanchine. That same year, Hinton made his Broadway debut starring as The Scarecrow in The Wiz.

[edit] Career

He has appeared in fifteen films and television programmes, including Quantum Leap, Dreamgirls, and Touched by an Angel. On Quantum Leap, he played Thames, the evil Observer from the future, in the final installment of the Evil Leaper trilogy of episodes. Battle played the role of the Cat in the first U.S. pilot for Red Dwarf, based on the British show of the same name. Notably, he starred as the demon Sweet in "Once More, with Feeling," Buffy The Vampire Slayer's musical episode in which his spell forces the characters to sing their biggest secrets and fears.

Hinton’s other Broadway staring roles include Dancin', Dreamgirls, Chicago (Billy Flynn) and Ragtime (Coalhouse Walker Jr.), which garnered rave reviews from the Chicago press and earned him an Ira Aldridge Award. His role in The Tap Dance Kid also earned Hinton the NAACP Award and the Fred Astaire Award.

Hinton’s long list of television credits include: Shine, his one man show presented at the HBO Aspen Comedy Arts Festival; The Kennedy Center’s 25th Anniversary; These Old Broads co-starring Shirley MacLaine, Joan Collins, Debbie Reynolds and Elizabeth Taylor; and ABC/Disney’s Child Star: The Shirley Temple Story where Hinton served as choreographer and co-star playing Bill ‘Bojangles’ Robinson.

As choreographer, Hinton’s work has been seen on Buffy The Vampire Slayer: The Musical, These Old Broads, Foreign Student (With Charles Dutton), The Golden Globe Awards, Dance in America; the sitcoms Fired Up, Sister Sister, The Trouble with Normal, and The Boys. Hinton has choreographed promos for Warner Brothers, commercials for Coca-Cola, Chicago The Millie and New York Top Appliances. He served as Associate Choreographer on the 65th and 66th Annual Academy Awards with Debbie Allen.

Off-Broadway Hinton’s talents can be seen in the successful show, Evil Dead: The Musical, where he serves as co-director and choreographer. Having just finished choreographing last season's movie musical Idlewild, this season brings him together with Wynton Marsalis for The Bubby Bolden Story, a feature film about the untold story of the man who created jazz in America. He is currently directing the stage musical Respect, a musical journey of women from the 1900s – 2007. Hinton’s most recent creation, a dance form called Swop that combines swing and hip-hop, was performed on the highly rated Dancing With The Stars in 2006.

[edit] Hinton Battle Theatre Laboratory

Hinton’s accomplishments in theater, along with his countless other opportunities have prepared him to embark upon his new endeavor: founder and artistic director of The Hinton Battle Theatre Laboratory (HBTL), whose purpose is to become the leading not-for-profit organization in the identification, development, and production of thought-provoking original theatrical works that engage audiences that are both economically and ethnically diverse. In partnership with the Harlem Commonwealth Council, HBTL Youth Academy located in Harlem was opened for talented children 8 – 19. The students will receive classes by professional training in dance, drama, and vocal at zero cost to students.

The Hinton Battle Theater Lab sent out a notice in 2007 asking for submissions for the Diverse Voices Playwriting Contest (the “DVPC”). Submissions required a $20 entry fee for the first script, $10 for each additional script. These submission fees were, ostensibly, to offset the rising cost of their program as it continued to grow, receive more submissions, and attract higher caliber industry judges. The winner of this contest was to receive $1,000, and his or her identity revealed on June 1, 2007. The date to announce the winner was changed to September, 2007 without explanation.

As can be seen at www.hbtl.org/dvpc_2.html (last checked by the Guild on January 17, 2008), a winner for the DVPC was supposed to be announced last September. However, no such announcement has been made. Correspondence requesting information on this contest has gone unanswered. Consequently, the Dramatists Guild advises against any involvement with the Hinton Battle DVPC. The Guild also advises submitters to contact a district attorney.[2]


[edit] Awards

Awards
Preceded by
Mandy Patinkin
for Evita		 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical
1981
for Sophisticated Ladies		 Succeeded by
Cleavant Derricks
for Dreamgirls
Preceded by
Charles "Honi" Coles
for My One and Only		 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical
1984
for The Tap Dance Kid		 Succeeded by
Ron Richardson
for Big River
Preceded by
Michael Jeter
for Grand Hotel		 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical
1991
for Miss Saigon		 Succeeded by
Scott Waara
for The Most Happy Fella

[edit] References

  1. ^ Hinton Battle Biography (1956-)
  2. ^ The Dramatists Guild e-Newsletter, January 24, 2008

[edit] External links

Persondata
NAME Battle, Hinton
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION African-American actor, dancer, and choreographer.
DATE OF BIRTH November 29, 1956
PLACE OF BIRTH Neubrücke, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH
Languages