Hinton Battle, Three-Time Tony Award Winner, Dead At 67
Broadway sensation Hinton Battle, who played the Scarecrow in Broadway's 'The Wiz', died on Jan. 30 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles following a lengthy illness.
He was 67.
Battle began acting at a very young age, starting in elementary school with a role in 'The Nutcracker.' He fell in love with dance soon after, studying at the noteworthy Jones Haywood School of Ballet in Washington, D.C. and graduating from the School of American Ballet in New York City.
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He unexpectedly landed the role of the Scarecrow in Broadway's original production of 'The Wiz' at 15, when one of the leads left abruptly during intermission and he was pulled out of the chorus and casted as 'Scarecrow' for the 2nd act.
"I had no idea what to do, but I knew I could dance," he explained to The Hype Magazine in 2014.
"Stephanie Mills, who was playing 'Dorothy', said to me, 'When I pull your straw, that's when you have a line.' So every time Stephanie would pull my straw, I would jump in the air, do a split and a Pirouette turn, and say whatever came out of my mouth," he recalled. "Being that I was the Scarecrow who had no brain, it worked and the crowd loved it. The next day, the director called me and offered the role full-time, and the rest is history."
The dazzling performer would go on to win three Tony Awards — all in the category of Featured Actor in a Musical — for 'Sophisticated Ladies' (1981), 'The Tap Dance Kid' (1984) and 'Miss Saigon' (1991).
Ironically, Battle was primarily known as a tap dancer but didn't learn to tap until his role as 'The Tap Dance Kid'.
Battle's talents would eventually bring him to crossover to film and TV, appearing in 'Dreamgirls' (2006), 'Quantum Leap' (1989), and 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' (1997).
Beyond the stage and big screen, he also achieved success in choreography including 65th and 66th Academy Awards, the Outcast musical drama 'Idlewild,' and 'Child Star: The Shirley Temple Story'.
Friend and fellow award-winning performer, Debbie Allen wrote a heartfelt post on Instagram.
"He fought this battle to live and be creative impacting audiences and young people across the globe," Allen, 74, wrote. "Let us always hold him high in our hearts and in our mind's eye and forever speak his name."
