| Gregory Hines | ||
|---|---|---|
| Character Defense Attorney Carl Halpert | ||
| Date of birth February 14, 1946 | ||
| Place of birth New York City, New York | ||
| Date of death August 9, 2003 | ||
| Place of death Los Angeles, California | ||
| IMDb profile |
Gregory Hines (February 14, 1946–August 9, 2003) was an American actor who played Defense Attorney Carl Halpert in the Law & Order season 13 episode "Suicide Box".
Hines is regarded as one of the greatest tap dancers of all-time. He and his older brother Maurice began performing together as children with their father, who was also a celebrated tap dancer. Hines eventually made his way to Broadway, where he would receive five Tony Award nominations. He won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for Jelly's Last Jam in 1992.
Hines also starred in more than 40 movies including The Cotton Club (featuring Novella Nelson), Running Scared (featuing Dan Hedaya), A Rage in Harlem (featuring Wendell Pierce and Zakes Mokae), and Waiting to Exhale (featuring Michael Beach and Jeffrey D. Sams). He later starred in The Gregory Hines Show (with Wendell Pierce) as Ben Stevenson, a widower who was raising a 12-year-old son, and had a recurring role on Will & Grace as Ben Doucette. In his final role, Hines provided the voice of Big Bill Glover on the animated series Little Bill. He won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program just three months before his death.
Jesse L. Martin, who portrayed Detective Ed Green, was a tap dancer himself as a child and considered Hines one of his heroes. He said Hines broke out his tap shoes and danced for the the cast and crew in-between takes in a promo for Ion Television. In an Apocrypha Interview with Kitteridge, Martin described himself being " ..just blown away. I couldn't even believe he was there. That was one of my favorite times ever."
Hines died on August 9, 2003 at the age of 57 in Los Angeles, California.