Broadway icon and Dreamgirls star Hinton Battle dies aged 67

Broadway actor and Dreamgirls star Hinton Battle has passed away at the age of 67. The screen and stage actor who played The Scarecrow in Broadway’s The Wiz died at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre in Los Angeles. According to The Hollywood Reporter, a rep told them that “his family has no plans to disclose his cause of death."

Hinton Battle won three Tonys for his parts in Sophisticated Ladies, The Tap Dance Kid and Miss Saigon and made his Broadway debut in the original production of Broadway’s The Wiz. Hinton also starred in the 2007’s movie musical Dreamgirls and was an NAACP Image Award winner. 

Hinton Battle was only 15 when he started his Broadway stage career in The Wiz and studied at the Jones Haywood School of Ballet in Washington, D.C. and the School of American Ballet in New York City. As well as appearing on stage, Hinton Battle also appeared in film and on TV and he starred in not only Dreamgirls, but also Buffy The Vampire Slayer, These Old Broads, Quantum Leap, Smash and Touched by an Angel. 

In 2017, Hinton Battle launched the professional entertainment academy, Hinton Battle Dance Academy (HBDA), and was chosen for the Microsoft Legacy Project Virtual Museium’s Black History Month 2022 Experience. Hinton Battle was reportedly working on a children’s book and an autobiography. 

Hinton Battle’s Dreamgirls co-star Jennifer Hundson has paid tribute to him on X, formerly known as Twitter. Hinton played the part of Wayne in the Dreamgirls movie alongside both Beyonce and Jennifer Hudson. Jennifer Hudson wrote on X that “We lost two irreplaceable Broadway icons this week. Chita Rivera and Hinton Battle! I’ll always be grateful for their unique artistry and impact and the way our lives intersected! Rest well legends!”