Hinton Battle (born November , ) is an American actor, singer, dancer,
and dance instructor. 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 (a role assumed by
Michael Jackson in the film adaptation).Battle was born in
Neubrücke, Hoppstädten, 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.
Battle's talent became apparent at the 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 George Balanchine. On October , the new
musical The Wiz opened at the Morris A. Mechanic Theatre in Baltimore,
Maryland and then moved to Broadway's Majestic Theatre with a new cast
on January , . This is where Hinton made his Broadway debut starring
as the Scarecrow.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 science-fiction sitcom Red Dwarf, based on the British show of the
same name. Notably, he guest starred as Sweet the jazz demon, 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.
and dance instructor. 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 (a role assumed by
Michael Jackson in the film adaptation).Battle was born in
Neubrücke, Hoppstädten, 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.
Battle's talent became apparent at the 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 George Balanchine. On October , the new
musical The Wiz opened at the Morris A. Mechanic Theatre in Baltimore,
Maryland and then moved to Broadway's Majestic Theatre with a new cast
on January , . This is where Hinton made his Broadway debut starring
as the Scarecrow.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 science-fiction sitcom Red Dwarf, based on the British show of the
same name. Notably, he guest starred as Sweet the jazz demon, 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.
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