Maurice Hines, a charming, gay African-American entertainer navigates the complications of show business while grieving the loss of his more famous, often estranged younger brother, tap dance legend Gregory Hines.
The history of tap is an ever-evolving panorama of inclusion, adversity, and reinvention. This in-depth documentary is an absorbing narrative about a quintessentially American dance form—from its origins, to the historic and cultural events that shaped it, to its present day rebirth as a vibrant art form.
In a triumphant career that lasted forty years Erroll Garner pushed the playability of the piano to its limits, developed an international reputation, and made an indelible mark on the jazz world. And yet, his story has never been told. Until now. The film explores Erroll's childhood in Pittsburgh; his meteoric rise in popularity while playing on 52nd street, New York's famed jazz epicenter; the origins of his most famous album (Concert By The Sea) and his most famous composition (Misty); his singular, virtuosic piano style; and his dynamic personality, both on and off the stage.
Yvette Marcel (Melissa Anderson) asks her godfather Control and McCall for help dealing with her irrational father, who is intent on locating Manon, the mother she believed had been killed years before.
This special is the second "Night of 100 Stars" to benefit The Actors Fund of America. Edited from a seven-hour live entertainment marathon that was taped February 17, 1985, at New York's Radio City Music Hall, this sequel to the 1982 "Night of 100 Stars" special features 288 celebrities.
Eubie! began life as a Broadway musical, celebrating the life and work of legendary black entertainer/composer Eubie Blake. This taped version was specially prepared for cable TV in 1981, then released on videocassette a few years later. Gregory and Maurice Hines head the exuberant, toe-tapping cast. Among the highlights are such Blake standards as "I'm Just Wild About Harry". The race issue is brought into play every once in a while, but never in such an omnipresent fashion as to dampen the spirits of this sparkling example of Broadway at its best.
