Hinton Battle, Original Scarecrow in The Wiz, Dies at 67

Three-time Tony Award winner Hinton Battle has died at the age of 67.

The noted dancer was born in West Germany as part of the Baumholder Army Military Community and was raised in both Washington, D.C., and New York City. Studying ballet from a young age, he received a scholarship to the School of American Ballet, which he attended until the age of 15.

Battle made his Broadway debut as the original Scarecrow in The Wiz, which earned him a Drama Desk Award nomination. His three Tonys came for originating roles in Sophisticated Ladies, The Tap Dance Kid (as Dipsey), and Miss Saigon, where he played John and thrillingly opened the second act with “Bui-Doi.” Additionally, he was a former Billy Flynn in the long-running revival of Chicago, a replacement James Thunder Early in the original Dreamgirls, and Coalhouse Walker Jr. in the Chicago sit down of Ragtime.

On screen, Battle played a demon named Sweet in the musical episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer titled “Once More with Feeling” and Bill “Bojangles” Robinson in the Wonderful World of Disney film Child Star: The Shirley Temple Story. He also choreographed and codirected off-Broadway’s Evil Dead: the Musical.

In addition to his career on stage, he founded the Hinton Battle Dance Academy, which was open 2017-21.