Three-time Tony Award-winner Hinton Battle passed away on Monday night, according to Broadway.com. The cause of death is still unknown, but his death was confirmed on X by actress and friend Debbie Allen. Hinton “left us to dance and sing in God’s Ensemble last night,” Allen wrote. Battle was 67. Battle was only 15 when he was called out of the chorus to perform as the Scarecrow during the promotional tour for The Wiz. “I had no idea what to do, but I knew I could dance,” he told The Hype Magazine in 2014. A gifted dancer, singer, choreographer and actor, Battle won three Tony Awards for Best Featured Actor in a Musical. During his acceptance speech in 1991 for his performance in Miss Saigon, Battle lauded the color-blind casting which had placed him in the role. “I know it works because every night when I go out there and I sing the ‘Bui Doi’ song and I look in the audience and I see tears in the people’s eyes, I know that they’re colorblind as well.” Battle also starred in the beloved musical episode of cult classic Buffy the Vampire Slayer, where everyone on screen, and off, fell under the spell of his gorgeous vocals.
