Broadway Icon Hinton Battle Dead at 67

Hinton Battle, a multiple Tony award winner who played The Scarecrow in Broadway's "The Wiz," has died at age 67.

The stage and screen actor died Tuesday at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles after an undisclosed lengthy illness, the Independent reported.

Battle was trained as a ballet dancer and made his Broadway debut at age 18 in the original production of "The Wiz" in January 1975.

Originally trying out for a chorus position, he stepped into the role of Stu Gilliam, who fell ill during a pre-Broadway tryout.

"All these people were screaming at me: 'Hold your head up! Let me get this eyelash on here!'" Battle recalled his first performance as The Scarecrow in a 1981 interview, according to the Independent.

In the end, Battle successfully completed the performance with assistance from Stephanie Mills, who portrayed Dorothy and, as Battle described it, was "pulling me by the straw."

Battle also famously starred alongside Jennifer Hudson in 2007's "Dreamgirls," portraying Wayne, a salesman at Curtis' Cadillac dealership who becomes Rainbow Records' first producer. His accolades include three Tony awards for featured actor in a musical, for "Sophisticated Ladies" (1981), "The Tap Dance Kid" (1984), and "Miss Saigon" (1991). Battle further received SAG and Critics Choice nominations for his work in "Dreamgirls."

Hudson paid tribute to her costar, as well as Chita Rivera, another Broadway star who also died this week, on X, formerly Twitter.

"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!" she wrote.

Mills also remembered Battle on social media.

"My Dear Scarecrow, Mr Hinton Battle, words cannot express how I feel," she wrote on X. "You've joined the heavenly cast. I will miss you forever. I loved you then, now, and forever. Rest babe, job well done. Until we meet again."