Gregory Hines Thankful To Cbs For His Opportunity
“Hines” rhymes with “whines,” but you won’t hear anything of the sort from him.
While others play the blame game, Gregory Hines squares his shoulders and exudes gratitude. Others have said that his fine, family-friendly sitcom, “The Gregory Hines Show” (CBS tonight at 9), is much smarter than its Friday-night neighbors.
Hines admits he’d like to follow “Cosby” on CBS’ tonier Monday night schedule. But it wouldn’t be fair to displace the increasingly popular “Everybody Loves Raymond,” he says. So Hines will continue to grin and bear Fridays with an uncommon grace. After all, “Raymond” started there.
“I am one of those very fortunate individuals,” he says in a telephone interview. “I was raised in a warm, nuclear-family environment. I am a hopeful man. I concentrate on the positive. Ever since they announced this show, there has been plenty of negativity thrown at me. You know, ‘Aren’t you angry to be on Friday night?’ I found nothing to be angry about and still don’t,” Hines says.
“I am grateful to CBS for giving me the opportunity. I’ve tried to keep my end of the bargain, and they’ve tried to keep theirs.”
He adds: “The only thing that bothers me is I feel we’re doing really great episodes, and not enough people are watching,” Hines says. “On the other hand, the people that are watching are extremely passionate about the show. Those are the things that fuel me.”
“Gregory Hines” is returning after the Olympic layoff with a special episode that will showcase the star’s considerable dancing skills.
“Right from the start, the questions came up about whether I was going to dance on the show. Our intention was always to have an episode with some tap dancing. And we always knew it was going to be a dream sequence.”
Hines’ character, publishing-house executive Ben Stevenson, will get happy feet during the course of an anxiety attack. As a widower with a 12-year-old son, Matty (Brandon Hammond), he agonizes over taking his first vacation without his deceased wife. The dancers in his recurring dreams represent the fun he’s not having.
When he finally joins in, the rest of the cast does, too.
xxxx Program time “The Gregory Hines Show” appears on CBS tonight at 9.