Hinton Battle

Hinton Battle is an American actor, singer, dancer, and dance instructor. He has won three Tony Awards, all in the category of Featured Actor in a Musical. He was the first to portray the Scarecrow in the stage version of The Wiz .

Battle was born in Neubrcke, Hoppstdten, West Germany, part of the Baumholder Army Military Community, and raised in Washington, D.C. and New York City. His mother was a homemaker and his father a U.S. army officer. Battles talent became apparent at the age of nine. After three years of studying ballet at the JonesHaywood School of Ballet, he received a scholarship to The School of American Ballet where he studied until the age of fifteen under George Balanchine. That same year, Hinton made his Broadway debut starring as the Scarecrow in The Wiz.

Source: Wikipedia