George Hearn
Encyclopedia
George Hearn is an American
actor and singer, primarily in Broadway
musical theatre
.
, Hearn studied philosophy at Southwestern at Memphis, now Rhodes College
before he embarked on a career in the theater, training for the stage with actress turned acting coach Irene Dailey
. Most of Hearn's early performances were in traditional productions at the New York Shakespeare Festival
and theaters at Lincoln Center.
with Biff McGuire
and Jeannie Carson
, standing by for McGuire, who played King Arthur
. He first garnered a notice as John Dickinson
in the acclaimed 1969 musical 1776
and as Liv Ullmann
's leading man in the musical version of I Remember Mama
(1979).
On March 4, 1980 he replaced Len Cariou
in the title role of Stephen Sondheim
's Sweeney Todd
opposite Dorothy Loudon
. Later in 1980 Hearn and the show's original star, Angela Lansbury
, headed the show's touring company, then reprised their roles for a Showtime production of the musical, which won him an Emmy Award
for his portrayal.
In 1984 Hearn created the role of Albin in the original Broadway and West End productions of La Cage Aux Folles
written by Harvey Fierstein
and Jerry Herman
. Hearn originated the gay anthem "I Am What I Am
". He won the Tony Award
, Drama Desk Award
and Outer Critics' Circle Award for Best Actor in a Musical in 1984 for his portrayal of Albin.
In 1985, Hearn starred as Long John Silver
in an Edmonton
production of Pieces of Eight, a musical adaptation of Treasure Island
. Despite its credentials, including composer Jule Styne
, it never was staged again.
Hearn and Lansbury remained friends, and the actress invited him to guest star on several episodes of her long-running CBS
sleuth series Murder, She Wrote
in the early 1990s.
He won a second Tony award for his role as Max Von Mayerling in the original Broadway production of Sunset Boulevard
, and was nominated again for playing Otto Frank
in the 2000 revival of The Diary of Anne Frank.
On July 20, 2004, Hearn returned to Broadway for the first time in four years, starring as the Wizard in the Broadway musical Wicked
, remaining until May 29, 2005. Hearn later returned to the musical for a limited two-week engagement from January 17 through February 1, 2006.
In 2008 he starred in a production of The Visit
by John Kander
and Fred Ebb
alongside Chita Rivera
at the Signature Theatre in Arlington, Virginia. The Visit opened to positive reviews on May 13, 2008 and closed June 22, 2008.
Hearn's recordings include Sunset Boulevard
(1994 Los Angeles Cast, and later the Broadway Cast Recording), Sweeney Todd Live at the New York Philharmonic
, Mack & Mabel
(1988 London Concert Cast), I Remember Mama (1985 Studio Cast), Follies
in Concert (1985 Live Performance), and A Stephen Sondheim Evening (1983 Concert Cast).
Hearn was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame on January 29, 2007.
(1977–1979), girlfriend Betsy Joslyn
(1979–1984), and current wife Leslie Simons. Hearn and Simons have two sons. He is currently residing in Essex, New York
.
Nominations
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor and singer, primarily in Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
musical theatre
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
.
Early years
Born in St. Louis, MissouriSt. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
, Hearn studied philosophy at Southwestern at Memphis, now Rhodes College
Rhodes College
Rhodes College is a private, predominantly undergraduate, liberal arts college located in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. Originally founded by freemasons in 1848, Rhodes became affiliated with the Presbyterian Church in 1855. Rhodes enrolls approximately 1,700 students pursuing bachelor's and master's...
before he embarked on a career in the theater, training for the stage with actress turned acting coach Irene Dailey
Irene Dailey
Irene Dailey was an American actress, perhaps best known for her work on Broadway and on daytime television.Dailey was born in New York City, the daughter of Helen Theresa and Daniel James Dailey...
. Most of Hearn's early performances were in traditional productions at the New York Shakespeare Festival
New York Shakespeare Festival
New York Shakespeare Festival is the previous name of the New York City theatrical producing organization now known as the Public Theater. The Festival produced shows at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park, as part of its free Shakespeare in the Park series, at the Public Theatre near Astor Place...
and theaters at Lincoln Center.
Career
Hearn's career began in 1963 when he played Sir Dinidan in a national tour of CamelotCamelot (musical)
Camelot is a musical by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe . It is based on the King Arthur legend as adapted from the T. H. White tetralogy novel The Once and Future King....
with Biff McGuire
Biff McGuire
William "Biff" McGuire is an American actor. In recent years he has used the name William Biff McGuire professionally....
and Jeannie Carson
Jeannie Carson
Jeannie Carson is a retired English-born United States-based comedienne and musical theatre actress...
, standing by for McGuire, who played King Arthur
King Arthur
King Arthur is a legendary British leader of the late 5th and early 6th centuries, who, according to Medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and...
. He first garnered a notice as John Dickinson
John Dickinson
John Dickinson may refer to:* John Dickinson , lawyer, Governor of Delaware and Pennsylvania, signer of U.S. Constitution, and namesake of Dickinson College* John D. Dickinson , lawyer and U.S...
in the acclaimed 1969 musical 1776
1776 (musical)
1776 is a musical with music and lyrics by Sherman Edwards and a book by Peter Stone. The story is based on the events surrounding the signing of the Declaration of Independence...
and as Liv Ullmann
Liv Ullmann
Liv Johanne Ullmann is a Norwegian actress and film director, as well as one of the "muses" of the Swedish director Ingmar Bergman...
's leading man in the musical version of I Remember Mama
I Remember Mama (musical)
I Remember Mama is a musical with a book by Thomas Meehan, lyrics by Martin Charnin and Raymond Jessel, and music by Richard Rodgers.-Origins:...
(1979).
On March 4, 1980 he replaced Len Cariou
Len Cariou
Leonard Joseph “Len” Cariou is a Canadian actor, best known for his portrayal of Sweeney Todd in the original cast of Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street...
in the title role of Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Joshua Sondheim is an American composer and lyricist for stage and film. He is the winner of an Academy Award, multiple Tony Awards including the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre, multiple Grammy Awards, a Pulitzer Prize and the Laurence Olivier Award...
's Sweeney Todd
Sweeney Todd (musical)
Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street is a 1979 musical thriller with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and libretto by Hugh Wheeler. The musical is based on the 1973 play Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street by Christopher Bond....
opposite Dorothy Loudon
Dorothy Loudon
Dorothy Loudon was an American comedy actress and singer. She won the 1977 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical for her portrayal of Miss Hannigan in Annie.-Early life and career:Loudon was born in...
. Later in 1980 Hearn and the show's original star, Angela Lansbury
Angela Lansbury
Angela Brigid Lansbury CBE is an English actress and singer in theatre, television and motion pictures, whose career has spanned eight decades and earned her more performance Tony Awards than any other individual , with five wins...
, headed the show's touring company, then reprised their roles for a Showtime production of the musical, which won him an Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
for his portrayal.
In 1984 Hearn created the role of Albin in the original Broadway and West End productions of La Cage Aux Folles
La Cage aux Folles
La Cage aux Folles is a musical with a book by Harvey Fierstein and lyrics and music by Jerry Herman. Based on the 1973 French play of the same name by Jean Poiret, it focuses on a gay couple: Georges, the manager of a Saint-Tropez nightclub featuring drag entertainment, and Albin, his romantic...
written by Harvey Fierstein
Harvey Fierstein
Harvey Forbes Fierstein is a U.S. actor and playwright, noted for the early distinction of winning Tony Awards for both writing and originating the lead role in his long-running play Torch Song Trilogy, about a gay drag-performer and his quest for true love and family, as well as writing the...
and Jerry Herman
Jerry Herman
Jerry Herman is an American composer and lyricist, known for his work in Broadway musical theater. He composed the scores for the hit Broadway musicals Hello, Dolly!, Mame, and La Cage aux Folles. He has been nominated for the Tony Award five times, and won twice, for Hello, Dolly! and La Cage...
. Hearn originated the gay anthem "I Am What I Am
I Am What I Am (Broadway musical song)
"I am what I am" is a song originally introduced in the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical La Cage aux Folles . The song is the finale number of the musical's first act, and performed by the character of Albin Mougeotte, first played by George Hearn...
". He won the Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
, Drama Desk Award
Drama Desk Award
The Drama Desk Awards, which are given annually in a number of categories, are the only major New York theater honors for which productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway compete against each other in the same category...
and Outer Critics' Circle Award for Best Actor in a Musical in 1984 for his portrayal of Albin.
In 1985, Hearn starred as Long John Silver
Long John Silver
Long John Silver is a fictional character and the primary antagonist of the novel Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson. Silver is also known by the nicknames "Barbecue" and the "Sea-Cook".- Profile :...
in an Edmonton
Edmonton
Edmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta and is the province's second-largest city. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.The city and its census...
production of Pieces of Eight, a musical adaptation of Treasure Island
Treasure Island
Treasure Island is an adventure novel by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson, narrating a tale of "pirates and buried gold". First published as a book on May 23, 1883, it was originally serialized in the children's magazine Young Folks between 1881–82 under the title Treasure Island; or, the...
. Despite its credentials, including composer Jule Styne
Jule Styne
Jule Styne was a British-born American songwriter especially famous for a series of Broadway musicals, which included several very well known and frequently revived shows.-Early life:...
, it never was staged again.
Hearn and Lansbury remained friends, and the actress invited him to guest star on several episodes of her long-running CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
sleuth series Murder, She Wrote
Murder, She Wrote
Murder, She Wrote is an American television mystery series starring Angela Lansbury as mystery writer and amateur detective Jessica Fletcher. The series aired for 12 seasons from 1984 to 1996 on the CBS network, with 264 episodes transmitted. It was followed by four TV films and a spin-off series,...
in the early 1990s.
He won a second Tony award for his role as Max Von Mayerling in the original Broadway production of Sunset Boulevard
Sunset Boulevard (musical)
Sunset Boulevard is a musical with book and lyrics by Don Black and Christopher Hampton and music by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Based on the 1950 film of the same title, the plot revolves around Norma Desmond, a faded star of the silent screen era, living in the past in her decaying mansion on the...
, and was nominated again for playing Otto Frank
Otto Frank
Otto Heinrich "Pim" Frank was a German-born businessman and the father of Anne Frank and Margot Frank...
in the 2000 revival of The Diary of Anne Frank.
On July 20, 2004, Hearn returned to Broadway for the first time in four years, starring as the Wizard in the Broadway musical Wicked
Wicked (musical)
Wicked is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Winnie Holzman. It is based on the Gregory Maguire novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West , a parallel novel of the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz and L. Frank Baum's classic story The Wonderful Wizard...
, remaining until May 29, 2005. Hearn later returned to the musical for a limited two-week engagement from January 17 through February 1, 2006.
In 2008 he starred in a production of The Visit
The Visit
The Visit is a 1956 tragicomic play by Swiss dramatist Friedrich Dürrenmatt.-Plot summary:...
by John Kander
John Kander
John Harold Kander is the American composer of a number of musicals as part of the songwriting team of Kander and Ebb.-Life and career:Kander was born in Kansas City, Missouri, the son of Bernice and Harold S. Kander...
and Fred Ebb
Fred Ebb
Fred Ebb was an American musical theatre lyricist who had many successful collaborations with composer John Kander. The Kander and Ebb team frequently wrote for such performers as Liza Minnelli and Chita Rivera....
alongside Chita Rivera
Chita Rivera
Chita Rivera is an American actress, dancer, and singer best known for her roles in musical theater. She is the first Hispanic woman to receive a Kennedy Center Honors award...
at the Signature Theatre in Arlington, Virginia. The Visit opened to positive reviews on May 13, 2008 and closed June 22, 2008.
Hearn's recordings include Sunset Boulevard
Sunset Boulevard (musical)
Sunset Boulevard is a musical with book and lyrics by Don Black and Christopher Hampton and music by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Based on the 1950 film of the same title, the plot revolves around Norma Desmond, a faded star of the silent screen era, living in the past in her decaying mansion on the...
(1994 Los Angeles Cast, and later the Broadway Cast Recording), Sweeney Todd Live at the New York Philharmonic
New York Philharmonic
The New York Philharmonic is a symphony orchestra based in New York City in the United States. It is one of the American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five"...
, Mack & Mabel
Mack & Mabel
Mack & Mabel is a musical with a book by Michael Stewart and music and lyrics by Jerry Herman. The plot involves the tumultuous romantic relationship between Hollywood director Mack Sennett and Mabel Normand , who became one of his biggest stars...
(1988 London Concert Cast), I Remember Mama (1985 Studio Cast), Follies
Follies
Follies is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by James Goldman. The story concerns a reunion in a crumbling Broadway theatre, scheduled for demolition, of the past performers of the "Weismann's Follies," a musical revue , that played in that theatre between the World Wars...
in Concert (1985 Live Performance), and A Stephen Sondheim Evening (1983 Concert Cast).
Hearn was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame on January 29, 2007.
Personal life
Hearn's spouses include Susan Babel, Mary Harrell, with whom he had one son; Dixie CarterDixie Carter
Dixie Virginia Carter was an American film, television and stage actress, best known for her role as Julia Sugarbaker in the CBS sitcom Designing Women...
(1977–1979), girlfriend Betsy Joslyn
Betsy Joslyn
Betsy Joslyn is a Broadway musical and dramatic actress and soprano. Joslyn is best known for her Broadway work, including the original production of Sweeney Todd. She appeared in the ensemble of the original Broadway production and eventually took over the ingenue role of Johanna from Sarah Rice...
(1979–1984), and current wife Leslie Simons. Hearn and Simons have two sons. He is currently residing in Essex, New York
Essex, New York
Essex is a town in Essex County, New York, United States overlooking Lake Champlain. The population was 713 at the 2000 census. The town is named after locations in England.The Town of Essex is on the eastern edge of the county...
.
Filmography
- The SilenceThe Silence (1975 film)The Silence is a 1975 made-for-TV movie about James Pelosi, a West Point cadet who was charged in 1971 with cheating on an exam. He remained at West Point but was subjected to "The Silence" – a policy that ostracized cadets who broke the Honor Code....
(1975) - Sea Marks (1976)
- Sanctuary of Fear (1979)
- A Piano for Mrs. Cimino (1982)
- Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street (1982)
- See You in the Morning (1989)
- The Young RidersThe Young RidersThe Young Riders is an American Western television series created by Ed Spielman that presents a fictionalized account of a group of young Pony Express riders based at the Sweetwater Station in the Nebraska Territory during the years leading up to the American Civil War...
season 2, episode 4 "Blood Moon" (1990 - guest star "Elijah Quinn") - The Golden GirlsThe Golden GirlsThe Golden Girls is an American sitcom created by Susan Harris, which originally aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, to May 9, 1992. Starring Bea Arthur, Betty White, Rue McClanahan and Estelle Getty, the show centers on four older women sharing a home in Miami, Florida...
episode "Henny Penny, Straight No Chaser" (1991 - guest star) - Fire in the Dark (1991)
- SneakersSneakers (film)Sneakers is a 1992 caper film directed by Phil Alden Robinson, written by Robinson, Walter F. Parkes, and Lawrence Lasker and starring Robert Redford, Dan Aykroyd, Ben Kingsley, Mary McDonnell, River Phoenix, Sidney Poitier and David Strathairn...
(1992) - The VanishingThe Vanishing (1993 film)The Vanishing is a 1993 thriller starring Jeff Bridges, Kiefer Sutherland and Nancy Travis. It is an American remake of a 1988 Franco-Dutch film, also directed by George Sluizer.-Plot:...
(1993) - The PagemasterThe PagemasterThe Pagemaster is a 1994 adventure fantasy film starring Macaulay Culkin, Christopher Lloyd, Patrick Stewart, Whoopi Goldberg, Frank Welker, and Leonard Nimoy...
(1994) - Annie - A Royal Adventure (1995)
- All Dogs Go to Heaven 2All Dogs Go to Heaven 2All Dogs Go to Heaven 2 is a 1996 American animated family film, and a sequel to United Artists' 1989 animated film All Dogs Go to Heaven. It is directed by Larry Leker and Paul Sabella...
(1996) - The Devil's OwnThe Devil's OwnThe Devil's Own is a 1997 action thriller movie starring Harrison Ford, Brad Pitt, Rubén Blades, Natascha McElhone, Julia Stiles and Treat Williams. It was the final film directed by Alan J...
(1997) - Barney's Great AdventureBarney's Great AdventureBarney's Great Adventure is a 1998 musical adventure film based on the children's television series Barney & Friends, featuring the character Barney the dinosaur...
(1998) - Sarah Plain and Tall: Winter's End (1999)
- Sweeney Todd in Concert (2001)
- Flags of Our FathersFlags of Our Fathers (film)is a 2006 American war film directed, co-produced and scored by Clint Eastwood and written by William Broyles, Jr. and Paul Haggis. It is based on the book of the same name written by James Bradley and Ron Powers about the Battle of Iwo Jima, the five Marines and one Navy Corpsman who were involved...
(2006)
Stage
- A Time for SingingA Time for SingingA Time for Singing is a musical with music by John Morris, lyrics by Gerald Freedman and John Morris, and a book by Gerald Freedman and John Morris. The work was based on Richard Llewellyn's novel of a Welsh mining village, How Green Was My Valley...
- 17761776 (musical)1776 is a musical with music and lyrics by Sherman Edwards and a book by Peter Stone. The story is based on the events surrounding the signing of the Declaration of Independence...
- The Changing RoomThe Changing RoomThe Changing Room is a 1971 play by David Storey, set in a men's changing room before, during and after a rugby game. It premiered at the Royal Court Theatre on 9 November 1971, directed by Lindsay Anderson...
- HamletHamletThe Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
- Sweeney ToddSweeney Todd (musical)Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street is a 1979 musical thriller with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and libretto by Hugh Wheeler. The musical is based on the 1973 play Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street by Christopher Bond....
- I Remember MamaI Remember MamaI Remember Mama is a play by John Van Druten. Based on the fictionalized memoir Mama's Bank Account by Kathryn Forbes, it focuses on the Hanson family, a loving family of Norwegian immigrants living on Steiner Street in San Francisco in the 1910s.Produced by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein...
- A Doll's LifeA Doll's LifeA Doll's Life is a musical with a book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green and music by Larry Grossman. It is among the most notorious flops in Broadway theatre history.The musical is set at a rehearsal of Ibsen's A Doll's House in 1982....
- La Cage aux Folles
- Ghetto
- Meet Me in St. LouisMeet Me in St. Louis (musical)Meet Me in St. Louis is a musical based on the 1944 film of the same title, about a family living in St. Louis, Missouri on the eve of the 1904 World's Fair....
- Sunset BoulevardSunset Boulevard (musical)Sunset Boulevard is a musical with book and lyrics by Don Black and Christopher Hampton and music by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Based on the 1950 film of the same title, the plot revolves around Norma Desmond, a faded star of the silent screen era, living in the past in her decaying mansion on the...
- The Diary of Anne FrankThe Diary of Anne Frank (play)The Diary of Anne Frank is a stage adaptation of the book The Diary of a Young Girl. The play is a dramatization by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett. It opened at the Cort Theatre, Broadway, on October 5, 1955, in a production by Kermit Bloomgarden, directed by Garson Kanin and designed by Boris...
- Putting It TogetherPutting It TogetherPutting it Together is a musical revue showcasing the songs of Stephen Sondheim. Drawing its title from a song in Sunday in the Park with George, it was devised by Sondheim and Julia McKenzie...
- WickedWicked (musical)Wicked is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Winnie Holzman. It is based on the Gregory Maguire novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West , a parallel novel of the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz and L. Frank Baum's classic story The Wonderful Wizard...
Awards and nominations
Awards- 1983 CableACE Award for Best Actor in a Theatrical or Musical Program - Sweeney Todd
- 1984 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical - La Cage aux Folles
- 1984 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical - La Cage aux Folles
- 1995 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical - Sunset Boulevard
- 1985 Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program - Sweeney Todd
Nominations
- 1980 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play - Watch on the Rhine
- 1983 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical - A Doll's Life
- 1995 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical - Sunset Boulevard
- 2000 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical - Putting It Together