George Hearn

Infobox Actor
name = George Hearn

---

birthdate = birth date and age|1934|6|18
birthplace = St. Louis, Missouri
spouse = Susan Babel
Mary Harrell (div. 1962)
Betsy Joslyn (1979-1984)
Leslie Simons (1985-present)
emmyawards = Individual Performance - Variety/Music Program
1985 ""
tonyawards = Best Leading Actor in a Musical
1984 "La Cage aux Folles"
Best Featured Actor in a Musical
1995 "Sunset Boulevard"

George Hearn (born June 18 1934) is a American Tony Award-winning actor and singer, primarily in Broadway musical theatre.

Career

Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Hearn studied philosophy at Southwestern at Memphis, now Rhodes College before he embarked on a career in the theater, training for the stage with legendary 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. [http://www.filmreference.com/film/27/George-Hearn.html George Hearn Biography] filmreference]

His career began in 1963 when he played Sir Lionel in a national tour of "Camelot" 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. [ [ http://www.sondheimguide.com/sweeney.html#1980tour Sondheim Guide Sweeney Todd listing] ] [ [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0372493/awards Internet Movie Database listing] ]

In 1985, Hearn starred as Long John Silver in an Edmonton production of "Pieces of Eight", a musical adaptation of "Treasure Island". Despite its impressive credentials, including composer Jule Styne, it never was staged again. [ [http://www.broadway.com/Q-A-22805/broadway_news/507473 Q&A Ken Mandelbaum] broadway.com, February 28, 2005]

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. [ [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0372493/ Internet Movie Database listing] ]

On July 20, 2004, Hearn returned to Broadway for the first time in four years starring as the Wizard in the Broadway Musical "Wicked". He succeeded Joel Grey and remained with the show until May 29, 2005. [Gans, Andrew. [http://www.playbill.com/news/article/87408.html "Wicked Welcomes Trio of New Stars July 20",] playbill.com, July 20, 2004] [Gans, Andrew. [http://www.playbill.com/news/article/93207.html "Thompson, Shelley and Hearn Depart Broadway's Wicked May 29",] playbill.com, May 29, 2005]

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. [Jones, Kenneth. [http://www.playbill.com/news/article/118073.html "The Visit, With Rivera, Hearn and Jacoby, Opens May 27",] playbill.com, May 27, 2008]

Recordings

His 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). [ [http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Dpopular&field-keywords=%22George+Hearn%22&x=15&y=18 amazon.com listing] ]

Personal

Hearn's spouses include Susan Babel, Mary Harrell, with whom he had one son; Dixie Carter (1977-1979), Betsy Joslyn (1979-1984), and current wife Leslie Simons. Hearns and Simons have two sons. [Bernstein, Fred. [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E02E7D71030F930A25753C1A9609C8B63&scp=4&sq=%22George+Hearn%22&st=nyt "HAVENS",] "New York Times", October 13, 2006] [ [http://www.broadway.com/George-Hearn/broadway_news/41761 Q&A with Hearn] broadway.com, September 12, 2004]

Hearn was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame on January 29, 2007. [Gans, Andrew. [http://www.playbill.com/news/article/102650.html "LuPone, Hearn, Wilson and the Late Wasserstein and Wilson Among Theater Hall of Fame Inductees",] playbill.com, October 10, 2006]

Awards and nominations

[ [http://www.ibdb.com/person.php?id=44701 Internet Broadway Database listing] ] ;Tony Award
*1980 Best Featured Actor in a Play - "Watch on the Rhine" (nomination)
*1983 Best Actor in a Musical - "A Doll's Life" (nomination)
*1984 Best Actor in a Musical - "La Cage aux Folles" ("winner")
*1995 Best Featured Actor in a Musical - "Sunset Boulevard" ("winner")
*2000 Best Actor in a Musical - "Putting It Together"(nomination);Drama Desk Award
*1984 Outstanding Actor in a Musical - "La Cage aux Folles" ("winner")
*1995 Outstanding Actor in a Musical - "Sunset Boulevard" (nomination) [ [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0372493/awards Internet Broadway Database listing, awards] ] ;CableACE Awards
*1983 Actor in a Theatrical or Musical Program - "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" ("winner");Emmy Awards
*1985 Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program - "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" ("winner")

Work

Filmography

[ [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0372493/ Internet Movie Database listing] ]
* "The Silence" (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)
* "Fire in the Dark " (1991)
* "Sneakers" (1992)
* "The Vanishing (1993 film)" (1993)
* "The Pagemaster" (1994)
* "Annie - A Royal Adventure!" (1995)
* "All Dogs Go to Heaven 2" (1996)
* "The Devil's Own" (1997)
* "Barney's Great Adventure" (1998)
* "Sarah Plain and Tall: Winter's End" (1999)
* "Sweeney Todd in Concert" (2001)
* "Flags of Our Fathers" (2006)

tage productions

[ [http://www.ibdb.com/person.php?id=44701 Internet Broadway Database listing] ]
* "A Time for Singing"
* "1776"
* "The Changing Room"
* "Hamlet"
* "Sweeney Todd"
* "I Remember Mama"
* "A Doll's Life"
* "La Cage aux Folles"
* "Meet Me in St. Louis"
* "Sunset Boulevard"
* "The Diary of Anne Frank"
* "Putting It Together"
* "Wicked"

References

External links

*ibdb|44701
*imdb|0372493