George Hearn (born June 18, 1934) is an American actor andbass-baritone singer, primarily inBroadwaymusical theatre.

Some of his Broadway credits include Albin inLa Cage aux Folles,the title role inSweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Max von Mayerling inSunset Boulevard,John Dickinson in1776,Mr. Otto Frank inThe Diary of Anne Frank, andThe Wonderful Wizard of Oz inWicked.

For his work, he won twoTony Awards forLa Cage aux Folles andSunset Boulevard. As well as being nominated for three others. He also was nominated for anLaurence Olivier Award forLa Cage aux Folles and won anEmmy Award forSweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.

Born inSt. Louis, Missouri, Hearn studied philosophy at Southwestern at Memphis, nowRhodes College before he embarked on a career in the theater, training for the stage with actress turned acting coachIrene Dailey. Most of Hearn's early performances were in traditional productions at theNew York Shakespeare Festival and theaters atLincoln Center.^[1]

Hearn's career began in 1963 when he played Sir Dinidan in a national tour ofCamelot withBiff McGuire andJeannie Carson, standing by for McGuire, who playedKing Arthur. He first garnered a notice asJohn Dickinson in the acclaimed 1969 musical1776 and asLiv Ullmann's leading man in the musical version ofI Remember Mama (1979).^[1]

On March 4, 1980, he replacedLen Cariou in the title role ofStephen Sondheim'sSweeney Todd oppositeDorothy Loudon. Later in 1980 Hearn and the show's original star,Angela Lansbury, headed the show's touring company, then reprised their roles for aShowtime production of the musical, which won him anEmmy Award for his portrayal.^[2][3]

In 1983 Hearn created the role of Albin in the original Broadway production ofLa Cage aux Folles written byHarvey Fierstein andJerry Herman. Hearn originated the gay anthem "I Am What I Am".^[4] He won theTony Award,Drama Desk Award and Outer Critics' Circle Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his portrayal of Albin. Hearn also appeared in the West End production (which opened in May 1986).

In 1985, Hearn starred asLong John Silver in anEdmonton production ofPieces of Eight, a musical adaptation ofTreasure Island. Despite its credentials, including composerJule Styne, it never was staged again.^[5]

Hearn and Lansbury remained friends, and the actress invited him to guest star on several episodes of herCBS sleuth seriesMurder, She Wrote in the early 1990s.^[6]

He won a second Tony award for his role as Max Von Mayerling in the original Broadway production ofSunset Boulevard, and was nominated again for playingOtto Frank in the 1997 revival ofThe 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 musicalWicked, remaining until May 29, 2005.^[7][8] 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 ofThe Visit byJohn Kander andFred Ebb alongsideChita Rivera at theSignature Theatre inArlington, Virginia.The Visit opened to positive reviews on May 13, 2008, and closed June 22, 2008.^[9]

Hearn's recordings includeSunset Boulevard (1994 Los Angeles Cast, and later the Broadway Cast Recording),Sweeney Todd Live at theNew York Philharmonic,Mack & Mabel (1988 London Concert Cast),I Remember Mama (1985 Studio Cast),Follies in Concert (1985 Live Performance), andA Stephen Sondheim Evening (1983 Concert Cast).^[10]

Hearn was inducted into theAmerican Theater Hall of Fame on January 29, 2007.^[11]

Hearn's spouses include Susan Babel, Mary Harrell, with whom he had one son;Dixie Carter (1977–1979); girlfriend and Sweeney Todd co-starBetsy Joslyn (1979–1984); and current wife Leslie Simons. Hearn and Simons have two sons.^[1][12][13] He currently resides inEssex, New York.

• George Hearn at theInternet Broadway Database
• George Hearn at theInternet Off-Broadway Database (archived)
• George Hearn atIMDb

• 1934 births
• Living people
• Rhodes College alumni
• American male film actors
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• American male musical theatre actors
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• Drama Desk Award winners
• Primetime Emmy Award winners
• Tony Award winners
• 20th-century American male actors
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• 21st-century American singers
• People from Essex, New York
• 20th-century American male singers
• 21st-century American male singers

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