From P. G. Wodehouse adaptations to a one-man Edgar Allan Poe show, he was a thespian was dedicated to his craft.

Page Hearn was the consummate Jeeves.

Each Chicago winter for nine years, this elegant actor would fine-tune his laconic delivery, temporarily acquire a pitch-perfect English accent, trot out his impeccable comic timing and become the very model of the discreet men's valet.

Audiences at City Lit Theater Company's seasonal series of adaptations of the P. G. Wodehouse stories showed up mostly to see the much-loved Mr. Hearn in the role.

Mr. Hearn, 48, died Saturday, May 17, after suffering an apparent heart attack while crossing a street in Jersey City, according to a statement from City Lit, where he was a longtime staffer.

A native of Baltimore, Mr. Hearn lived in Chicago for more than 20 years before moving to New York to further his acting career. His extensive list of Chicago credits covered more than two decades at theaters big and small.

Mr. Hearn acted at the Commons, Bailiwick Repertory Theatre, Oak Park Festival, Court Theatre, Raven Theatre, Buffalo Theatre Ensemble, About Face Theatre and many others.

He directed for companies such as New Tuners and The Free Associates. And he wrote pieces such as "Descent into the Maelstrom," a one-man tribute to Edgar Allan Poe he performed every Halloween in Chicago between 1987 and 2006.

But Mr. Hearn was synonymous with City Lit, a small but long-lived theater company that he deeply loved. Without Mr. Hearn, its longtime managing director and the man who kept the place going for years almost single-handedly, often with the help of his personal credit card, City Lit would almost certainly have ceased to exist.

Mostly because of his efforts, City Lit now has a stable staff and home in the Edgewater neighborhood.

"He had this light behind his eyes," said Mr. Hearn's partner, Steve Gutierrez. "He was just an amazingly funny and supportive person. And I can't tell you how many times we'd go out to dinner in Chicago and people would call him 'Jeeves.' "

In addition to Gutierrez, other survivors include his parents, Beau Hearn and Brooke Pacy; a stepmother Ellie Hearn; a stepfather Bill Pacy; two brothers, Biff and Gibson; and a sister, Dana Hark.


A memorial service will be held at 7 p.m. June 30 in City Lit Theater,
1020 W. Bryn Mawr Ave., Chicago.

(Obit from the Chicago Tribune)


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