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 actress turned acting coach Irene Dailey.
[2][3] In 1983 Hearn created the role of Albin in the original Broadway production of La Cage aux Folles written by Harvey Fierstein and Jerry Herman.
[5] Hearn and Lansbury remained friends, and the actress invited him to guest star on several episodes of her CBS sleuth series Murder, She Wrote in the early 1990s.
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.
[11] Hearn's spouses include Susan Babel, Mary Harrell, with whom he had one son; Dixie Carter (1977–1979); girlfriend and Sweeney Todd co-star Betsy Joslyn (1979–1984); and current wife Leslie Simons.