Celestine Heard

From her Obituary

Celestine Heard, age 77, departed this life peacefully on Monday, January 27, 2020.

Sylvia Celestine Heard, the eldest daughter of William and Helen Heard (nee Scott), was born in Cleveland, Ohio on December 21st, 1942. She was known as Celestine to her family and friends. Celestine spent her childhood years in a variety of plays at Karamu House. There she also developed a love for dance. Celestine graduated from John Hay High School in 1961. She married William Clark and welcomed Adrienne, their only child, in 1962.   

Shortly thereafter, Celestine relocated to Brooklyn, New York in 1964 and always considered Brooklyn her home. As an adult, she received training in Theatre Arts at the Goodman School of Drama, School of the Arts Institute of Chicago and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City.

She was cast in the role of Ekeji-Oja, the mother, in Death and the King’s Horseman. The play debuted at the Vivian Beaumont Theater at Lincoln Center in New York City on March 1, 1987.  The show toured and performed at the Kennedy Theatre in Washington D.C. Her resume also included other stage productions:  Homeostatis: Once More the Scorpion at the Festival Mondial du Theatre, Paris France, Off-Broadway productions including A Son Come Home and Things of the Heart: The Marion Anderson Story, and an array of television programs and commercials. Celestine was proud to work under the direction of Wole Soyinka and other well-known directors.

In 2009 Celestine moved back to Cleveland to be closer to her family.