No ‘normal’ jobs. NC native with long Broadway and Disney career dies at age 59

Charlotte native Merwin Foard Jr. spent much of his Broadway career mastering leading roles in some of the biggest hit shows — and then waiting in the wings.

Foard, a prolific actor perhaps best known for his work as a standby in productions like “Aladdin” and “The Addams Family,” died Monday at age 59.

Foard was a main focus of the 2012 documentary “The Standbys” about the demanding world of Broadway standbys and understudies, because of his work backing up big names — Nathan Lane in “The Addams Family,” Michael Cerveris in “Sweeney Todd” and Brian Stokes Mitchell in “Kiss Me, Kate.”

In “The Addams Family” musical, he appeared as Gomez opposite actress Brooke Shields as Morticia.

Standbys perform on specific days when a lead actor is not scheduled to work, while understudies serve as replacements for unexpected absences.

Foard’s resume of non-standby stage and screen work was also long: He made his Broadway debut in “Showboat” in 1983, and went on to play roles ranging from Richard Henry Lee in “1776” to President Franklin Roosevelt in “Annie.”

He took his craft on the road in numerous touring productions, including “The Sound of Music,” which brought him to the Belk Theater in 2015 as the role of Max, the second male lead.

And you can hear his voice in the ensemble for 10 Disney movies including “Pocahontas,” “Beauty and the Beast” and most recently, “Frozen Fever.”

But no matter how long his list of stage and screen credits grew, family members say he never forgot his Charlotte roots. On visits home from New York, he would find time to visit Charlotte Christian School, his alma mater, to talk to students about theater and voice.

“Everybody who met Merwin just fell in love with him,” said his mother, Betty Foard, 91. “He had a personality that was unlike anyone else.”

Said his sister, Jeana Foard Stewart: “He had a natural wit. He just had a way with people and they would gravitate toward him.”

Who’s that voice?

Music was inescapable in Foard’s household growing up.

His dad, Merwin Foard Sr., was a businessman who also had a singing career with the Charlotte Opera Association and spent decades as music minister for churches across Charlotte.

Young Merwin grew up singing in his dad’s choirs, but planned on a career in real estate after graduating from Charlotte Christian School. He was working toward his real estate license at Central Piedmont Community College when he broke into song one day in a classroom.

The director of CPCC’s music department heard him singing “and turned on a dime,” Betty Foard recalls.

“He said, ‘Who is that voice?’ ” And they said ‘That’s Merwin Foard.’ “

He sang with CPCC Summer Theatre, playing Danny Zuko in “Grease” in 1981. He moved to New York, enrolled in the Manhattan School of Music and soon found himself on the “Showboat” stage. A month after that show closed, he was working with Angela Lansbury in the revival of “Mame.”

More roles followed, so many that Foard didn’t have to wait tables or do other non-acting jobs to pay the bills.

The steady work was especially important as he raised two daughters, Phoebe, now 27, and Bailey Jean, now 21, with wife and fellow actor Rebecca Baxter. (They later divorced.)

“I’ve never had a normal job,” Foard told the Observer in a 2012 interview.

Duets in heaven

Foard’s final Broadway role was playing standby to the roles of Jafar and the Sultan in the sold-out “Aladdin” in 2015.

He moved back to Charlotte in recent years to seek treatment for chronic liver disease. His final stage role was as Joseph Pulitzer in the North Carolina Theater’s production of “Newsies” in Raleigh in July 2018.

When his dad, Merwin Foard Sr., died last October at the age of 88, Merwin Jr. was in the hospital and unable to attend the funeral at Philadelphia Presbyterian Church in Mint Hill.

But he was there, in a different way.

Stewart arranged for a recording of her brother singing, “Oh What a Beautiful Mornin’ ” from “Oklahoma,” which had been the final song their dad heard before he died.

“It rang out so clear in the church,” Betty Foard recalled. “Now, they’re both in heaven together, singing duets.”

Foard’s funeral will be March 28 at 11 a.m. at Philadelphia Presbyterian Church, 11501 Bain School Road, Mint Hill.

This story was originally published March 12, 2020 at 4:01 PM.