Early Life
Harvey was born in Windsor, Colorado, the son of Everett and Minnie R. Prewitt Harvey. He grew up in Fort Collins and was a graduate of Fort Collins High School before serving in the U.S. Navy as a Quartermaster, 3rd Class, during World War II, during which time he was studying chemical engineering. "But when I got out," Harvey has said, "I decided that wasn't for me and so I went into the theater."
Harvey came to Lawrence, Kansas in 1945 to study at the University of Kansas, where he majored in theater, directing and acting in stage productions, such as Harvey, Beggar on Horseback, and Hamlet. During his college years, he was vice-president of the Dramatics Workshop, appeared with the University Players, and was a member of the Owl Society. He earned a bachelor of science degree in education from the KU speech and drama department in 1948 and received a master of arts degree in speech and drama from KU in 1950. Besides student appearances, he appeared in summer stock, with the Topeka Civic Theater and with Kansas City's Resident Playhouse.
On June 3, 1950, Harvey's 26th birthday, he married Bernice "Bea" Brady, a girl from Wichita some five years his junior. The wedding ceremonies were held in the Plymouth Congregational Church of Lawrence. The two had met at KU in the drama department and had performed in Hamlet together in 1948. After the marriage, Harvey did a graduate study in drama during the 1950 summer session at the University of Denver, and then studied at the University of Colorado for a doctorate in theater. "I made it through summer school and then I decided to go back to Kansas," Harvey has said. He and his wife then returned to Lawrence, rented an apartment on campus, and Harvey began working as an instructor, teaching and directing for the KU speech and drama department.
Read more about this topic: Herk Harvey
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