Suburban musical theater favorite killed in Indiana crash

Bernie Yvon, an accomplished musical theater actor and near constant presence on the suburban scene, died Saturday following a crash in Munster, Indiana, police confirmed.

Yvon was en route to a rehearsal at the Theatre at the Centre in Indiana, when his car was struck by a semitrailer on Calumet Avenue, minutes from the theater said general manager Richard Friedman.

"He had called us saying he was going to be a couple of minutes late," Friedman said. "When he didn't come, the production manager and crew chief heard there had been an accident and went to the site" where they saw Yvon's car.

"I'm sure Bernie didn't do anything wrong," said a tearful Friedman.

The singer-dancer had co-starred recently in Marriott Theatre productions of "Mary Poppins" and "I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change." He was on his way to a rehearsal for Theatre at the Centre's production of the musical "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown."

"He was always happy. Every time you saw Bernie, he was never down," Friedman said. "It's a great loss."