Mark “Radar” Hennen, age 58, of Feld Entertainment passed away on Sunday. Known for his compassion, gentleness and unconditional love, Hennen was much revered by his friends, his family and the hundreds of venues and industry executives he interacted with throughout his 18 years in the industry. After a scare with cancer in 2008, the “miracle man” entered a new phase in his life. He was a pancreatic cancer survivor, proud to have beaten the odds but deeply impacted by his own mortality.
On May 20, he sent a note to his colleagues at Feld, explaining, “My work with Feld Entertainment is coming to an abrupt close, and not by my own choice. The cancer I was fighting in my pancreas has now metastasized into my lungs. After a glorious 10 years, I have to bring my time with Feld to an end; not exactly the exit plan I had anticipated.”
A family man with no immediate family of his own, Hennen passed away surrounded by his closest friends and extended family. He is survived by his sisters, Lois Wheeler and Maureen Schumann. He touched thousands of lifes in the live entertainment industry and was known for his uncanny ability to brighten someone's day.
"I loved Radar because, no matter what the topic, no matter how he might have been feeling, I always felt better after talking to him than I felt before I talked to him," said Steve Peters, CEO/Pres for VenuWorks. "It was a gift that Radar gave to all of us every day."
Friends said Hennen never sought to burden others with his illness nor looked for sympathy.
"He was one to always ask about my health when he was the one going through the most difficult times," recalled Andy Long with VenuWorks. "He was more concerned about others than himself."
Even during his final moments, he remained strong. Friends say Hennen faced many dark days, but he always held his head high and kept his dignity.
“He did it the right way and he did it with integrity and character,” said Jeff Meyer, SVP Event Marketing & Sales for Feld Entertainment. “He treated people fairly along the way, both professionally and personally.”
From Farm Boy to Feld Entertainment
Hennen was born in 1955, the youngest of three children to parents Maurice and Marilyn Hennen in West Branch, Mich. Born 11 and 13 years apart from his siblings, young Mark was the baby of the family and the couple’s first and only son. He grew up on a dairy farm and went on to attend Ogemaw Heights High School in West Branch before heading to the University of Detroit Mercy where he graduated in 1980.
From a young age, Hennen knew that he wanted to be an actor and left Michigan after college to pursue his dream. His first move was to Minnesota where he was briefly married before heading out to California to pursue acting. He lived in both Los Angeles and San Francisco — a time that was spent doing “a lot of waitering so he could support his goal of being an actor,” explained his sister Lois Wheeler.
He pursued acting for over 20 years — it wasn’t until the age of 40 that he decided to try his hand at something else. Hennen would become involved in international touring, working as a manager, accountant and booker for big name tours.
“Prior to working for Feld Entertainment, everyone in the industry — arenas, theaters, box offices, production teams — you name it, they all knew me as Radar,” wrote Hennen in a goodbye letter to Feld employees.
“This nickname actually came from Phil Collins while I was on tour with Genesis. According to Mr. Collins, my antics and work ethics reminded him of Radar from MASH! The nickname was never meant to stick but, alas … here we are.”
He went on to further explain, “When I began my career at Feld, I was hired as Mark Hennen, but my nickname soon became cemented as Radar when Jerry Guido, at that time serving as VP, said he would prefer not to have a department with two Marks (after Mark Duryea was hired) and requested that I go by Radar. The rest, they say, is history.”
Between working on touring rock shows and working at Feld, Hennen held a number of jobs in family entertainment. There was a stint working at VEE Corp., promoting Sesame Street Live and another at MCA Concerts promoting Power Rangers Live. In 1996, Hennen joined Frank Roach’s company Tourven, promoting live shows for Barney the Dinosaur.
“He was so ambitious, so eager to get the job done well,” Roach recalled. “I was always struck by how hard-working he was. He would do his job and then ask if there was anything else he could do.”
He started working at Feld in 2003 and a year later was promoted to booking director where he represented the company for a number of tours, including Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey, Disney On Ice, and Disney Live!
Jeff Nickler with BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla., remembers "Radar was the very first promoter I ever talked to when I began my role in booking. I was a little intimidated by him initially grilling me on every single deal point but by the time we hung up the phone, nearly 40 minutes later, I felt like we had known each other for years."
Feld Entertainment's Bill Powell, a longtime friend and associate of Hennen's, noted he was "one of those types of individuals who perceived what needed to be done and then handled it with grace. Everybody should aspire to have his spirit."
“Radar was a beacon, quick with a smile, and was a thespian, joker and all-around great guy,” said Eddie Tadlock from DeVos Place Convention Center/Performance Hall in Grand Rapids, Mich. “In show business, he shared that you have to be able to respond to the unknown. He was spot on with this sage advice.”
Kim Bedier with Tacoma (Wash.) Dome said Hennen helped guide her career.
"He was by my side as I grew up in the venue industry," she recalled. "From Barney through Barnum & Bailey, his irrepressible smile and unexplainable love of orange rang through all my venue days. It was totally my honor and privilege to be on his 'Radar' screen and to consider him not just a colleague but a true friend."
Susette Hunter, director of Sales and Marketing at the Birmingham (Ala.) Jefferson Convention Complex, recalled that even in tough negotiations, Hennen's humor shined through. Her first call with him was a contract negiotation and they two could not reach a deal.
"It was then he stated he was pulling the circus from my market and then slammed the phone down," she recalled. "With my heart pounding in my chest and breaking out in a cold sweat, I had to confess to my boss that I was about to lose the circus. My boss began to laugh as he made me realize that our market was a great date and they would not pull the circus. As I calmed down, I called Radar back laughing. At that moment, we became friends and our relationship grew over the years. I can still hear him in my ear saying 'Missy, now Missy.'"
For many just starting out in the business, Hennen was often one of the first promoters they'd face in negotiations.
"Radar was in the not-so-enviable position of working with me on what was the first show I ever booked into Taco Bell Arena," in Boise, Idaho, said Executive Director Lisa Cochran. "Radar was incredibly patient and understanding as I naively asked many questions in order to understand the Feld deal structure. He treated me with respect and we developed what was not just a wonderful booking relationship but truly a friendship."
When cancer first struck in 2008, his family said Feld Entertainment offered their full support through a long recovery.
“They were very, very good to him through all of the medical crisis,” said Wheeler, noting her brother was comforted by the assistance he was getting at work. “They always assured him that they would stand behind him and they did every step.”
Touching Many Lives
John Bolton from SMG is pictured with Hennen at the 2012 Venues Today Women of Influence Party at the Ft. Lauderdale (Fla.) Convention Center.
After settling down in Washington, D.C., Hennen began to build a new network of friends and acquaintances. He once more pursued his love for acting and music, joining the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, D.C., in 2004. According to Director Craig Cipollini, Hennen’s star role was that of the Wizard during the 2006 rendition of Wizard of Oz.
Hennen passed away without a romantic partner and without children, but he would often tell friends that he never felt alone. He surrounded himself with his “chosen family of friends,” both within the entertainment industry and within D.C. Upon learning that his cancer had returned, he moved back to the nation’s capital to be with those closest to him while he entered the final stages of his life.
His niece Sue Steenhoven remembers that Hennen was there for her family when her husband (and Hennen’s nephew) died unexpectedly.
“He offered to drop everything and move in with us and help raise our boys,” she recalled. “We told him that wasn’t necessary, but he did take a very active role in their lives. He would take them on vacation and bring them to all the shows that would come to town."
Those who knew Hennen said he was always concerned about others, putting friends before himself.
“Radar was there for me as a colleague and a friend, throughout all the milestones – marriage, family and, more recently, Katrina,” said Marco Perez with UNO Lakefront Arena in New Orleans. “His concern for our venue, staff and my family during Hurricane Katrina in 2005 will never be forgotten. Through Feld, he organized a toy box drive in which children were sent goodie boxes to replace the toys they lost in the storm. It’s these special moments I will truly cherish about Radar. He was a kindhearted and thoughtful man whose attention to detail and ability to empathize with people was admirable.”
Other friends remember Hennen as someone who always enjoyed dining out with friends — both old and new.
The author of this article Dave Brooks enjoys dinner with Hennen, Kim Bedier from Tacoma (Wash.) Dome and Jane Cada-Sharp from the Crystal Centre in Grand Prairie, Alberta, during the Arena Managers Conference in Toronto on Sept. 10. For Brooks, it would be the last time he saw Hennen.
“We were going out for dinner in Philadelphia and decided at the last minute to try the Iron Chef's restaurant Morimoto's,” recalled friend Aran Rush from Hartman Arena, Park City, Kan. “When we arrived we were told that they were taking reservations six months in advance and the dining room was full. Radar asked if there was anything else and they said they could seat us at the sushi bar. As soon as we sat down we realized that Morimoto himself was serving us. Radar always found a way to get it done and the results were always better than expected.”
Interviewed for this article: Steve Peters, (515) 232-5151; Andy Long, (515) 232-5151; Jeff Meyer, (703) 448-4000; Frank Roach, (803) 777-5214; Kim Bedier, (253) 573-2554; Susette Hunter, (205) 458-8441; Lisa Cochran, (208) 426-2885; Eddie Tadlock, (616) 742-6503; Marco Perez, (504) 280-7171; Aran Rush, (316) 744-8880; Bill Powell, (813) 623-6556
