MERCITA DEMUYNCK (1932-2026)
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Mercita DeMuynck (stage name DeMonk), founder of the Free Readers Ensemble and a performer whose stage, screen and voice-over career spanned the better part of a century, died March 26. She was 93.
“Mercita performed as an actress, singer and dancer starting from the age of 3...until she was 93,” the Free Readers Ensemble posted on its socials. “We were so grateful that we had a chance to share the stage with her one last time in our October show, ‘Life is a Cabaret’ based on her life and recollections. “Her talent, her spirit, her smile will never leave us, even now that she has taken her final bow. She was truly one of a kind.” The Free Readers Ensemble, founded in 1993, does monthly staged readings of plays and just completed its 32nd season. A Blue Island native, DeMuynck knew early that she wanted a career in the performing arts, telling a grade school teacher that she wanted to tell stories like the ones WBEZ (then under the auspices of the Board of Ed) aired Friday afternoons. Her first job was a big one: DeMuynck was among the early cast members of “Kula Fran and Olly,” the iconic, Chicago-born, wholly improvised children’s show that ran from 1947 - 1957. After graduating from Chicago’s South Shore High School, DeMuynck hit the road with a dance troupe, playing the Midwest fair circuit. She earned enough to pay for acting lessons at DePaul, and was heard on local radio spots while performing in theater productions, including Wheeling’s Chevy Chase Summer Theater. From 1970 into the 2000s, she worked in television, radio, theater and print advertisements as a proud member of SAG-AFTRA and the Actors Equity Association. Her advertising work included voicing Mrs. Butterworth (of syrup fame). In addition to helping found Free Readers, DeMuynck was a founding member of the SAG-AFTRA Seniors Committee, and directed and acted in productions with the SAG-AFTRA Senior Radio Players for decades. DeMuynck performed throughout the city and suburbs, doing shows at the Drury Lane, Goodman and Chicago Dramatists theaters, among others. She was an early company member of Oak Park’s Village Players (known today as Madison Street Theatre), founded in 1961. When the company moved from its location on South Boulevard to a former warehouse up the road on Madison Street, DeMuynck helped renovate the building. She was known for her one-woman shows, including the Jane Addams bio-drama “The Angel of Halsted Street,” which toured Illinois. At 90, she was still working - In her 10th decade, she nabbed roles on both Chicago Fire and Chicago Med. Her final performance was in October, 2025 in “Life is a Cabaret,” a musical variety show about her life and career, produced by the Free Readers. She is survived by her husband of 65 years, Frank DeMuynck, four children, nine grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews. With thanks to the Free Readers Ensemble and Peterson-Bassi Chapel of Chicago. |