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Nathan Lane
Nathan Lane in New York City, 2005
BornJoseph Lane
OccupationActor
Years active1982–present

Nathan Lane (born February 3, 1956) is a Tony Award- and Emmy Award-winning American actor of the stage and screen.

Biography

Early life

Lane was born Joseph Lane in Jersey City, New Jersey, the son of Irish American Catholic parents. He was named after a paternal uncle, a Jesuit priest. His father, Daniel, was a truck driver and an aspiring tenor who died from alcoholism when Lane was eleven; his mother, Nora, was a manic-depressive housewife and secretary who died in 2000. He has two brothers, Robert and Daniel. Lane attended Roman Catholic schools in Jersey City, including Jesuit-run St. Peter's Preparatory High School where he was elected Best Actor in 1974.

Career

Deciding between college and an acting career, Lane opted for the latter, saying that college was for people who didn't know what they wanted to do, while he did. Because there already was a Joseph Lane registered with Actors Equity, he changed his name to Nathan after the character Nathan Detroit from the musical Guys and Dolls. He moved to New York City where, after a long struggle, his career began to take off, with off-Broadway productions at Second Stage Theatre, the Roundabout Theatre, and the Manhattan Theatre Club, and his 1982 Broadway debut in a revival of Noel Coward's Present Laughter with a cast headed by George C. Scott, Kate Burton, Dana Ivey, and Christine Lahti.

His second Broadway appearance was in the 1983 box-office failure Merlin, starring Chita Rivera, and magician Doug Henning. This was followed by The Wind in the Willows as Toad, Some Americans Abroad at Lincoln Center, and On Borrowed Time at Circle in the Square Theatre with George C. Scott again. In 1992, he starred in the revival of Guys and Dolls, receiving his first Tony nomination, as well as Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards, playing the character who lent him his name, opposite Peter Gallagher and Faith Prince.

His professional association with his close friend the playwright Terrence McNally includes roles in Lips Together, Teeth Apart, The Lisbon Traviata , Bad Habits, Love! Valour! Compassion! , and Dedication. The early 1990s began a highly successful stretch of Broadway shows for Lane. In 1993, he portrayed Sid Caesar-like Max Prince in Neil Simon's Laughter on the 23rd Floor, inspired by Simon's early career writing sketches for Your Show of Shows. In 1996, he starred in the highly successful revival of Stephen Sondheim and Larry Gelbart's A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, for which he won a Tony Award , Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards. His association with Sondheim continued when he appeared with Victor Garber in the workshop of Wise Guys (later Bounce) and again in 2004 when he revised the original book for and starred in the Broadway debut of the composer's The Frogs at Lincoln Center. He also sang a song written especially for him by Sondheim in the film The Birdcage . In 1999 he starred in the Roundabout revival of The Man Who Came to Dinner as Sheridan Whiteside, with Jean Smart and Harriet Harris. Prior to that he starred in the Encores production of Do, Re, Mi. In addition to the McNally plays, Lane has appeared in numerous other Off Broadway productions, including Love (the musical version of Murray Schisgal's Luv), Measure For Measure in Central Park, The Film Society, Mizlansky/Zilinsky or "Schmucks", In a Pig's Valise, Trumbo, She Stoops to Conquer, and A Midsummer Night's Dream.

In 1995 he performed in The Wizard of Oz in Concert: Dreams Come True a musical performance of the popular story at Lincoln Center to benefit the Children's Defense Fund. The performance was originally broadcast on Turner Network Television (TNT), and issued on CD and video in 1996. Lane won his second Tony Award for his portrayal of Max Bialystock in the musical version of Mel Brooks's The Producers, as well as Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards. He later replaced Richard Dreyfuss in the role at London's Theatre Royal Drury Lane at the last minute and went on to win the Olivier Award as Best Actor in a Musical. He recreated his performance for the film version, for which he received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy.

Lane has performed two roles originated by Zero Mostel, Pseudolus in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and Max Bialystock in The Producers. He declined the role of Tevye in the 2004 Broadway revival of Fiddler On The Roof because he didn't want to be seen as always following in Mostel's footsteps. Coincidentally, both of Lane's Tony Awards were for Mostel's roles.

In 2005, Lane rejoined Broderick for a wildly successful limited run of The Odd Couple. In 2006, he changed gears to take on a primarily dramatic role in a revival of Simon Gray's Butley. He and Broderick were awarded adjacent stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in a joint ceremony on January 9, 2006. They were also immortalized as Max and Leo at Madame Tussauds Wax Museum. He is currently starring in the new David Mamet play, November, directed by Joe Mantello.

Personal life

When he was 21 and told his mother he was gay, her reply was: "I'd rather you were dead." Lane shot back: "I knew you'd understand".

Lane, who came out publicly after the death of Matthew Shepard, jokingly describes himself as "one of those old-fashioned homosexuals, not one of the newfangled ones who are born joining parades." When he was asked once by a reporter whether he was gay, rather than providing a blunt yes-or-no answer, he famously declared, "I'm 40, single and I work a lot in the musical theatre. You do the math." He has been a long-time board member of and fundraiser for B'way Cares/Equity Fights Aids, and he has been honored by The Human Rights Campaign, GLAAD, and The Trevor Project for his work in the gay community.

Though he played a chef in Mousehunt, as mentioned on an episode of Martha in which he appeared as a guest, he is not good in the kitchen. He resides in New York, has a long-time partner, and remains very good friends with Matthew Broderick, Mel Brooks and Ernie Sabella.

Awards and nominations

Television

He has received three nominations and won two Daytime Emmy Awards, in 1995 for Disney's Timon and Pumbaa and in 2000 for Disney's Teacher's Pet. He has also received two Emmy nominations for guest appearances on Frasier and Mad About You. In 1999 he won the People's Choice Award for Favorite Male Performer in a New TV Series.

Film

  • 1997 Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy (The Birdcage, nominee)
  • 1997 MTV Movie Award for Best On-Screen Duo (The Birdcage, nominee along with Robin Williams)
  • 1997 Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role (The Birdcage, nominee)
  • 1997 Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast (The Birdcage, won)
  • 2006 Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy (The Producers, nominee)
  • 1996 American Comedy Award for Funniest Actor in a Motion Picture-The Birdcage * 2002 National Board of Review Award for Best Ensemble Performance-Nicholas Nickleby

Theatre

  • 1983 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play (Present Laughter, nominee)
  • 1986 St. Clair Bayfield Award for Shakespearean Performance in (Measure For Measure, winner)
  • 1990 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play (The Lisbon Traviata, winner)
  • 1992 Obie Award for Sustained Excellence of Performance
  • 1992 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical (Guys and Dolls, winner)
  • 1992 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical (Guys and Dolls, nominee)
  • 1995 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play (Love! Valour! Compassion!, winner)
  • 1995 Obie Award for Ensemble Acting (Love! Valour! Compassion!)
  • 1996 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical (A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, winner)
  • 1996 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical (A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, winner)
  • 2001 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical (The Producers, winner)
  • 2001 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical (The Producers, winner)
  • 2005 Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical (The Producers, winner)
  • 2006 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play (Dedication or The Stuff of Dreams, nominee)

As well as four Outer Critics Circle Awards, and the Lucille Lortel Award for The Lisbon Traviata.

Additional honors

Work

Television

His television credits include a recurring role on One of the Boys with Mickey Rooney and Dana Carvey, The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd (1989), the title role in The Man Who Came to Dinner (2000), the voice of the title character in the animated series Teacher's Pet, as well as Timon & Pumbaa and George and Martha, and guest appearances on Mad About You, Sex and the City, Frasier, Saturday Night Live as host, The Tony Awards as host and co-host four times, Great Performances- The Last Mile and as host for the 30th anniversary, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Absolutely Fabulous and most recently 30 Rock. He has starred in two television films, The Boys Next Door and Laughter on the 23rd Floor. His attempts at a regular series of his own Encore! Encore! (1998) and Charlie Lawrence (2003), were ratings disappointments.

Filmography

References

  1. http://www.boston.com/news/globe/living/articles/2003/10/19/nathan_lane_goes_beyond_broadway/
  2. http://www.jewishaz.com/issues/story.mv?051230+search
  3. http://arts.guardian.co.uk/features/story/0,,1345473,00.html
  4. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1589/is_1999_Feb_2/ai_53729227/pg_2
  5. http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800018675/bio
  6. http://www.filmreference.com/film/97/Nathan-Lane.html
  7. "Nathan Lane Bio". {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |access date= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  8. "The Blue Mood of a White-Hot Nathan Lane" by Alex Witchel. The New York Times Magazine (September 2, 2001), quoted in "Bring on the clown" by David Smith. Guardian Unlimited (November 7, 2004). Retrieved on November 5, 2007.
  9. http://www.thetrevorproject.org/staging/trevorny2007.html
  10. "The Nathan Lane Page - Current News". Retrieved 2007-05-11.

External links

Template:S-awards
Preceded byMatthew Broderick
for How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying 		Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Musical
1996
for A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum 		Succeeded byJames Naughton
for Chicago
Preceded byBrian Stokes Mitchell
for Kiss Me, Kate 		Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Musical
2001
for The Producers 		Succeeded byJohn Lithgow
for Sweet Smell of Success
Categories: