|
|
|
|
| Birth Name(s) : Joseph Lane |
Date of Birth: N/A |
| Status:
Single
|
Partner:
|
| Profession:
N/A |
| << Add Nathan Lane To Your Favorites |
|
Full Nathan Lane Biography
Nathan Lane (born February 3, 1956) is a Tony Award- and Emmy Award-winning actor of the stage and screen.
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.
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, first with off-Broadway productions at Second Stage Theatre, the Roundabout Theatre and the Manhattan Theatre Club, and then 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.Matthew Broderick (top), Nathan Lane in a poster for the 2005 revival of The Odd Couple
His second Broadway appearance was in the 1983 box-office failure Merlin, starring Chita Rivera, and magician Doug Henning. Commenting on the show, Lane later said, "Doug Henning's greatest magic trick was getting the show produced." This was followed by Wind In The Willows as Toad, Some Americans Abroad at Lincoln Center and On Borrowed Time at Circle-in-the-Square with George C. Scott again. In 1992, he starred in the revival of Guys and Dolls, receiving his first Tony nomination, playing the character who lent him his name opposite Peter Gallagher and Faith Prince.
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 opposite Matthew Broderick, with whom he competed for the honor. 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.
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 Tussaud's Wax Museum.
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 an "old-fashioned homosexual, not one of those new fangled gays 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.
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.
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, 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. |
|
|
| Add Nathan Lane Biography (SuperUSERS) + |
| Add Nathan Lane Review/Comment
|
HQ Nathan Lane Pictures (1) | Random Nathan Lane Picture
|
| << Back to the Nathan Lane Homepage |
|
