Harvey Fierstein

Infobox actor
name = Harvey Fierstein


imagesize =
caption = Harvey Fierstein (left) with Anthony Rapp at the Annual Flea Market and Grand Auction hosted by Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, September 2006
birthname = Harvey Forbes Fierstein
birthdate = birth date and age|1952|6|6
birthplace = Brooklyn, New York, USA
yearsactive = 1980s-present
spouse =
website =
emmyawards = Outstanding Interview/Interviewer - Programs
1986 "The Times of Harvey Milk"
tonyawards = Best Leading Actor in a Musical
2003 "Hairspray"
Best Book of a Musical
1984 "La Cage aux Folles"
Best Actor in a Play
1983 "Torch Song Trilogy"
Best Play
1983 "Torch Song Trilogy"

Harvey Forbes Fierstein (born June 6 1952) is a Tony Award winning American actor, playwright, and screenwriter.

Biography

Personal life

Fierstein was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Jacqueline Harriet (née Gilbert), a school librarian, and Irving Fierstein, a handkerchief manufacturer. [cite web | title=Harvey Fierstein Biography | url=http://www.filmreference.com/film/68/Harvey-Fierstein.html | work=filmreference | date=2008 | accessdate=2008-06-11] He is Jewish by birth [cite news | author=Mark J. Terrill | title='Hairspray' drag queen to play Mrs. Claus at Macy's parade | url=http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2003-11-27-parade-mrs-claus_x.htm | work=USATODAY | date=27 November 2003 | accessdate=2008-06-11] but is actually an atheist.cite news | quote="I mean, I don't believe in God, I don't believe in heaven or hell, but I pray three or four times a day." | last =McKinley| first =Jesse| title =Fierstein As Tevye: Sounds Crazy, No?| pages=2.5| publisher =The New York Times| date =2005-01-02]

Fierstein occasionally contributes authors columns about gay issues. He was openly gay at a time when very few celebrities were, and never needed to come out, as it was simply known that he was gay. His careers as a stand-up comic and female impersonator are mostly behind him. Fierstein resides in Ridgefield, Connecticut. Fact|date=September 2008

Career

The gravelly-voiced actor perhaps is known best for the play and film "Torch Song Trilogy", which he wrote and starred in. The 1982 Broadway production won him two Tony Awards, for Best Play and Best Actor in a Play, two Drama Desk Awards, for Outstanding New Play and Outstanding Actor in a Play, and the Theatre World Award, and the film earned him an Independent Spirit Award nomination as Best Male Lead.

Fierstein also wrote the book for "La Cage aux Folles" (1983), winning another Tony Award, this time for Best Book of a Musical, and a Drama Desk nomination for Outstanding Book. "Legs Diamond", his 1988 collaboration with Peter Allen, was a critical and commercial failure, closing after 72 previews and 64 performances. His other playwriting credits include "Safe Sex", "Spookhouse", and "Forget Him".

In 2007, Fierstein wrote the book to the musical "A Catered Affair" in which he also stars. After tryouts at San Diego's Old Globe Theatre in the fall of 2007, it began previews on Broadway in March 2008 and opened on April 17. He received a Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Book of a Musical, and the show won the Drama League Award for Distinguished Production of a Musical.

Acting

Fierstein made his acting debut at La MaMa, E.T.C. in Andy Warhol's only play, "Pork". Fierstein continued to appear at La MaMa and other venues but also, having some aspirations to become a painter, enrolled at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. He received a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) from Pratt in 1973.

In addition to "Torch Song Trilogy", "La Cage aux Folles" and "A Catered Affair", Fierstein's Broadway acting credits include Edna Turnblad in "Hairspray" (2003), for which he won a Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Musical, and Tevye in the 2005 revival of "Fiddler on the Roof". Fierstein and Tommy Tune are the only individuals to have won Tony Awards in four different categories.

Fierstein's film roles include Woody Allen's "Bullets Over Broadway", Robin Williams' mask maker brother in "Mrs. Doubtfire", "Merv Green" in "Death to Smoochy", "Garbo Talks", "Duplex", and the blockbuster hit "Independence Day". He narrated the documentary "The Times of Harvey Milk", for which he won a News & Documentary Emmy Award. He also voiced the role of Yao in Walt Disney's animated feature "Mulan", a role he later reprised for the video game "Kingdom Hearts II" and the direct-to-DVD sequel "Mulan II".

On television, Fierstein was featured as the voice of Karl, Homer Simpson's assistant, in the "Simpson and Delilah" episode of "The Simpsons", and the voice of Elmer in the 1999 HBO special based on his children's book "The Sissy Duckling", which won the Humanitas Prize for Children's Animation. Additional credits include "Miami Vice", "Murder, She Wrote", the Showtime TV movie "Common Ground" (which he also wrote), and "Cheers", which earned him an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. He sang a tribute to Katie Couric on the "Today Show" on May 31 2006, her last day as anchor. He appeared as Heat Miser in the television movie remake of "The Year Without a Santa Claus" in December 2006.

References

External links

*ibdb|6157
*imdb|0001213
* [http://www.nndb.com/people/378/000025303/ Harvey Fierstien] at the Notable Names Database
* [http://harvey.hollywood.com/ Harvey!]
* [http://galleryplayers.com/plays/torch-song-trilogy Review of Torch Song Trilogy, with information about Fierstein]
* [http://www.tonyawards.com/en_US/interactive/video/index.html#f TonyAwards.com Interview with Harvey Fierstein]

###@@@KEY@@@###succession box
title=Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play
years=1982-1983
for "Torch Song Trilogy"
before=Christopher Plummer
for "Othello"
after=Dustin Hoffman
for "Death of a Salesman"