Lainie Kazan

Infobox actor
name = Lainie Kazan

---

caption = Kazan at the 79th Annual Academy Awards Children Uniting Nations/Billboard afterparty
birthdate = Birth date and age|1940|5|15|mf=y
location = New York City
homepage = http://www.lainiekazan.com/

Lainie Kazan (born May 15, 1940) is an American actress and singer.

Biography

Personal life

Kazan was born Lanie Levine in Brooklyn, New York City [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE3DA153DF930A35756C0A964958260 Lainie Kazan Goes Back to Her Roots - New York Times ] ] to an Ashkenazi Jewish father who worked as a bookie and a Sephardic Jewish mother, Carole, whom Kazan has described as "neurotic, fragile and artistic". [ [http://www.jewishjournal.com/home/preview.php?id=10364 JewishJournal.com ] ] [ [http://www.jewishsf.com/content/2-0-/module/displaystory/story_id/28807/edition_id/546/format/html/displaystory.html j. - Lainie Kazan bringing cabaret classics to S.F ] ] She serves on the boards of the Young Musician's Foundation, AIDS Project LA, and B'nai Brith.

Career

Kazan made her Broadway debut in "The Happiest Girl in the World" in 1961, followed by "Bravo Giovanni" (1962). She served as understudy to Barbra Streisand in "Funny Girl", finally getting to go on eighteen months into the run when the star was felled by a serious throat problem. Coincidentally, both had attended the same high school, Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn, New York. Kazan's mother alerted the press and, encouraged by rave reviews for her performance, she quit the show and set out to establish herself in a singing career.

As her popularity increased, Kazan posed for a spread in the October 1970 issue of "Playboy". Her photographs inspired the look of Jack Kirby's DC Comics superheroine Big Barda.

Kazan appeared in numerous supper clubs across the country, and she guested on Dean Martin's variety series twenty-six times. Other television work includes a recurring role as Aunt Freida on the Fran Drescher sitcom "The Nanny" and as Kirstie Alley's mother on "Veronica's Closet", and guest shots on "St. Elsewhere" (resulting in an Emmy nomination), "The Paper Chase", "Touched by an Angel", and "Will & Grace". She also was featured in "My Big Fat Greek Life", a short-lived series based on the Nia Vardalos hit film "My Big Fat Greek Wedding". She appeared in a scene as the mother of Adam Sandler's character in "I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry", but it was deleted in the feature film. It is however, included in the special features on disc

Kazan returned to Broadway to recreate her film role for the musical adaptation of "My Favorite Year", earning a Tony Award nomination for her performance. More recently she completed a stint in "The Vagina Monologues". She has also appeared in regional productions of "A Little Night Music", "Man of La Mancha", "", "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?", "Hello, Dolly!", and "Fiddler on the Roof", among others. In 1984, she made a guest appearance on Faerie Tale Theatre episode "Pinocchio" as Sophia the Blue Fairy.

In recent years, Kazan has kept busy performing on concert stages and in Las Vegas and Atlantic City showrooms.

Filmography

*"Dayton's Devils" (1968)
*"Lady in Cement" (1968)
*"Romance of a Horsethief" (1971)
*"One from the Heart" (1982)
*"My Favorite Year" (1982)
*"Lust in the Dust" (1985)
*"The Journey of Natty Gann" (1985)
*"The Delta Force" (1986)
*"Medium Rare" (1987)
*"Harry and the Hendersons" (1987)
*"Beaches" (1988)
*"Eternity" (1989)
*"Out of the Dark" (1989)
*"29th Street" (1991)
*"I Don't Buy Kisses Anymore" (1992)
*"The Cemetery Club" (1993)
*"Movies Money Murder" (1996)
*"Love Is All There Is" (1996)
*"The Associate" (1996)
*"Allie & Me" (1997)
*"The Big Hit" (1998)
*"Permanent Midnight" (1998)
*"The Unknown Cyclist" (1998)
*"Kimberly" (1999)
*"The Crew" (2000)
*"The Dress Code" (2000)
*"What's Cooking?" (2000)
*"My Big Fat Greek Wedding" (2002)
*"Eight Crazy Nights" (2002) (voice)
*"" (2003) (documentary)
*"A Good Night to Die" (2003)
*"Gigli" (2003)
*"Red Riding Hood" (2004)
*"Whiskey School" (2005)
*"" (2007)
*"Beau Jest" (2007)
*"You Don't Mess with the Zohan" (2008)

References

External links

* [http://www.lainiekazan.com/ Official Website]
*imdb name|id=0443577|name=Lainie Kazan
*ibdb name|id=47558|name=Lainie Kazan