Lane, Nathan [né Joseph Lane] (b. 1956), character actor. The pudgy comic who has the qualities and talents of the great Broadway clowns, has appeared in Shakespeare and serious new plays but is most beloved for his comedies and musical farces. He was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, and worked as a telemarketer, pollster, and stand‐up comic before acting in stock and dinner theatres. Lane was on the New York stage by 1978 and was first noticed four years later as the wild playwright Roland Maule in Present Laughter (1982). He became a major stage star when he played comic gambler Nathan Detroit in the 1992 revival of Guys and Dolls, and his other musical triumphs were the conniving slave Pseudolus in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1996) and the shyster theatrical producer Max Bialystock in The Producers (2001). Lane's nonmusical roles include the opera‐loving Mendy in The Lisbon Traviata (1989), the vacationing Sam in Lips Together, Teeth Apart (1991), the gay costume designer Buzz in Love! Valour! Compassion! (1994), the complex television star Max Prince in Laughter on the 23rd Floor (1993), and the curmudgeonly Sheridan Whiteside in The Man Who Came to Dinner (2000). Ben Brantley in the New York Times described Lane as “droll and exhibitionistic” as Max Bialystock, “with a clarinet speaking voice that segues naturally into song.”
Nathan Lane
| American Theater Guide: Nathan Lane |
| Actor: Nathan Lane |
- Born: Feb 03, 1956 in Jersey City, New Jersey
- Occupation: Actor
- Active: '90s-2000s
- Major Genres: Comedy, Children's/Family
- Career Highlights: The Lion King, The Birdcage, Stuart Little
- First Major Screen Credit: Frankie and Johnny (1991)
Biography
Known for his outrageous, divinely comedic performances on stage and screen, Nathan Lane has led a career encompassing Broadway, television, and film. Born Joe Lane in Jersey City, New Jersey on February 3, 1956, Lane took his stage name from Nathan Detroit, the character he played to great acclaim in the 1992 Broadway version of Guys and Dolls.Lane made his film debut in 1987's Ironweed, and he spent the rest of the 1980s and early 1990s playing secondary roles in films like Joe Versus the Volcano (1990), Frankie and Johnny (1991), and Addams Family Values (1993). During this time, his stage career was thriving; in addition to his celebrated turn in Guys and Dolls (for which he won a Tony nomination, as well as Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards), he frequently collaborated with playwright Terrence McNally, who cast him in a number of his plays, including The Lisbon Traviata, in which Lane played an opera queen, and Love! Valour! Compassion!, in which he starred as Buzz, an HIV-positive musical aficionado who provides much of the play's comic relief and genuine anger. The actor won particular acclaim for his portrayal of the latter character, taking home Obie and Drama Desk Awards, as well as other honors, for his work.
In 1994, the same year that he starred in the stage version of Love! Valour! Compassion! (his role was played in the film version by Jason Alexander), Lane gained fame of a different sort, lending his voice to Timon, a hyperactive meerkat in Disney's animated The Lion King. He reprised the role for the extremely successful movie's 1998 sequel. Two years after playing a meerkat, Lane finally became widely visible to screen audiences as Robin Williams' flamboyantly limp-wristed lover in The Birdcage, Mike Nichols' remake of La Cage aux Folles. The film helped to establish Lane--who was at the time starring on Broadway in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum--as a comic actor worthy of big-screen exposure, and in 1997 he was given his own vehicle to display his talents, Mouse Hunt. Unfortunately, the film was a relative disappointment, as was Encore! Encore!, a 1998 sitcom that cast the actor as a Pavorotti-like opera singer alongside Glenne Headly and Joan Plowright. However, Lane continued to work steadily, appearing both on stage and in film. In 1999, he could be seen in At First Sight and Get Bruce, a documentary about comic writer Bruce Vilanch. The same year, he could also be heard in Stuart Little, a live action/animated adaptation of E.B White's celebrated children's book. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
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George and Martha: Games Hippos Play Buy this Movie |
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| Wikipedia: Nathan Lane |
| Nathan Lane | |
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 Lane in New York City, November 2005 |
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| Born | Joseph Lane February 3, 1956 Jersey City, New Jersey, USA |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1975–present |
Nathan Lane (born February 3, 1956) is a two-time Tony and Emmy award winning American actor of stage and screen. He is best known for his roles as Albert in The Birdcage, Max Bialystock in the musical The Producers, Ernie Smuntz in MouseHunt, Pseudolus in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and his voice work in The Lion King and Stuart Little. He was recently inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame.
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Early years
Lane was born Joseph Lane in Jersey City, New Jersey, the son of Irish American Catholic parents.[1][2] He was named after his uncle, a Jesuit priest.[3] His father, Daniel, was a truck driver and an aspiring tenor who died from alcoholism when Lane was eleven; his mother, Nora, was a housewife and secretary, who suffered from manic-depression, and died in 2000.[4][5][6] 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 selected Best Actor in 1974.
Career
His brother Dan accompanied him to what was supposed to be his first day at St. Joseph's College in Philadelphia. When they arrived, they learned the drama scholarship Lane had won didn't cover enough of the expenses for him to stay. They went back home. "I remember him saying to me, 'College is for people who don't know what they want to do,'" Dan Lane recalls.[citation needed] 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 some brief success in the world of stand-up comedy with partner, Patrick Stack, and later with off-Broadway productions at Second Stage Theatre, the Roundabout Theatre, the Manhattan Theatre Club, and his 1982 Broadway debut in a revival of Noel Coward's Present Laughter as Roland Maule with 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, the national tour of Neil Simon's Broadway Bound 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 (Drama Desk and Lucille Lortel Awards), Bad Habits, Love! Valour! Compassion! (Obie Award, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards) , and Dedication (Drama Desk nomination). 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 A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, for which he won the Tony Award, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards.
His association with Sondheim began with the workshop of Assassins , and after Forum he appeared with Victor Garber in the workshop of Wise Guys (later Bounce and Road Show ). Their collaboration continued 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 2000 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 directed by Joe Papp in Central Park, The Common Pursuit, The Film Society, Mizlansky/Zilinsky or Schmucks, In a Pig's Valise, Trumbo, She Stoops to Conquer, and A Midsummer Night's Dream. He also appeared at the Williamstown Theatre Festival in The School For Scandal and John Guare's Moon Over Miami .
Lane performed in 1995's The Wizard of Oz in Concert: Dreams Come True 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 in 2004 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 his second 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 his Producers co-star Matthew 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 next starred in the new David Mamet play, November, directed by Joe Mantello, and in the critically acclaimed revival of Waiting For Godot[7] with Bill Irwin. He is now starring in the musical of The Addams Family as Gomez with Bebe Neuwirth as Morticia. He was recently inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame.
Personal life
When he told his mother he was gay, she replied, "I'd rather you were dead."[8] To which he replied, "I knew you'd understand." Lane, who came out publicly after the death of Matthew Shepard, once jokingly explained, "I was born in 1956. I'm one of those old-fashioned homosexuals, not one of the newfangled ones who are born joining [pride] parades."[3] He has been a long-time board member of and fundraiser for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, and he has been honored by the Human Rights Campaign, Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, and The Trevor Project for his work in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community.
Lane resides in New York, has a long-time partner, and remains very good friends with Matthew Broderick, Mel Brooks, Robin Williams 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 Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast - The Birdcage
- 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
- Nominations
- 1997 MTV Movie Award for Best On-Screen Duo - The Birdcage
- 1997 Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy - The Birdcage
- 1997 Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role - The Birdcage
- 2006 Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy - The Producers
Theatre
- 1986 St. Clair Bayfield Award for Shakespearean Performance - Measure For Measure
- 1990 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play - The Lisbon Traviata
- 1992 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical - Guys and Dolls
- 1992 Obie Award for Sustained Excellence of Performance
- 1995 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play - Love! Valour! Compassion!
- 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
- 1996 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical - A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
- 2001 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical - The Producers
- 2001 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical - The Producers
- 2005 Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical - The Producers
- Nominations
- 1983 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play - Present Laughter
- 1992 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical - Guys and Dolls
- 2006 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play - Dedication or The Stuff of Dreams
- 2009 Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play - "Waiting For Godot"
Also the winner of four Outer Critics Circle Awards, and a Lucille Lortel Award for The Lisbon Traviata
Other
- 2002 GLAAD Media Awards Vito Russo Award
- 2007 The Trevor Project Hero Award [9]
- 2007 Human Rights Campaign Equality Award [10]
- 2006 American Theatre Wing Honor for his commitment to and achievement in theatre
Work
Television
His television credits include One of the Boys with Mickey Rooney and Dana Carvey, The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd , the title role in The Man Who Came to Dinner, 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 Miami Vice, 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 - Alice In Wonderland , The Last Mile, and as host for the 30th anniversary, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Absolutely Fabulous and 30 Rock. He has starred in two television films, The Boys Next Door and Laughter on the 23rd Floor. With the Boston Pops, he performed a tribute concert of Danny Kaye material, as well as appearing in the Harry Connick Christmas Special, Merry Christmas, George Bailey, and A Muppet Christmas: Letters to Santa. His attempts at a regular series of his own, Encore! Encore! and Charlie Lawrence, were ratings disappointments.
Filmography
- Valley Of The Dolls [TV] [1981] as Stage Manager
- Miami Vice [TV] [1985] as Monty Price
- Ironweed (1987) as Harold Allen
- The Lemon Sisters (1990) as Charlie Sorrell
- Joe Versus the Volcano (1990) as Baw, Waponi Advance Man
- He Said, She Said (1991) as Wally Thurman
- Frankie and Johnny (1991) as Tim
- Addams Family Values (1993) as Desk Sergeant
- Life with Mikey (1993) as Ed Chapman
- Jeffrey (1995) as Father Dan
- The Birdcage (1996) as Albert Goldman
- The Boys Next Door (TV) (1996) as Norman Bulansky
- Mousehunt (1997) as Ernest "Ernie" Smuntz
- At First Sight (1999) as Phil
- Get Bruce! (1999) documentary, as himself
- Love's Labours Lost (2000) as Costard
- Isn't She Great (2000) as Irving Mansfield
- Trixie (2000) as Kirk Stans
- Laughter on the 23rd Floor (TV) (2001) as Max Prince
- Nicholas Nickleby (2002) as Vincent Crummles
- Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002) as Mysterious Disco Man
- Win a Date with Tad Hamilton! (2004) as Richard Levy the Driven
- The Producers (2005) as Max Bialystock
- Trumbo (2007) documentary, as himself
- Swing Vote (2008) as Art Crumb
- Nutcracker: The Untold Story (2009) as Uncle Albert
Voice
- The Lion King (1994) as Timon
- The Lion King II: Simba's Pride (1998) as Timon
- Stuart Little (1999) as Snowbell
- "George And Martha" (1999) as George
- Titan A.E. (2000) as Preed
- Stuart Little 2 (2002) as Snowbell
- The Lion King 1 1/2 (2004) as Timon
- Teacher's Pet (2004) as Spot AKA Scott Leadready II
- Astro Boy (2009) as Hammegg
Lane provided the voice of Tom Morrow, the Audio-Animatronic host of Disneyland's Innoventions attraction.
References
- ^ Dezell, Maureen (2003-10-19). "Nathan Lane goes beyond Broadway". The Boston Globe. http://www.boston.com/news/globe/living/articles/2003/10/19/nathan_lane_goes_beyond_broadway. Retrieved 2008-06-09.
- ^ Tugend, Tom (2005-12-30). "In Search of Nathan Lane's 'Jewish' Roots". Jewish News of Greater Phoenix 58 (14). http://www.jewishaz.com/issues/story.mv?051230+search. Retrieved 2008-06-09.
- ^ a b Smith, David (2004-11-07). "Bring on the clown". Guardian Unlimited. http://arts.guardian.co.uk/features/story/0,,1345473,00.html. Retrieved 2008-06-09.
- ^ Vilanch, Bruce (1999-02-02). "Citizen Lane - Actor Nathan Lane". The Advocate. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1589/is_1999_Feb_2/ai_53729227/pg_2. Retrieved 2008-06-09.
- ^ "Nathan Lane Biography". Yahoo! Movies. 2008. http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800018675/bio. Retrieved 2008-06-09.
- ^ "Nathan Lane Biography". Film Reference. 2008. http://www.filmreference.com/film/97/Nathan-Lane.html. Retrieved 2008-06-09.
- ^ Frey, Hillary (2009-03-03). "Broadway Bows Down to Power Dames Fonda, Sarandon, Lansbury". The New York Observer. http://www.observer.com/2009/broadway-bows-down-power-dames-fonda-sarandon-lansbury. Retrieved 2009-03-08.
- ^ Dezell, Maureen (2003-10-19). "Nathan Lane goes beyond Broadway". The Boston Globe. http://www.boston.com/news/globe/living/articles/2003/10/19/nathan_lane_goes_beyond_broadway/. Retrieved 2009-04-01.
- ^ "Trevor NY Honoring Nathan Lane". The Trevor Project. 2008. http://www.thetrevorproject.org/staging/trevorny2007.html. Retrieved 2008-06-09.
- ^ "Lane to Be Honored by Human Rights Campaign". Backstage. 30 January 2007. http://www.nathanlane.com/News/. Retrieved 2008-06-09.
External links
 |
Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Nathan Lane |
- Nathan Lane at the Internet Broadway Database
- Nathan Lane at the Internet Movie Database
- Nathan Lane at the Internet off-Broadway Database
- Nathan Lane at Yahoo! Movies
- Lane interview, 2004, The Guardian
- Lane interview, 1996, TIME Magazine
- Nathan Lane. (1994) (.SWF). Working in the Theatre Seminar: Performance. [video]. American Theatre Wing. http://www.americantheatrewing.org/seminars/detail/performance_04_94. Retrieved 2008-06-09.
- Nathan Lane. (1994) (.SWF). Working in the Theatre Seminar: Return to Broadway. [video]. American Theatre Wing. http://www.americantheatrewing.org/seminars/detail/return_to_broadway_04_96. Retrieved 2008-06-09.
- BroadwayWorld Photo Preview: Nathan Lane in ‘November’
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Mentioned in
- Nathan Lane: Saturday Night Live (TV Episode) (1997 Comedy TV Episode)
- Mouse Hunt (1997 Album by Alan Silvestri)
- Isn't She Great (2000 Album by Burt Bacharach)
- Guys and Dolls: Off the Record (Music Film)
- Jungle Boogie [Disney] (1999 Album by Disney)
- The Boys Next Door (1996 Drama Film)
- Guys & Dolls: Off the Record (1992 Theater Film)
- Biography: Mickey Rooney (History Film)
- Recording the Producers: A Musical Romp With Mel Brooks (2001 Music Film)
- Broadway's Lost Treasures II (2004 Film, TV & Radio Film)
- Harry Connick, Jr.: Harry for the Holidays (Music Film)
- A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa (2008 Children's/Family Film)
- Good Old Reliable Nathan: Mad About You (TV Episode) (1998 Comedy TV Episode)
- Fool Me Once, Shame On You, Fool Me Twice...: Frasier (TV Episode) (1995 Comedy TV Episode)
