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Nathan Lane (born February 3, 1956 in Jersey City,
New Jersey) is a contemporary award-winning American actor of the stage and
screen.
****
Early
life
Born Joseph Lane to Irish American Catholic
parents; he was named after his paternal uncle, a Jesuit priest. His father,
Daniel Lane, was a truck driver and an aspiring tenor who died from alcoholism
when Lane was 11; his mother, Nora, was a manic-depressive housewife. Lane
attended Catholic schools in Jersey City. He changed his name to Nathan after
the character Nathan Detroit from the musical Guys and Dolls, in a revival of
which he appeared with Peter Gallagher and Faith Prince.
Between choosing college or pursuing his acting
career, Lane chose to go with the latter, saying that college was for people who
didn't know what they wanted to do, while he did. He moved to New York City
where, after a long struggle, his career began on Broadway, most notably in the
first production of Terrence McNally's Lips Together, Teeth Apart.
Career
His first large film role was supplying the voice
of Timon in Disney's The Lion King. After spending much of the 1990s working on
movies, which included the popular film The Birdcage which raised his profile,
and as Michael J. Fox's miserable business partner in Life With Mikey. Lane
returned to the Great White Way in the hit musical The Producers. He is openly
gay, and was criticized by some gay activists for taking the role of a
promiscuous heterosexual in the short-lived TV series Encore! Encore!, which
also starred Glenne Headley and Dame Joan Plowright. He dismissed these critics
as "old queens".
In 2004, Mr. Lane revised the book for and starred
in Stephen Sondheim's musical adaptation of Aristophanes' The Frogs at the
Vivian Beaumont Theatre at Lincoln Center. The production also starred Roger
Bart, Peter Bartlett, John Byner, Burke Moses, and Michael Siberry. Lane's first
connection with the show came when he performed the leading role of Dionysos in
a concert staging in honor of Sondheim's birthday. The concert was recorded on
Nonesuch, and included Brian Stokes Mitchell and Davis Gaines. The 2004
production of the show contained 7 additional songs, and was recorded by PS
Classics.
In October 2004 Lane assumed the lead role of 'Max
Bialystock' in the London stage production of Mel Brooks' The Producers. He had
already played the role during the show's New York run, and was a last-minute
replacement for Richard Dreyfuss, who had dropped out of the London run during
rehearsals, citing back problems. Lane himself was forced to retire in December
2004 for the same reason. The play was a commercial success, and for his
ten-week run Lane was paid £400,000; in Februrary 2005 he won the Olivier Award
for Best Actor in a Musical (the show itself also winning Best New Musical, with
Conleth Hill winning Supporting Role in a Musical for his performance as "Roger
DeBris" (played by Christopher Hewett in the movie version) the "flamboyant"
director who must play Adolf Hitler in the musical number "Springtime for
Hitler".
In 2005, Lane received a Best Actor - Comedy Golden
Globe nomination for his role in the film version of The Producers.
Selected Filmography
Year Title Role Other notes
2005 The Producers Max Bialystock
2000 Nicholas Nickleby Vincent Crummles
2000 Isn't She Great Irving Mansfield
1997 Mousehunt Ernie Smuntz
1996 The Birdcage Albert Goldman
****
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URL of Original Article:
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Date Article Copied:
December 19, 2005
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