Nathan Lane (born February 3, 1956)

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Nathan Lane is a two-time Tony Award-winning American actor of stage, screen, and television. He is best known for his roles as Mendy in The Lisbon Traviata, Albert in The Birdcage, Max Bialystock in the musical The Producers, Ernie Smuntz in MouseHunt, Nathan Detroit in Guys and Dolls, Pseudolus in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and his voice work in The Lion King and Stuart Little. In 2006, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and in 2008 he was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame.

Lane was born Joseph Lane in Jersey City, New Jersey, the son of Irish American Catholic parents. He was named after his 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 housewife and secretary who suffered from manic-depression, and 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 voted Best Actor in 1974, and years later received the 2011 Prep Hall of Fame Professional Achievement Award.

A reporter for Us Weekly once asked Lane if he was gay; he replied, "I'm 40, single and work a lot in the musical theater. You do the math." When at age 21 he told his mother he was gay, she replied, "I would rather you were dead," to which he replied, "I knew you'd understand." Lane, who came out publicly after the death of Matthew Shepard, has been a long-time board member of and fundraiser for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, and has been honored by the Human Rights Campaign, Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, and The Trevor Project for his work in the LGBT community. Lane resides in New York City.



Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathan_Lane

Further Readings:

From Perverts" to "Fab Five"" by Rodger Streitmatter
Paperback: 232 pages
Publisher: Routledge; 1 edition (December 19, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0789036711
ISBN-13: 978-0789036711
Amazon: From Perverts to Fab Five: The Media's Changing Depiction of Gay Men and Lesbians
Amazon Kindle: From Perverts to Fab Five: The Media's Changing Depiction of Gay Men and Lesbians

From "Perverts" to "Fab Five" tracks the dramatic change in how the American media have depicted gay people over the last half-century. Each chapter illuminates a particular media product that served as a milestone on the media's journey from demonizing homosexuals some fifty years ago to celebrating gay people--or at least some categories of gay people--today.

The media, Streitmatter argues, have not merely reflected the American public's shift to a more enlightened view of gay people, but they have been instrumental in propelling that change. The book spans the breadth of communication venues. Individual chapters focus on major news stories, entertainment television programs, and mainstream motion pictures that captured the public imagination while, at the same time, sending powerful messages about gay men and lesbians. Ideal for any reader interested in the changing depiction of gay men and lesbians in the media over time, or as required reading in media courses.

More LGBT History at my website: www.elisarolle.com/, My Ramblings/Persistent Voices