Harvey Fierstein facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Harvey Fierstein
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Fierstein in 2009
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Born |
Harvey Forbes Fierstein
June 6, 1952 New York City, U.S.
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Education | Pratt Institute (BFA) |
Occupation |
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Years active | 1981–present |
Harvey Forbes Fierstein (/ˈfaɪərˌstiːn/ FIRE-steen; born June 6, 1952) is an American actor, playwright, and screenwriter, known for his distinctive gravelly voice. He is best known for his theater work in Torch Song Trilogy and Hairspray and film roles in Mrs. Doubtfire, Independence Day, and as the voice of Yao in Mulan and Mulan II. Fierstein won two Tony Awards, Best Actor in a Play and Best Play, for Torch Song Trilogy. He received his third Tony Award, Best Book of a Musical, for the musical La Cage aux Folles and his fourth, the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical, for playing Edna Turnblad in Hairspray, a role he revived in its live television event, Hairspray Live! Fierstein also wrote the books for the Tony Award-winning musicals Newsies, and Tony Award-nominated, Drama League Award-winner A Catered Affair. He was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 2007.
For his role on the television show Cheers, Fierstein was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.
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Early life and education
Harvey Fierstein was born in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, New York City, the son of Jacqueline Harriet (née Gilbert), a school librarian, and Irving Fierstein, a handkerchief manufacturer. Fierstein has a brother, Ronald Fierstein. Prior to puberty, Fierstein was a soprano in a professional boys' choir.
Fierstein graduated from the High School of Art and Design and received a BFA from the Pratt Institute in 1973.
Career
Fierstein began working in the theater as a founding member of The Gallery Players of Park Slope before being cast in Andy Warhol's only play, Pork.
Fierstein is best known for the play and film Torch Song Trilogy, which he wrote and starred in both off-Broadway (with a young Matthew Broderick) and on Broadway (with Estelle Getty and Fisher Stevens). 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. Fierstein is the first openly gay actor to win a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play. The film adaptation of Torch Song Trilogy 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. During his Tony Award acceptance speech, Fierstein acknowledged his male lover; according to Entertainment Weekly, this was "not a first", but was "still startling to many viewers".
Fierstein narrated the documentary The Times of Harvey Milk (1984), for which he won a News & Documentary Emmy Award.
He portrayed Mark Newberger in Cheers, receiving an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series in 1992 for his performance.
Fierstein voiced the role of Yao in 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.
He voiced the character 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.
Fierstein's Broadway acting credits include playing the mother, Edna Turnblad, in Hairspray (2002), for which he won a Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Musical. He later replaced Alfred Molina as Tevye in the 2004 revival of Fiddler on the Roof.
In 2007, Fierstein wrote the book to the musical A Catered Affair; he also starred in the production. After tryouts at San Diego's Old Globe Theatre in September 2007, the show opened on Broadway April 17, 2008. It received 12 Drama Desk Award nominations and won the Drama League Award for Distinguished Production of a Musical.
Fierstein wrote the book for the stage musical Newsies, along with Alan Menken (music) and Jack Feldman (lyrics). The musical opened on Broadway in March 2012. Fierstein was nominated for the Tony Award for Book of a Musical.
Fierstein wrote the book for a stage musical version of the film ... Boots with music and lyrics by Cyndi Lauper. After a fall 2012 run at the Bank of America Theatre in Chicago, it opened at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre on Broadway in April 2013. The musical was nominated for thirteen 2013 Tony Awards and won six, including best musical.
In April 2016, Fierstein was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
His book I Was Better Last Night: A Memoir was released on March 1, 2022, and quickly became a New York Times Bestseller.
Personal life
Fierstein is openly gay. His distinctive gravelly voice is a result of an overdeveloped vestibular fold in his vocal cords, essentially giving him a "double voice" when he speaks.
Theater credits
Acting
Year | Title | Role | Venue | Category |
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1982–1985 | Torch Song Trilogy | Arnold Beckoff | Little Theatre | Broadway |
1986 | Albery Theatre | West End | ||
1987 | ... | Ghee | Lyceum Theatre | Broadway |
2002 | Hairspray | Edna Turnblad | 5th Avenue Theatre | Regional |
2002–2004, 2008–2009 |
Neil Simon Theatre | Broadway | ||
2004–2006 | Fiddler on the Roof | Tevye | Minskoff Theatre | |
2008 | A Catered Affair | Winston | Walter Kerr Theatre | |
2009–2010 | Fiddler on the Roof | Tevye | North American tour | |
2011 | La Cage aux Folles | Albin | Longacre Theatre | Broadway |
2019 | The Little Mermaid: An Immersive Live-to-Film Concert Experience | Ursula | Hollywood Bowl | Concert |
2019 | Bella Bella | Bella Abzug | Manhattan Theater Club | Off-Broadway |
2022 | Guys and Dolls | Joey Biltmore (prerecorded voice, uncredited) | The Kennedy Center | Washington, D.C. |
Writing
Year | Title | Venue | Category | Notes |
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1982 | Torch Song Trilogy | Little Theatre | Broadway | Also starred as Arnold |
1983 | La Cage aux Folles | Palace Theatre | Broadway | |
1984 | Spookhouse | Playhouse 91 | Off-Broadway | |
1987 | ... | Lyceum Theatre | Broadway | Also starred as Ghee |
1988 | Legs Diamond | Mark Hellinger Theatre | Broadway | |
2007 | A Catered Affair | Old Globe Theatre | Broadway tryout | |
2008 | Walter Kerr Theatre | Broadway | Also starred as Winston | |
2011 | Newsies | Paper Mill Playhouse | Broadway tryout | |
2012 | Nederlander Theatre | Broadway | ||
... Boots | Bank of America Theatre | Broadway tryout | ||
2013 | Al Hirschfeld Theatre | Broadway | ||
2014 | Casa Valentina | Samuel J. Friedman Theatre | Broadway | |
2015 | Funny Girl | Menier Chocolate Factory | Off-West End | Book revisions |
2016 | Savoy Theatre | West End | ||
2022 | August Wilson Theatre | Broadway |
Filmography
Film
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
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1984 | Garbo Talks | Bernie Whitlock | |
The Times of Harvey Milk | Narrator | Voice | |
1988 | Torch Song Trilogy | Arnold Beckoff | Also the screenwriter (adapted his own play) |
1992 | The Harvest | Bob Lakin | |
1993 | Mrs. Doubtfire | Francis "Frank" Hillard | |
Bullets over Broadway | Sid Loomis | ||
1995 | Dr. Jekyll and Ms. Hyde | Yves DuBois | |
1996 | The Celluloid Closet | Himself | Documentary |
Independence Day | Marty Gilbert | ||
Everything Relative | The Moyle | ||
Elmo Saves Christmas | Easter Bunny | ||
1997 | White Lies | Art Hoarder | |
Kull the Conqueror | Juba | ||
Three Little Pigs | The Big Bad Wolf | Voice, short film | |
1998 | Mulan | Yao | Voice |
Safe Men | Leo | ||
1999 | Jump | Dish Macense | |
2000 | Playing Mona Lisa | Bennett | |
2002 | Death to Smoochy | Merv Green | |
2003 | Duplex | Kenneth | |
2004 | Mulan II | Yao | Voice, direct-to-video |
2006 | Farce of the Penguins | Sheila | |
2012 | Foodfight! | Fat Cat Burglar | |
2014 | Russian Broadway Shut Down | Book Writer | Short film |
2017 | Animal Crackers | Esmerelda | Voice |
2020 | Disarm Hate | Narrator | Voice, documentary |
2022 | Bros | Lewis |
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
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1983 | The Demon Murder Case | Demon | Voice, television film |
1986 | Miami Vice | Benedict | Episode: "The Fix" |
Apology | The Derelict | Television film | |
1988 | Tidy Endings | Arthur | |
1990 | The Simpsons | Karl | Voice, episode: "Simpson and Delilah" |
1991 | ABC Afterschool Specials | Andrew | Episode: "In the Shadow of Love: A Teen AIDS Story" |
1992 | Cheers | Mark Newberger | Episode: "Rebecca's Lover... Not" |
Murder, She Wrote | Stan Hatter | Episode: "The Dead File" | |
1994 | Daddy's Girl | Dennis Sinclair | Series regular (3 episodes) |
1997 | The Larry Sanders Show | Harvey Fierstein | Episode: "The Matchmaker" |
Fame L.A. | Jeremy Pinter | Episode: "Do or Die" | |
Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child | Mrs. Leaperman | Voice, episode: "Thumbelina" | |
1998 | Ellen | Himself | Episode: "It's a Gay, Gay, Gay, Gay World!" |
Hercules | Argus Panoptes | Voice, episode: "Hercules and the Bacchanal" | |
Stories from My Childhood | Grambo | Voice, episode: "Alice and the Mystery of the Third Planet" | |
1999 | Double Platinum | Gary Millstein | Television film |
1999 | The Sissy Duckling | Elmer | Voice, television film |
2000 | Common Ground | Don | Television film |
Behind the Music | Himself | Episode: "1984" | |
2004 | Biography | Episode: "John Waters" | |
2004–07 | Sesame Street | Recurring role (3 episodes) | |
2006 | The Year Without a Santa Claus | Heat Miser | Television film |
2008 | Family Guy | Tracy | Voice, episode: "The Former Life of Brian" |
2009 | How I Met Your Mother | Lily's smoking voice | Voice, episode: "Last Cigarette Ever" |
2010 | Nurse Jackie | John Decker | Episode: "Monkey Bits" |
2011 | The Good Wife | Judge Francis Flamm | Episode: "Feeding the Rat" |
2012 | Submissions Only | Auditioner No. 5 | Episode: "Another Interruption" |
2013 | Smash | Himself | Episode: "The Fallout" |
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen | Episode: "Harvey Fierstein & Kim Zolciak" | ||
2014 | Saturday Night Live | Episode: "Bill Hader/Hozier" | |
2015 | Family Guy | Buster Keaton | Voice, episode: "Stewie Is Enceinte" |
The Wiz Live! | — | Television special (teleplay writer) | |
2016 | Hairspray Live! | Edna Turnblad | |
2017 | BoJack Horseman | Himself | Voice, episode: "Commence Fracking") |
2018 | Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen | Episode: "Jane Curtin & Harvey Fierstein" | |
2018–20 | Big Mouth | Jerome | Voice, 2 episodes |
2019 | The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance | The Gourmand | Voice, recurring role (7 episodes) |
Video games
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
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1998 | Disney's Animated Storybook: Mulan | Yao | |
Mulan Story Studio | |||
2005 | Kingdom Hearts II | English version | |
2007 | Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix+ |
Awards and nominations
Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
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1982 | New York Drama Critics' Circle | Best American Play | Torch Song Trilogy | Nominated |
1983 | Tony Award | Best Play | Won | |
Best Actor in a Play | Won | |||
Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Play | Won | ||
Outstanding Actor in a Play | Won | |||
Theatre World Award | Theatre World Award | Won | ||
1984 | Tony Award | Best Book of a Musical | La Cage aux Folles | Won |
Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Book of a Musical | Nominated | ||
1992 | Primetime Emmy Award | Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series | Cheers | Nominated |
2003 | Tony Award | Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical | Hairspray | Won |
Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Actor in a Musical | Won | ||
Outer Critics Circle Award | Outstanding Actor in a Musical | Nominated | ||
Drama League Award | Outstanding Performance | Won | ||
2008 | Drama League Award | Outstanding Production of a Musical | A Catered Affair | Won |
Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Book of a Musical | Nominated | ||
2012 | Tony Award | Best Book of a Musical | Newsies | Nominated |
Outer Critics Circle Award | Outstanding Book of a Musical | Nominated | ||
2013 | Tony Award | Best Book of a Musical | ...Boots | Nominated |
Outer Critics Circle Award | Outstanding Book of a Musical | Nominated | ||
2014 | Tony Award | Best Play | Casa Valentina | Nominated |
See also
In Spanish: Harvey Fierstein para niños