The product of a normal middle-class upbringing, he rose to fame with his collection of plays, ‘Torch Song Trilogy’ which he wrote and starred in. Mrs. Doubtfire (1993) (“I read for it. [22], Fierstein wrote and stars in the solo monologue play Bella Bella, about Bella Abzug. in Andy Warhol's only play, Pork. ), This year, he topped himself by allowing a deli to name a hot dog after him — an event he then proceeded to celebrate by having hundreds of “Kinky Boots” audience members follow him through Times Square to the restaurant. The play is semi-autobiographical in nature as it reflected the dreams and struggles of Fierstein himself. He wrote the award winning book for the musical ‘La Cage aux Folles’ which was originally produced by the Broadway in 1983 and revived in 2004 and 2010. His other playwriting credits include Safe Sex, Spookhouse, and Forget Him. And then the show opens and I get to see Judith Light, or Audra McDonald,” he said. Other Works With his Tony Award win for "Hairspray", along with his three previous wins, he ties with. These four awards tie him with Tommy Tune for the most Tony Awards in different categories. [7], Fierstein's signature gravelly voice is a result of an overdeveloped vestibular fold in his vocal cords, essentially giving him a "double voice" when he speaks. × Looking for some great streaming picks? My voice is 95 percent noise. They’re singing along like it’s ‘Mamma Mia.’ And these aren’t exactly songs that have been with us our whole lives.”) Instead, he chilled out at his Connecticut home with the cats and dogs he’s rescued (Elvis and Lola, to name two. Fierstein went on to write two more plays about Arnold and introduced "Fugue in a Nursery" and "Widows and Children First! Fierstein continued to appear at La MaMa and other venues but also, having some aspirations to become a painter, enrolled at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. Fierstein is aware of his reputation, tweaked sometimes in the New York media, as a tireless Tonys campaigner. He sang a tribute to Katie Couric on Today on May 31, 2006, her last day as anchor. Hairspray (Aug 15, 2002 - Jan 04, 2009) Starring: Harvey Fierstein. He also gave the voice-over for Lily in the "Last Cigarette Ever" episode of How I Met Your Mother when she gets a sore throat due to smoking. He now lives in Ridgefield, Connecticut. He wrote the book for the musical ‘Newsies’ by Disney Theatrical Productions, which made its Broadway debut in 2012. Yes, the last is named for one of the “Kinky Boots” characters.). Homosexuality was still considered a taboo topic during those times but Fierstein had the courage and creativity to successfully address this issue in his plays. Quotes By Harvey Fierstein | Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play, Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical, Drama League's Distinguished Performance Award, Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical, Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Harvey_Fierstein&oldid=983004644, 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights, Jewish American dramatists and playwrights, 21st-century American dramatists and playwrights, Internet Off-Broadway Database person ID same as Wikidata, Wikipedia articles with MusicBrainz identifiers, Wikipedia articles with SNAC-ID identifiers, Wikipedia articles with SUDOC identifiers, Wikipedia articles with WorldCat identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Episode: "In the Shadow of Love: A Teen AIDS Story", Voice role (Episode: "Hercules and the Bacchanal"), Voice role (Episode: "Alice and the Mystery of the Third Planet"), Episode: "Harvey Fierstein & Kim Zolciak", Voice role (Episode: "Stewie Is Enceinte"), Television special (also teleplay writer), Voice role (Episode: "Commence Fracking"), Episode: "Jane Curtin & Harvey Fierstein". It took me back to my childhood in the ‘60s and how revolution comes from the young. We have tickets to sell to a public in a business where advertising doesn’t matter like it used to.”, After several years in the musical trenches, Fierstein has been writing a new play, a nine-character ensemble that’s his first non-musical in nearly 30 years. He wrote two plays, ‘Fugue in a Nursery’ and ‘Widows and Children First!’ which he would later combine to form a collection of plays. How to vote. He was openly gay at a time when very few celebrities were. CBS chief George Cheeks apologizes to Armenian community for employees’ ‘hateful’ remarks. “It was stupid. ‘Home Improvement’ actor Zachery Ty Bryan arrested in Oregon. [17], As one of the first openly gay celebrities in the United States, Fierstein helped make gay and lesbian life into viable subjects for contemporary drama "with no apologies and no climactic suicides".[6]. He was a daredevil who had no qualms about playing a lesbian cleaning woman in his theatrical debut, Andy Warhol’s ‘Pork’ in 1971. He wouldn’t reveal details but acknowledged that he debated starring in it before realizing it wasn’t a good fit. [23], Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series, Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Musical, Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child, Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical, "Hall of Fame: Theater veterans get a night in limelight", "Harvey Fierstein political contributions", "Harvey Fierstein: No longer an activist", "'Kinky Boots' Leads With 13 Tony Nominations", "‘Kinky Boots’ Dances to the Top of the Tonys", "Harvey Fierstein's 'Casa Valentina', Starring Patrick Page, Mare Winningham and Gabriel Ebert, Begins Broadway Performances April 1", "The Verdict: Read Reviews for 'The Wiz Live! Fierstein was nominated for the Tony Award for Book of a Musical. But the description fits another Harvey: Fierstein, the equally outsized showbiz character who over a long career has proved himself to be a marathon man of awards season with a Midas touch at the big show that ends it. NBC TV broadcast on December 3, 2015, featuring Stephanie Mills, as Aunt Em, Queen Latifah as The Wiz and David Alan Grier as the Lion. Jerry Brown and many others. The plays which won him two prestigious Tony Awards dealt with the life and loves of a gay drag queen in the early 1980’s. [18] Additional credits include Miami Vice, Murder, She Wrote, the Showtime television movie Common Ground (which he also wrote), and Cheers, which earned him an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.