Harvey Forbes Fierstein is a screenwriter, dramatist, and actor from the United States. He is well recognized for his appearances in the Torch Song Trilogy and Hairspray, as well as his film roles in Mrs. Doubtfire, Independence Day, and as Yao in Mulan and Mulan II. Torch Song Trilogy earned Fierstein two Tony Awards: Best Actor in a Play and Best Play. He won his third Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical for the musical La Cage aux Folles, and his fourth for Best Actor in a Musical for his role as Edna Turnblad in Hairspray. Kinky Boots, Newsies, and A Catered Affair are all Tony Award-winning musicals that Fierstein penned the book for. In 2007, he was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame.
He was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for his work on the television sitcom Cheers.
Early childhood and education
Fierstein was born in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, New York City, the son of school librarian Jacqueline Harriet (née Gilbert) and handkerchief maker Irving Fierstein. He was raised Jewish but eventually abandoned his beliefs and became an atheist.
Fierstein attended High School of Art and Design before graduating with a BFA from Pratt Institute in 1973. He began his career in theatre as a founding member of The Gallery Players of Park Slope before landing a role in Andy Warhol’s one and only play Pork.
Fierstein’s characteristic gravelly voice is caused by an overdeveloped vestibular fold in his vocal cords, giving him a “double voice” when he talks. Fierstein was a soprano in a professional boys’ choir before puberty.
Harvey Fierstein Age, and Horoscope
Harvey Fierstein will be 67 years old in 2022. Harvey Fierstein’s birthday is June 6th, and his zodiac sign is Gemini.
Personal Life:
Fierstein revealed in an interview with People magazine in 2022 to promote his memoir I Was Better Last Night “I’m still unsure if I’m a guy or a woman,” he says, adding that as a youngster he sometimes questioned whether he’d been born in the wrong body: “When I was a kid, I was drawn to males.” I didn’t feel like a boy should feel. Then I discovered homosexuality. So that was it for me for the time being.” In the conversation, he also mentioned how comfortable he was performing Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof and Edna Turnblad in Hairspray. In the interview, he avoided identifying as non-binary, claiming he had given it much consideration and that “it’s the phrase that concerns me,” but concluded that “I don’t think I’ve lost anything by not making up my mind.”
Career:
Fierstein is best known for the play and film Torch Song Trilogy, which he wrote and starred in both off-Broadway and on Broadway (with a young Matthew Broderick) (with Estelle Getty and Fisher Stevens). The 1982 Broadway production earned him two Tony Awards for Best Play and Best Actor in a Play, as well as two Drama Desk Awards for Outstanding New Play and Outstanding Actor in a Play. He was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead for the film adaptation.
Fierstein also wrote the book for La Cage aux Folles (1983), for which he received another Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical and a Drama Desk nomination for Outstanding Book. Legs Diamond, his collaboration with Peter Allen in 1988, was a critical and commercial flop, closing after 72 previews and 64 performances, but the songs live on in Peter Allen’s biographical musical, The Boy from Oz.
Fierstein wrote the book for the musical A Catered Affair, in which he also starred, in 2007. The show premiered on Broadway on April 17, 2008, following tryouts at San Diego’s Old Globe Theatre in September 2007. It was nominated for 12 Drama Desk Awards and won the Drama League Award for Distinguished Production of a Musical.
Along with Alan Menken (music) and Jack Feldman, Fierstein wrote the book for the stage musical Newsies (lyrics). In March 2012, the musical premiered on Broadway. Fierstein received a Tony Award nomination for Book of a Musical.
Cyndi Lauper wrote the music and lyrics for a stage musical adaptation of the film Kinky Boots, which Fierstein wrote the book for. Following a run at the Bank of America Theatre in Chicago in the fall of 2012, it opened in April 2013 at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre on Broadway. The musical was nominated for thirteen Tony Awards in 2013, winning six of them, including best musical.
The Manhattan Theatre Club presented Fierstein’s play Casa Valentina at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre on Broadway. The play premiered in April of 2014. Joe Mantello directed the film, which starred Patrick Page, John Cullum, and Mare Winningham.
Fierstein and his Kinky Boots collaborator Cyndi Lauper were honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in April 2016.
Fierstein wrote and performed in Bella Bella, a one-woman play about New York Congresswoman Bella Abzug, in 2019. It had its world premiere at the Manhattan Theatre Club’s Stage One at City Center.
Other plays he’s written include Safe Sex, Spookhouse, and Forget Him.
Fierstein authored the teleplay for The Wiz Life!, which aired on NBC on December 3, 2015, and starred Stephanie Mills as Aunt Em, Queen Latifah as The Wiz, and David Alan Grier as the Lion. The teleplay is based on the Broadway production of The Wiz, which played from October 1974 to January 1979.
Fierstein then penned the teleplay for and starred in Hairspray Live! on NBC in 2016, alongside Ariana Grande, Jennifer Hudson, Kristin Chenoweth, and Martin Short.
As one of the first openly homosexual celebrities in the United States, Fierstein contributed to the acceptance of gay and lesbian existence as valid topics for modern theatre “with no apologies and no climactic suicides.”
Fierstein has written op-eds for The New York Times, HuffPost, and PBS in addition to his theatrical work.
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Acting Career:
Fierstein made his La MaMa, E.T.C. debut in Andy Warhol’s sole play, Pork. Fierstein continued to perform at La MaMa and other locations, but he also wanted to be a painter, so he enrolled in the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. In 1973, he graduated from Pratt Institute with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA). Fierstein acted in Robert Patrick’s The Haunted Host three times: in Boston in 1975, at La MaMa, and again off-Broadway in 1991. Aside from Torch Song Trilogy, La Cage aux Folles, and A Catered Affair, Fierstein’s Broadway credits include playing Edna Turnblad in Hairspray (2002), for which he received a Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Musical. He then took over as Tevye in the 2004 production of Fiddler on the Roof, replacing Alfred Molina.
Fierstein’s film credits include Woody Allen’s Bullets over Broadway and Merv Green in Death to Smoochy, as well as parts in Garbo Talks, Duplex, Kull the Conqueror, and Independence Day, in addition to his leading role in the film adaptation of Torch Song Trilogy, co-starring Matthew Broderick and Anne Bancroft. He earned a News & Documentary Emmy Award for narrating the documentary The Times of Harvey Milk. He also played Yao in Disney’s animated film Mulan, a role he subsequently returned in the computer game Kingdom Hearts II and the direct-to-DVD sequel Mulan II.
Mrs. Doubtfire starred Harvey Fierstein, Mara Wilson, Lisa Jakub, Matthew Lawrence, Sally Field, and Robin Williams in 1993.
Fierstein appeared on television as the voice of Karl, Homer Simpson’s helper, in the “Simpson and Delilah” episode of “The Simpsons,” and as 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 made history as the first out gay actor to play a main homosexual character in a television series when he played fashion designer Dennis Sinclair in the short-lived CBS series Daddy’s Girls in 1994. Other credits include Miami Vice, Murder, She Wrote, Common Ground (which he also wrote for Showtime), and Cheers, for which he received an Emmy nod for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. On May 31, 2006, his final day as an anchor, he performed a tribute to Katie Couric on “Today.” In December 2006, he played Heat Miser in the live-action adaptation of The Year Without a Santa Claus. More recent television appearances include a Family Guy episode and a Nurse Jackie second-season episode. He also supplied the voice-over for Lily in How I Met Your Mother’s episode “Last Cigarette Ever,” when she develops a sore throat from smoking.
Fierstein returned to the stage in December 2009, when he resumed the role of Tevye, filling in for an injured Chaim Topol in the national tour of Fiddler on the Roof.
On February 15, 2011, he took over for Douglas Hodge as Albin/Zaza in the Broadway revival of La Cage aux Folles, alongside Jeffrey Tambor as Georges, however, Tambor withdrew a few days later owing to “complications from a recent hip surgery”; Christopher Sieber immediately replaced Tambor. The musical ended its run on May 1, 2011, after 433 performances and 15 previews.
Fierstein created and acted in Bella Bella, a solo monologue drama on Bella Abzug. On October 1, 2019, the play premiered off-Broadway at the Manhattan Theatre Club’s City Center Stage 1 under the direction of Kimberly Senior.
Who is the person with the raspy voice on Independence Day?
Harvey Forbes Fierstein is a well-known American actor, voice actor, and dramatist recognized for his raspy voice. He is most known for authoring and performing in the stage and cinema adaptations of the Torch Song Trilogy. In the 1996 action picture Independence Day, he played Marty Gilbert.
Is there a connection between Harvey Fierstein and Robin Williams?
Fierstein, who played Williams’ homosexual brother in the 1993 film “Mrs. Doubtfire,” has received Tony Awards for his books for Hairspray and La Cage aux Folles, as well as his play Torch Song Trilogy. He worked with Alan Menken on the theatre adaptation of Newsies.
Harvey Fierstein’s Salary and Net Worth
Harvey’s net worth as an actor is $4 million as of 2022. Harvey’s acting job is his primary source of income. Aside from that, he earns a sizable sum of money via endorsements, sponsorships, and ads.
Although Harvey has not published his actual pay, according to reports, the typical yearly compensation of an actor ranges between $50,313 and $65,000. Similarly, the average compensation of a voice actor is roughly $35,360 per year or $17.50 per hour.
He is most recognized for his performance in the film Torch Song Trilogy, although he has been in a number of other films as well. As an actor, he appeared in a number of films, including Cheers, Apology, The Harvest, Independence Day, Nurse Jackie, Smash, and others.
Harvey’s plays include La Cage aux Folles, A Catered Affair, Kinky Boots, The Wiz Live!, and many others.
Harvey has received Tony Awards for Best Play and Best Actor in a Play for his services to the entertainment business. He was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for his participation in the American comedy Cheers.
Harvey received the Drama League Award for Outstanding Performance in Hairspray in 2003.